2years old and will not eat meat

[kathy1]

my son is 21/2 and he will not eat any red meat at all, we are lucky if he eats a couple bites of chicken. he has wieghed 25 pounds for year and 1/2. we have tried everything he says no food, not hungry. he does get a vitamin every day but does not seem to be gaining any weight he has worn the same size from the age of one. we have tried no sweets no in between meal snacking, here is the part that even makes it a little odd. give him fruit of any kind, and he will eat it all, is he too young to be a vegitarian or is this just a phase, he may out grow? i am just afraid of internal organ development when there is no growth and no weight gain please advise.he is very set in his ways if we go into a store he wants to go back out the same door or he gets upset, saying no mom wrong way. when he leaves a room he must shut the door his vocabular is unreal and he can read basic word books.I do not want to label him but some days you would swear he is possible obbsesive compulsive.
please advise
thanks kathy

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Refusal to eat red meat is, in itself, not a problem. What is more problematic is the absence of growth. As you probably know, at age one a weight of 25 lbs. in general would place a child above the 75%; but at an age of 30 months, the same weight is at only the 5%. This certainly bears medical attention. Pursue this with your son's pediatrician. You are correct to be concerned about the absence of weight gain; don't worry about the particular refusal to eat red meat. On the psychological front, there might be early indications of an anxiety disorder, and this possibility is more likely if there is a family history of anxiety disorders.

[inspiredparent]

I had to comment on this.  My oldest daughter (now 11) has never liked meat.  She eats it now, under protest, but until she was about 8 she was basically a vegetarian.  She's always been thin, but very healthy.  We made a point to ensure she ate enough foods to make up for the lack of protein and fat she would have received in meat.  We always made sure she ate things like peanut butter, egg, milk, refried beans, etc., in addition to the fruits and vegetables she loved.

She was thin, but always around the 25th percentile and her Doctor declared her very healthy.  She's also very active and fairly athletic.  Now...my three and a half year old, who would live on beef and pork if I let her, actually manages to eat MORE than my 11 year old, and she's only 25 pounds.  Just goes to show that all kids are different.  My youngest is a serious bundle of energy (we call her the Energizer Bunny baby), eats all day long, and just burns it off.  She's very healthy and well developed, but still wearing 2T clothing.

Anyway, I don't think you should worry too much, just try to make sure that he eats foods that make up for what he misses in the meat.

Michelle