Toddler making himself throw up

Question

My son will be 3 in August and is really picky when it comes to meals. He just looks at something and says he does not like it. Now the past couple days he has been making himself throw up at lunch. Yesterday some tartar sauce just touched one of his fish sticks and he got mad and made himself throw up. He threw up all over all the other kids plates too so the sitter had to re-make lunch. Then today at lunch he said he didn't want the food she made, but he ate it anyway and then made himself throw up. He threw up everything he ate. He ate a good supper (hot dogs and a banana) last night but most nights it's a struggle. I just don't know if this is something I should be worried about or not.

SaniQ · Answer

My 4 year old cousin constantly makes himself throw up after he eats a meal. He's being doing this since he was around 18 months old. Recently, he has lost a lot of weight because he doesn't like to eat much. He's been to the GP, and there isn't anything physically wrong with him. He just eats very little, then throws up whatever he eats. He's also very spoilt, and his mom doesn't feed him meals. Is this just a behavioural problem? Please help.

RockRose · Answer

rockroll,  how is your son "making" himself throw up?  It sounds like he's throwing up and hates meals because he might be throwing it all up.

rocknrollniglet · Answer

I have a 3 yr old Grandson who makes himself throw up at every meal. He doesn't put his fingers down his throat or anything like that. He throws up so controlled it's right on the plate! As soon as he is walking to the table for any meal he is already starting to pout and get upset. I'm so stressed out over this It's got to the point I dread any meal! He has even done this with snacks!

mum2beagain · Answer

I'd also get this cheeked with the ped, my son has a terrible over active gag reflex along with a weak chew, he has thrown up more meals in his seven years than I have in my whole life. It is something he just cannot help but occupational therapy has really helped him.

Berdisa · Answer

My son (will be 3 in June) is doing the same thing.  He had a few random vomiting episodes in the month of February.  His actions do not involve sticking his hands into his mouth though.  Of course this alarmed me in the beginning and I assumed he was sick, but then he'd be fine.  I'm realizing it happens mostly during mealtimes.  Last week, everyone in my family had a stomach virus and we were all throwing up.  My son has recovered from the bug (no more fever or diarrhea at all), but will still randomly vomit and it is always associated with eating.  Or not wanting to eat, rather.  I began to become suspicious about it and started asking if his belly just throw up or if he made his belly throw up.  He says "I just make it throw up", very casually.  I'm not sure if he understands what he is saying, but it really seems like he has figured out how to manipulate his tongue in the back of his throat to make himself vomit.  Sometimes he burps first, like he is forcing a burp.  I'm still not convinced if he is doing it on purpose or not, so I think a trip to the Dr is in order.  I try not to make a big deal about it, but when he vomits in a restaurant its kind of hard not to.

allmymarbles · Answer

Maybe he has just learned a neat trick. How many kids would think to stick their fingers down their throats? He probably feels very clever. Now if he doesn't like what he has been given to eat he uses his trick. Presuming he is not ill, this too shall pass. I am not so sure, however, that I would cater to his eating preferences. This could give you a lot of trouble down the line. And since he sometimes throws up food he likes, well, that suggests a little manipulation.

AHP84 · Answer

Sounds like it's just a phase that he's going through during times he doesn't feel like eating. Seems as if he is seeking attention as well, if he is doing it on purpose by sticking his fingers down his throat to cause it to happen--maybe because he doesn't want to sit there with food in front of him, unwilling to eat, but with nothing else to do while everyone else eats.
I think you're on the right path in just putting a meal in front of him and not forcing anything. If he wants to eat, he'll eat when he's hungry and not throw up if he's hungry enough to want to stay satisfied. When he does vomit, try to be as non-reactive as possible--just clean him up and offer him nothing else to eat if he can't eat when it's time to eat.
I think if this behavior continues for more than a month, then maybe see if his pediatrician thinks it's a psychological issue that needs a referral to a child psychologist or some other specialist.

domandcamismom · Answer

He has calmed down with it since.  This all happened last week Wednesday and Thursday.  He did ok Friday and through the weekend.  He has made himself throw up before this too though.  When we put him in his highchair one night to eat he said he didn't want supper (which was chicken nuggets which he loves) and then after a couple minutes he stuck his hand in his mouth and threw up all over his plate.  It's more like he is doing it for attention or to get out of eating something he doesn't want rather than just sitting and not eating.  We never force him to eat anything he does not want because there is no point in it.  He will just get more upset and associate meals with us yelling at him.  I just don't know where he is getting this from or how he even learned to do it.

AHP84 · Answer

I agree with margy; if this has only been going on the last couple of days, as you said, then he may have a stomach bug. My family just got over a stomach bug and although in general, it makes you feel very sick as well as nauseous, sometimes it just makes you nauseous. I was fortunate to just get the nausea and didn't vomit, but my husband and two sons were vomiting up everything they ate for about a day and a half. In my case, I just felt queasy and didn't want to eat...if that's the case for your son, then he's too young to express that he feels nauseous and has no appetite. All he knows is food doesn't look or smell appealing, and it sets off the nausea into vomiting.
That could be the case, or...
He may just be a picky eater and psychologically, he can't handle what he doesn't find appealing without vomiting.
My oldest son, who is six, isn't a super picky eater, but every now and then, he gets weird about food and says things like he doesn't like this or that because it looks yucky or smells gross...yet he's eaten the same thing many times before. He can get himself so worked up over food he doesn't want to eat, insisting he doesn't like it, that he will gag and sometimes throw up the second it goes in his mouth. For example--he normally loves deviled eggs. But one day, he said he'd eat one, but when we put it on his plate, he decided it was no longer appealing. He attempted to eat it anyway, and after holding it in his mouth for a few minutes and trying to restrain his gagging, he lost it. So it wasn't necessarily that he made himself vomit, but he had mentally built himself up so much about not liking what he was going to eat that there was no going back. It's purely psychological, and most days, he isn't like that and even if he thinks he doesn't like something, he can handle eating it. But other days, he just can't...and I don't push it...because I don't want to mop up his puke, lol.
I'd recommend having your son checked out by his pedatrician to rule out a stomach virus first. If he's healthy, this is most likely a phase...you just need to find ways to work with it or around it.
A website at www. thesneakychef. com (without the spaces) is a great source to find recipies that include veggies and fruits and other healthy foods that can be mixed into appealing foods that don't make your son gag and puke.
And if his issue continues over the next few weeks, I'd recommend having his pediatrician do an allergy test or blood testing to see if he doesn't have a parasite or some sort of digestive disorder.
Good luck!

margypops · Answer

I know small children dont like strong tastes like Tartar sauce, why is he having it on his plate? , are you sure it isnt a virus he has picked up .I think a trip to get him checked out is in order, as if hes not sick something is upsetting him .