My 2 and a half year old won't eat any solid foods at all

[JBTerry]

My 2 and a half year old toddler will not eat tablefood what soever. He won't eat ice cream sweets, pudding, cookies , chips, fruit, or anything at all except baby food. Our occupational therapists have suggested taking baby food away completely and letting him get hungry enough to eat what we eat. He won't even put it in his mouth at all to attempt a bite.He will be 3 in November and has never chewed a single thing as far as food in his life. He has been cleared medically of any problems. Any advice would be great.

[ladetore]

My son is two and has a similar problem , its so frustruating he loves bananas, yogart, milk crackers macncheese babyfood mashed potatoes panckes toast and thats about it he will not try anything new he use to eat everthing till he reached the age of one then it started, the doctors are'nt to concerned now and evryone says its a phase , however phases shouldn't last a year I give him pediasure everyday and it helps fill the voids of nutrtion , if i let him get hungrey enough he will eat something but nothing newjust something he has had before he always wants milk rather then eat so if he has had milk and asks for more i know he is hungrey and i can get him to eat something one doctor said its called neophobia and is common in toddlers and should pass i'm not so sure.

[ladetore]

I read about your son, I have a similar problem with my 2 year old it started when he turned 1 he only eats certain things and always wants a drink , he drinks pedisure for me but i don;t want to rely on this hes healthy and doesn't look like he doesn't eat much, my inlaws don't feed him right and I think this maybe part of my problem he use to eat everything for me , but they simply wouldn't give him table food for fear of him choking they give him mashed potaoes and apple sauce pudding and oatmeal cookies and bananas and milk and juice I am very frusturated , i give him mac n cheese toast yogart and crackers and bananas friut snacks cereal bars but thats about all i get out of him my pedi said he has neophobia fear of new foods its common in toddlers and it should pass however i read a story on a 7 year old little girl who has it and still doesn't eat, I hope everything works out for you and your child I know how hard it is .

[countrylious]

I can relate to your situation.My son will be three in November and  he Won't eat any solids,just baby foods stage two and some of the stage three.I have tried several diffrent foods with him and he still wont eat them.His dr says it's probally just a phase and if he don't eat by the time he's three he's getting checked out,but half the doctors don't have a clue what their talking about.I feel like I know more than them.Of course it's my son and doctors are trying to say nothing is wrong with him.He wont drink from a sippie cup only if he has juice in it! Tried regular whole milk and seems like it gags him,so i give him stage two milk formula and i mix a few ounces of whole milk in with his formula to try and get him use to it and then take him off the bottle.His doctor said to keep him on the bottle even though he's two in a half but in his case has to be fed like a six month old if i took him off the bottle he would loose nutrition being he only eats baby food,so at this point im thinking its a sensorary disorder in with autism.I have to distract him with toys just to feed him.If he sees food coming his way without any distraction he would never eat.so im still working with my son daily trying to get him to eat before he turns three and be put through the ringer for testing with eating disorder,autism and adhd

[JBTerry]

No, it hasn't got resolved. It's still the same and he is now 4. Doctors and pediatricians are very puzzled.He still goes to preschool for early intervention and we work with him hours a day every day. Sorry I don't have more or better info for you but if you need any advice or want to know anything else, just ask. Trust me we have been through and are still going through it. He will eat some chips from time to time, or cookies. He does tell us that he hates to chew and doesn't like to swallow. He says it's not uncomfortable, but he tells us that he has no interest in eating at all . He has never once said 'I'm hungry" We give him breakfast carnations chocolate vitamin drink that you mix with milk. It has done wonders as far as keeping his vitamins and weight and health up to speed. Keep in touch and I pray your little one will get on the right track.

[JM9903]

Did this problem you posted in 2010 get resolved or better?  I have a 2 year old boy that is not eating solids unless its a cracker or banana.  I am hoping these children just grow out of this.  Thank you for letting me know at your earliest convienence.
JM

[JBTerry]

Thank You very much

[Zoelula]

This is something I haven't heard about before. I know a fair amount about eating disorders, but this is out of my area of expertise. It would seem that if it is a known, if uncommon problem, that there might be a therapist you could locate who is expert at treating this problem? My heart is with you. I hope you find some help for your little boy.

[JBTerry]

Yes he has been cleared py our pediatrician, pediatric dentist and gastro specialist. Our therapists have called it an eating disorder due to the improper intake of food. It could be texture issues or sensory disorder issues. Most of the time we think of eating disorders as starving yourself or inducing vomit or even eating too much but for toddlers who don't eat solids or chew, this is actually cosidered a disorder by pediatricians. There seem to be an alarming and growing number as far as texture issues with children, he does have a fear of swallowing and choking but we have exhausted ideas as to help him get over this.

[Zoelula]

It's highly unlikely that a child this age has an eating disorder. However, there is some sort of problem. I assume he has been checked out by a pediatric dentist as well as doctor? If all is ok medically you might want to speak with a child psychologist to see what could be going on. Good luck to you.