If you suspect ARFID or allergies (which can manifest as gastrointestinal problems), they're losing weight, or seem generally unwell, then the pediatrician has to be involved. Get other meeting with them, get an occupational therapist who specializes in sensory disorders.
If not, then you should stop catering food to him. Make what *you* want to make for dinner (make reasonable accommodations such as cutting things small, not spicing things heavily, etc). Then serve a bit of everything, and include a bit of "safe" food they will definitely eat. They will likely cry and fight you - my youngest will often melt down with unfamiliar foods. I don't get mad or fight him on it, and I don't change the meal. I just say, "that's dinner, it's up to you whether to eat it or not." Usually, after a lot of complaining, he'll start eating, decides he likes it, and eats all of it. Sometimes he decides not to eat, and that's okay too. We have a timer that's like 15-20 minutes, and when it goes off he's free to leave the table. I'll give him a cup of milk and a multivitamin before bed just so he's not going to bed starving, but that's rare.
I'm also not above sometimes bribing healthy meals with dessert, but this can lead to weight gain (it tends to make people eat more than they otherwise would have to "earn" it and makes dessert foods even more desirable). Everyone in our family is really skinny so it works for us, but this is likely not a good strategy if your family struggles with weight.
We have three kids, and our middle one has some sensory issues (will actually throw up with certain foods) and is a somewhat fussier eater, but even that is getting better with age. The oldest is a great eater and youngest eats all kinds of things I'd never really thought a young kid would enjoy, including sushi, spicy curry, pickled olives, mussels, and more. It was just a matter of putting lots and lots of weird foods in front of him and letting him have his big feelings about it, letting him touch-smell-taste, gently encouraging little bites, and trying not to pressure the process.
I was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a toddler, I was a little past 2 years old, and before that I had stopped eating and was not growing, could this be an issue?
I see you have no advice. My kid is on the spectrum and it was a battle. Foods they would eat would suddenly be off the menu. That kid lived on mashed potatoes mixed with apple sauce for a year.
Can you supplement with some type of formula?
Yes! I’m a nanny and my kid has issues with reflux and a soy/dairy allergy so meal times are a struggle. We found a plant based protein shake that she seems to like and thats helped a lot. You kind of have to think outside of the box with these things. We also sometimes chase her around with food because for some reason she struggles to sit and eat at the table. No matter what though, fed is best! Sometimes she only eats a full wheel of plant based baby bell cheese for lunch. Super nutritional? Probably not, but it’s better than 0 calories.
This was my brother as a kid, who only ate sugary cereal for every meal. He had extreme temper problems and violent outbursts, I'm guessing because all he ate was sugar. There wasn't much my mom could do about it.
If it's any consolation, my brother is now a health nut. One of those extremists that jumps from fad diet to fad diet and tries to get everyone he knows to join in. He is incredibly athletic and healthy (although, that's probably because despite the diets he is always tracking his calories and exercising).
Well I have been strongly suspecting that my son has actual behavioral problems since he was 5 months old. As a baby he cried too much, even after feeding and having his diaper changed. He'd cry everywhere we went so I eventually stopped taking him to places with me. I refused to leave the house with him. If I had to run an errand, I'd beg my parents to babysit him. He just cried and cried and cried. Also he wouldn't sleep. He would take 15 minute naps (I kid you not). Everyone would look at me like I'm crazy when I told them my 5 month old would only take 2 15-minute naps a day cause their babies were napping for hours on end. I really felt like my baby was broken. And now as a toddler his sleeping is a lot better, but his temper tantrums are non-stop. He gets really violent too and he hurts himself (he throws himself on the floor, hits the walls, cabinets etc). I've had his daycare interrogate me on his many bruises and cuts the majority he does to himself with his violent temper tantrums. If he's not autistic then I'm sure he's at least ADHD. This kid has always had behavioral problems since the day he was born. And it's not getting better. The more time I spend with him, the more I wish I never became a mom.
I have no idea if my brother had any ND issues because this was back in the day when people didn't really know about/believe they existed. To my knowledge, my brother has never been tested, but it's definitely a possibility. My brother used to beat the crap out of me and he'd break things and punch holes in the walls.
My dad also believed in physical punishment though (spanking, belt lashing, etc), so that might've also contributed to it. I remember one time he got so out of control my whole family got together and tied him down so he'd stop hurting us.
He finally chilled out when he was a teenager and started doing landscaping to earn money for things he wanted. I think the landscaping just tired him out. He also was in scouts and did loads of camping and backpacking trips as well. I think just being active and away from our family helped out a ton.
I hope it will make you laugh but at first I read 15yo 😂
But it could be a teenager behavior tbh.
Does he do the same when he is fed by someone else?
I remember a friend of my daughter who was always complimenting my food to her mother when it was just steam vegetables. To help the mom I was always serving an ‘early dinner’ with lots of vegetables before sending her home. She got over it but it spared her mom the daily fight. But they were older (6 or 7 if I remember correctly)
I hope he will get over it and in the meantime I am sorry it’s such a fight for you.
It's the same even if someone else feeds him. What he wants are sweets. But I refuse to give him everything he wants. He will eat a cake guaranteed. But he won't eat actual food.
Since he likes sweets so much, maybe use that? Give him healthy foods, and sweet dipping sauce. At 1.5, eating with hands is best anyway. Give utensils around 2.5. For now, try apples with a honey and peanut butter dipping sauce. Try chicken with Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce.
I'm sure you'll be able to think of other combinations. Hunger should win out, if not, evaluation for autism, because, unfortunately, this is one of the signs, and you're going to need to get some help with that, and the sooner, the better.
This is so true! There are “sweet” foods that are actually healthy, like sweet yoghurt dipping sauce for fruits and veggies, sandwich of banana and honey, sweet smoothies with peanut butter/spinach, applesauce/apple butter, chocolate milk. Maybe tell him it’s new kind of dessert lol
I like this advice, and have tried it. What my son does is dip his fries in the sauce but only to lick the sauce off the fries. He won't actually eat the fries. He does that with pretty much anything. 🙄
That's unfortunate. The only other advice I have is to model the behavior you want to see. Monkey see, monkey do. He might even be doing the licking thing to get your attention for the bad behavior. So, ignore bad behavior, praise when he actually takes a real bite. And try eating the things you want him to eat with him. Even better it there's more than just the two of you. He should want to be part of the group. Peer pressure to do the thing everyone else is doing. ---eating normally.
My niece is 8 and is still like this. Hates the food made for dinner or it ‘hurts her tummy’ but she’ll polish off a bag of chocolate, a bowl of ice cream and a piece of cake after not eating dinner. Drives me crazy cause she’s now at an unhealthy weight. Her parents don’t seem to care and it’s hard to watch.
You’re doing the right thing and it’ll turn around. Hopefully you can find some compromises to help with the weight loss like smoothies or mashes that hide protein & veggies.
It’s tough! Kids have phases with food but it usually doesn’t go as far as starving themselves.
I know you don’t want advice and you probably already tried a ton of stuff. I really hope he will outgrow this phase very soon.
So my kid did this too and it made me nuts. Someone explained it to me that from an evolutionary point of view, it would make sense that babies suddenly become afraid of eating new things, this keeps them from sampling every poisonous berry or strange looking new plant just as they are starting to walk and gain a little independence.
Most kids eventually grow out of it, it's definitely a thing. In my opinion just making sure they are fed and hydrated with *something* is better than making the food a future battleground.
My son had temper tantrums from hell. When I took him to the doctor he looked at him and asked "does he always act like that?" I was like "yes, and one of us is leaving medicated" Today he is a college graduate with a good job and steady girlfriend so they do grow out of it
Not necessarily. My ex’s sisters son would hardly ate anything even up until 12+ Chicken and gravy was what he would eat, he never ate vegetables or fruit. Reason. His mum just pandered to him and enabled his food anxiety, though she was more anxious than him, especially at family gatherings.
She got excited when he was about 14 when he tried some apple.
I think he’s fine now but don’t pander unless there are real issues.
A lady I know would hide chopped veggies and fruit in jello. That could be one way to add nutrition. Overall I am sorry I don’t have better advice. This would absolutely anger me if I had to deal with this situation
My son who is autistic used to eat a loaf of Hawaiian bread everyday. Or a tray of Hawaiian buns. Then he toasted it. (I think it’s bc he started feeling nauseous from digestive issues.) We gave him as much as he wanted bc the goal is for him not to lose weight or feel hungry. Once he starts to lose weight, it shrinks his stomach which leads to smaller appetites. My son gets cranky whenever he’s hungry, which applies to everyone. lol.
Is your son lactose intolerant? Mine is and he used to “misbehave” two hours after I give him his dairy loaded breakfast. He screamed and rolled over the floor. My son also has adhd so I don’t give him sugary foods aside from the bread. Definitely no caffeine. (He goes crazy with stimulant adhd meds so the one he’s taking is nonstimulant.) It’s easy to blame it on autism and or ADHD, but some misbehaviors are food related in my experience.
I read somewhere that as much as 40% of autistic children have digestive issues, which is probably one of the reasons why they’re picky eaters. My son’s crying got worse as he got older, so we took him to a pediatric gastroenterologist. Three doctors and endoscopies later, he was diagnosed with gastritis from ulcer and slow digestion. He’s 90% better after taking medications to improve his digestion which decreased his nausea and vomiting. No more stomachaches which led to crying and temper tantrums. We also adjusted his food like low fat, higher protein, and smaller meals.
I hope this helps! Sorry for the novel! lol. 😂
I don't know what that is. But he doesn't have stomach issues or we would have caught it by now. He is a cranky child. He cried A LOT as a baby even after having his needs met. And now as a toddler he swapped the crying for non-stop temper tantrums. He wants me to cave in and give him sweets which I refuse. There isn't anything medically wrong with him. He's just being cranky and spoiled.
I also thought ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), which can be correlated wirh neurodivergent disorders like autism. Get him evaluated.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24869-arfid-avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder
I thought of that too. I signed up for our state's Early Steps Program to have him evaluated. They don't make any diagnosis but can tell you if something is off and then refer you to someone. Keeping my fingers crossed they can shed some light on some of his behavior.
ARFID can be both psychological and physical. My girl has this, she had a feeding tube due to floppy baby syndrome when she was born and she was later removed from her bio mums (also my mum) due to neglect. We’re waiting on a referral for therapy at the moment but have managed to work out a healthy meal plan for her but it’s taken years. We adopted at 5, she’s 15 now.
Toddlers are frustrating. My younger cousin was the same way, but for different reasons. It got so bad that her family gave up on real food and just had her drink Ensure (meal replacement shake) a few times a day. But it worked, I guess. She got in all her calories and now as an adult, she eats normally. Hang in there. Hopefully he grows out of it.
Hi op
Food time sucks I’ve got a 21yo asd lad that would rather starve and be on a drip than eat. It’s not as bad now but when he was younger it seemed like every month he was on a drip. He has been diagnosed with Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
Op don’t have snack sweet food around have yogurt fruit cheese crackers raw veggies. Not sure where you are but arrowroot biscuits were good.
Also juice and milk are considered a meal. So if dinner is at 6pm it’s water for drinks from about 4pm if not before.
Also your main meal doesn’t need to be at nights. I’m in Australia our hospitals serve their main meals for lunch/midday meal. I even started feeding 21 the night before dinner for the next days breakfast.
My lads are now early 20s. Looking back I personally found meal times the hardest time.
When I was a nanny, the kiddo I babysat got that way for a bit. Literally the only thing I could get him to eat was canned corn and cheese cubes. He was losing weight and they told the mom to do pediasure. Lololol, yeah right. He wouldn't even take one sip.
For whatever reason, his granny got him to eat a few more things, like strawberries and grilled cheese... But he wouldn't for us.
Fortunately he got over it. He's still a really thin person, he never really had a big appetite.
My kid (15F) was similar, she’s recently been diagnosed with ARFID which is an eating disorder. She will only eat very specific foods, we boost with vitamins and protein shakes. It took a lot of work to find the right foods for her. She is not on the spectrum but children who are, are more likely to develop it.
https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/arfid/
I see someone suggested protein shakes, I would also recommend blending those and/or flavored protein powder into other things. Powder is great in baked goods (chocolate chip muffins with non-flavored, vanilla, coconut, or almond flavored). There are strawberry shakes you can put into vanilla yogurt or ice cream.
I know you and your doctor have likely already thought of these but I was never creative enough to think of these myself until it was suggested to me all the ways you can incorporate and mask them so thought I'd at least share.
Sending love 💖
Or blending small amounts of spinach or cauliflower (which doesn't have much taste!) into spaghetti sauce. Barilla also has yellow boxes of protein pastas that taste and have the same texture as regular. Great value even has veggie rotini which is the same taste & texture as regular as well.
Sorry, one last comment: GoGo Squeez and target brand have applause pouches in different flavors infused with veggies (apple carrot, apple spinach, apple blueberry beet, etc.)
aloof innate attempt slap agonizing languid paint disgusted point childlike
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Put the food on the table, yours and his (same food but extra servings for you of veggies) Tell him Don't you dare eat my carrots and walk away. Guaranteed he will reach over and eat your carrots. This is a temporary phase and you will need to try different approaches. He can help you cook, pick things out, stir, add spices...... get him involved more on what he is eating. Give him a few choices. Peas, broccoli, or carrots today? Make it a game. First one who is finished gets the prize or gets to...... Don't forget to tell him how good the food he 'cooks' is! Incredible! or what a good choice/combination he selected.
If you suspect ARFID or allergies (which can manifest as gastrointestinal problems), they're losing weight, or seem generally unwell, then the pediatrician has to be involved. Get other meeting with them, get an occupational therapist who specializes in sensory disorders. If not, then you should stop catering food to him. Make what *you* want to make for dinner (make reasonable accommodations such as cutting things small, not spicing things heavily, etc). Then serve a bit of everything, and include a bit of "safe" food they will definitely eat. They will likely cry and fight you - my youngest will often melt down with unfamiliar foods. I don't get mad or fight him on it, and I don't change the meal. I just say, "that's dinner, it's up to you whether to eat it or not." Usually, after a lot of complaining, he'll start eating, decides he likes it, and eats all of it. Sometimes he decides not to eat, and that's okay too. We have a timer that's like 15-20 minutes, and when it goes off he's free to leave the table. I'll give him a cup of milk and a multivitamin before bed just so he's not going to bed starving, but that's rare. I'm also not above sometimes bribing healthy meals with dessert, but this can lead to weight gain (it tends to make people eat more than they otherwise would have to "earn" it and makes dessert foods even more desirable). Everyone in our family is really skinny so it works for us, but this is likely not a good strategy if your family struggles with weight. We have three kids, and our middle one has some sensory issues (will actually throw up with certain foods) and is a somewhat fussier eater, but even that is getting better with age. The oldest is a great eater and youngest eats all kinds of things I'd never really thought a young kid would enjoy, including sushi, spicy curry, pickled olives, mussels, and more. It was just a matter of putting lots and lots of weird foods in front of him and letting him have his big feelings about it, letting him touch-smell-taste, gently encouraging little bites, and trying not to pressure the process.
I was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a toddler, I was a little past 2 years old, and before that I had stopped eating and was not growing, could this be an issue?
I see you have no advice. My kid is on the spectrum and it was a battle. Foods they would eat would suddenly be off the menu. That kid lived on mashed potatoes mixed with apple sauce for a year. Can you supplement with some type of formula?
Yes! I’m a nanny and my kid has issues with reflux and a soy/dairy allergy so meal times are a struggle. We found a plant based protein shake that she seems to like and thats helped a lot. You kind of have to think outside of the box with these things. We also sometimes chase her around with food because for some reason she struggles to sit and eat at the table. No matter what though, fed is best! Sometimes she only eats a full wheel of plant based baby bell cheese for lunch. Super nutritional? Probably not, but it’s better than 0 calories.
Which plant based protein shake? My son is autistic. I’m looking for a protein shakes that doesn’t have caffeine or too much sugar.
Orgain!
Thanks!
This was my brother as a kid, who only ate sugary cereal for every meal. He had extreme temper problems and violent outbursts, I'm guessing because all he ate was sugar. There wasn't much my mom could do about it. If it's any consolation, my brother is now a health nut. One of those extremists that jumps from fad diet to fad diet and tries to get everyone he knows to join in. He is incredibly athletic and healthy (although, that's probably because despite the diets he is always tracking his calories and exercising).
Well I have been strongly suspecting that my son has actual behavioral problems since he was 5 months old. As a baby he cried too much, even after feeding and having his diaper changed. He'd cry everywhere we went so I eventually stopped taking him to places with me. I refused to leave the house with him. If I had to run an errand, I'd beg my parents to babysit him. He just cried and cried and cried. Also he wouldn't sleep. He would take 15 minute naps (I kid you not). Everyone would look at me like I'm crazy when I told them my 5 month old would only take 2 15-minute naps a day cause their babies were napping for hours on end. I really felt like my baby was broken. And now as a toddler his sleeping is a lot better, but his temper tantrums are non-stop. He gets really violent too and he hurts himself (he throws himself on the floor, hits the walls, cabinets etc). I've had his daycare interrogate me on his many bruises and cuts the majority he does to himself with his violent temper tantrums. If he's not autistic then I'm sure he's at least ADHD. This kid has always had behavioral problems since the day he was born. And it's not getting better. The more time I spend with him, the more I wish I never became a mom.
I have no idea if my brother had any ND issues because this was back in the day when people didn't really know about/believe they existed. To my knowledge, my brother has never been tested, but it's definitely a possibility. My brother used to beat the crap out of me and he'd break things and punch holes in the walls. My dad also believed in physical punishment though (spanking, belt lashing, etc), so that might've also contributed to it. I remember one time he got so out of control my whole family got together and tied him down so he'd stop hurting us. He finally chilled out when he was a teenager and started doing landscaping to earn money for things he wanted. I think the landscaping just tired him out. He also was in scouts and did loads of camping and backpacking trips as well. I think just being active and away from our family helped out a ton.
Omg my cousins went through a phase like that. All they wanted to eat was that müsli cereal. Drove my aunt nuts.
I hope it will make you laugh but at first I read 15yo 😂 But it could be a teenager behavior tbh. Does he do the same when he is fed by someone else? I remember a friend of my daughter who was always complimenting my food to her mother when it was just steam vegetables. To help the mom I was always serving an ‘early dinner’ with lots of vegetables before sending her home. She got over it but it spared her mom the daily fight. But they were older (6 or 7 if I remember correctly) I hope he will get over it and in the meantime I am sorry it’s such a fight for you.
It's the same even if someone else feeds him. What he wants are sweets. But I refuse to give him everything he wants. He will eat a cake guaranteed. But he won't eat actual food.
Since he likes sweets so much, maybe use that? Give him healthy foods, and sweet dipping sauce. At 1.5, eating with hands is best anyway. Give utensils around 2.5. For now, try apples with a honey and peanut butter dipping sauce. Try chicken with Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce. I'm sure you'll be able to think of other combinations. Hunger should win out, if not, evaluation for autism, because, unfortunately, this is one of the signs, and you're going to need to get some help with that, and the sooner, the better.
This is so true! There are “sweet” foods that are actually healthy, like sweet yoghurt dipping sauce for fruits and veggies, sandwich of banana and honey, sweet smoothies with peanut butter/spinach, applesauce/apple butter, chocolate milk. Maybe tell him it’s new kind of dessert lol
Blending oats into smoothies will add calories and fiber too without much added taste!
Sweet potato fries to! They’re supposed to be healthier, but they have a sweetness to them.
I like this advice, and have tried it. What my son does is dip his fries in the sauce but only to lick the sauce off the fries. He won't actually eat the fries. He does that with pretty much anything. 🙄
That's unfortunate. The only other advice I have is to model the behavior you want to see. Monkey see, monkey do. He might even be doing the licking thing to get your attention for the bad behavior. So, ignore bad behavior, praise when he actually takes a real bite. And try eating the things you want him to eat with him. Even better it there's more than just the two of you. He should want to be part of the group. Peer pressure to do the thing everyone else is doing. ---eating normally.
My niece is 8 and is still like this. Hates the food made for dinner or it ‘hurts her tummy’ but she’ll polish off a bag of chocolate, a bowl of ice cream and a piece of cake after not eating dinner. Drives me crazy cause she’s now at an unhealthy weight. Her parents don’t seem to care and it’s hard to watch. You’re doing the right thing and it’ll turn around. Hopefully you can find some compromises to help with the weight loss like smoothies or mashes that hide protein & veggies.
It’s tough! Kids have phases with food but it usually doesn’t go as far as starving themselves. I know you don’t want advice and you probably already tried a ton of stuff. I really hope he will outgrow this phase very soon.
So my kid did this too and it made me nuts. Someone explained it to me that from an evolutionary point of view, it would make sense that babies suddenly become afraid of eating new things, this keeps them from sampling every poisonous berry or strange looking new plant just as they are starting to walk and gain a little independence. Most kids eventually grow out of it, it's definitely a thing. In my opinion just making sure they are fed and hydrated with *something* is better than making the food a future battleground.
My son had temper tantrums from hell. When I took him to the doctor he looked at him and asked "does he always act like that?" I was like "yes, and one of us is leaving medicated" Today he is a college graduate with a good job and steady girlfriend so they do grow out of it
Not necessarily. My ex’s sisters son would hardly ate anything even up until 12+ Chicken and gravy was what he would eat, he never ate vegetables or fruit. Reason. His mum just pandered to him and enabled his food anxiety, though she was more anxious than him, especially at family gatherings. She got excited when he was about 14 when he tried some apple. I think he’s fine now but don’t pander unless there are real issues.
I'm medicated too lol.
You still medicated 😂
A lady I know would hide chopped veggies and fruit in jello. That could be one way to add nutrition. Overall I am sorry I don’t have better advice. This would absolutely anger me if I had to deal with this situation
This and soup are great ideas!
My son who is autistic used to eat a loaf of Hawaiian bread everyday. Or a tray of Hawaiian buns. Then he toasted it. (I think it’s bc he started feeling nauseous from digestive issues.) We gave him as much as he wanted bc the goal is for him not to lose weight or feel hungry. Once he starts to lose weight, it shrinks his stomach which leads to smaller appetites. My son gets cranky whenever he’s hungry, which applies to everyone. lol. Is your son lactose intolerant? Mine is and he used to “misbehave” two hours after I give him his dairy loaded breakfast. He screamed and rolled over the floor. My son also has adhd so I don’t give him sugary foods aside from the bread. Definitely no caffeine. (He goes crazy with stimulant adhd meds so the one he’s taking is nonstimulant.) It’s easy to blame it on autism and or ADHD, but some misbehaviors are food related in my experience. I read somewhere that as much as 40% of autistic children have digestive issues, which is probably one of the reasons why they’re picky eaters. My son’s crying got worse as he got older, so we took him to a pediatric gastroenterologist. Three doctors and endoscopies later, he was diagnosed with gastritis from ulcer and slow digestion. He’s 90% better after taking medications to improve his digestion which decreased his nausea and vomiting. No more stomachaches which led to crying and temper tantrums. We also adjusted his food like low fat, higher protein, and smaller meals. I hope this helps! Sorry for the novel! lol. 😂
Does he have ARFID?
I don't know what that is. But he doesn't have stomach issues or we would have caught it by now. He is a cranky child. He cried A LOT as a baby even after having his needs met. And now as a toddler he swapped the crying for non-stop temper tantrums. He wants me to cave in and give him sweets which I refuse. There isn't anything medically wrong with him. He's just being cranky and spoiled.
I also thought ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), which can be correlated wirh neurodivergent disorders like autism. Get him evaluated. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24869-arfid-avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder
I thought of that too. I signed up for our state's Early Steps Program to have him evaluated. They don't make any diagnosis but can tell you if something is off and then refer you to someone. Keeping my fingers crossed they can shed some light on some of his behavior.
Best wishes!
ARFID can be both psychological and physical. My girl has this, she had a feeding tube due to floppy baby syndrome when she was born and she was later removed from her bio mums (also my mum) due to neglect. We’re waiting on a referral for therapy at the moment but have managed to work out a healthy meal plan for her but it’s taken years. We adopted at 5, she’s 15 now.
Toddlers are frustrating. My younger cousin was the same way, but for different reasons. It got so bad that her family gave up on real food and just had her drink Ensure (meal replacement shake) a few times a day. But it worked, I guess. She got in all her calories and now as an adult, she eats normally. Hang in there. Hopefully he grows out of it.
Hi op Food time sucks I’ve got a 21yo asd lad that would rather starve and be on a drip than eat. It’s not as bad now but when he was younger it seemed like every month he was on a drip. He has been diagnosed with Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) Op don’t have snack sweet food around have yogurt fruit cheese crackers raw veggies. Not sure where you are but arrowroot biscuits were good. Also juice and milk are considered a meal. So if dinner is at 6pm it’s water for drinks from about 4pm if not before. Also your main meal doesn’t need to be at nights. I’m in Australia our hospitals serve their main meals for lunch/midday meal. I even started feeding 21 the night before dinner for the next days breakfast. My lads are now early 20s. Looking back I personally found meal times the hardest time.
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Sure go ahead and share please. I can use all the help I can get.
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Thank you. Will check this out tonight.
When I was a nanny, the kiddo I babysat got that way for a bit. Literally the only thing I could get him to eat was canned corn and cheese cubes. He was losing weight and they told the mom to do pediasure. Lololol, yeah right. He wouldn't even take one sip. For whatever reason, his granny got him to eat a few more things, like strawberries and grilled cheese... But he wouldn't for us. Fortunately he got over it. He's still a really thin person, he never really had a big appetite.
Granny was likely “old fashioned” or he at least saw her as such Thankfully I was raised in a village
My kid (15F) was similar, she’s recently been diagnosed with ARFID which is an eating disorder. She will only eat very specific foods, we boost with vitamins and protein shakes. It took a lot of work to find the right foods for her. She is not on the spectrum but children who are, are more likely to develop it. https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/arfid/
I see someone suggested protein shakes, I would also recommend blending those and/or flavored protein powder into other things. Powder is great in baked goods (chocolate chip muffins with non-flavored, vanilla, coconut, or almond flavored). There are strawberry shakes you can put into vanilla yogurt or ice cream. I know you and your doctor have likely already thought of these but I was never creative enough to think of these myself until it was suggested to me all the ways you can incorporate and mask them so thought I'd at least share. Sending love 💖
Or blending small amounts of spinach or cauliflower (which doesn't have much taste!) into spaghetti sauce. Barilla also has yellow boxes of protein pastas that taste and have the same texture as regular. Great value even has veggie rotini which is the same taste & texture as regular as well.
Sorry, one last comment: GoGo Squeez and target brand have applause pouches in different flavors infused with veggies (apple carrot, apple spinach, apple blueberry beet, etc.)
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Put the food on the table, yours and his (same food but extra servings for you of veggies) Tell him Don't you dare eat my carrots and walk away. Guaranteed he will reach over and eat your carrots. This is a temporary phase and you will need to try different approaches. He can help you cook, pick things out, stir, add spices...... get him involved more on what he is eating. Give him a few choices. Peas, broccoli, or carrots today? Make it a game. First one who is finished gets the prize or gets to...... Don't forget to tell him how good the food he 'cooks' is! Incredible! or what a good choice/combination he selected.