wont eat

My 4yr old son has suddenly stopped eating, he has not eaten a meal in 5 days, where as before he did. He got a little burger lodged in his throat which went down easily after a drink but since then he wont eat, only chocolate, yoghurts and ice cream.. please do not tell me he will be fine cos they are not the proper foods to give him the energy and nutrients he needs. he has a cough and had cold for almost 2 weeks now. But i need help in getting him to eat now cos he thinks everything is going to get stuck in his throat now. please help

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

While you don't want to hear that he will be fine, he will. Try not to force the issue - it will only make matters worse. Adopt a casual approach to this, and simply give him what he will eat for now. Focus more on the yogurt than on the ice cream or chocolate. Gradually his fear will diminish. He had a frightening experience and it is normal for this to take a while to disappear.