Lack of proper diet

Hello Vishal, and welcome to this parenting community :) Your son may be looking for some change in food menu or you can say ... variety. You can introduce him with new foods which you may have kept away from him till now because of age or something. If he likes eggs, you can give him in the form of omelette if he used to have it in boiled form or any change. My son is 2. 2 yrs and he goes to preschool. As a habit I daily put 4 almonds, 4 cashews and few raisins in his lunch with his proper food. Its in our routine now... and if miss it he complaints about it .... You have to indulge him in some activities where he can think that he is also part of food preparation team and may take some more interest in eating. You cann't imagine I feed my son with fruits when he is in bathroom getting ready for bath or playing with water. Many a times my kids (I have a 4 yrs daughter as well) have their food when I narrate some story to them while they eat. We do have 1 junk day and 1 maggi day in our house. And sometimes for sake of my comfort u can say or to give them some taste .... aloo parantha with butter works for me. By the age of 2 ..kids develop their preferences :) All the Best :)

Hello Vishal. In addition to what Indu has suggested, may I also recommened that you take a look at the following link. There are many links within this link also with talks dealing with fussy eaters and the like. You may find some solution here as well. Here it is https://www.parentune.com/parent-talk/baby-doesnt-eat/334

Thanks Indu and Dyuti. Good advice. Will try putting 4 almonds, 4 cashews and few raisins in his lunch too. But, just a small concern: I think these dry fruits are warm in nature, is it ok to give these to toddlers in summer? won't they cause heating in the body. My son does eats 4-5 almonds at a time, but I always have this fear and stop him after that. pls advise. Thanks.

Vishal, I used to think same and asked my daughter pediatrician about it, and he told me the general view of people regarding dry fruits not correct. I don't consider either its summer or winters, its part of their diet. Normally people advise almonds to keep in water overnight before giving to kids. Nuts are reservoir of minerals and vitamins ... and definitely the fruits of season which u have told ur son in any case eating :). One more thing, I have started giving my son Pediasure - vanilla flavor and he loves it ... many people are against pediasure or any supplement, but I have started it now .. not giving him 5 scoops as they recommend ... but yes 2-3 scoops in milk. But last not the least .. There is no replacement of nuts, fruits and cereals :)

Great advice by Indu here. I would also recommend Pediasure. My daughter was an extremely fussy eater and pediasure really helped with her growth and immunity. I gradually cut down and stopped pediasure for her (she is 4 years now) and there has not been a change in her appetite. She is eating well, is active and alert. You could make your son get some outdoor activity before meal times to help him build up his appetite. Try not to force or stress out your child during mealtimes as he may develop a negative attitude with food. Instead try and make it a fun time and let him eat how much he wants to make him take interest in food. He will gradually enjoy eating his meals and I can say this from experience :) Toddlers' tastes change all the time, so please have patience and keep giving him all kinds of food in rotation. He may suddenly enjoy eating something he avoided earlier :)

DEar Vishal... some lovely tips here by mums who are dealing with this everyday. Just wanted to add, when my son was younger, I would paranthas in diff shapes that he liked - cars, moon , star , truck (difficult!), human figures , even an outline of his favorite character,,and then as he would take each bite, taking off the wheel of a car or a bite off a star, he would love it..

One suggestion I would like to give is not to force feed your child. It is the start of eating disorders. You have to find out what your child likes with trial and error. My daughter would not have milk but loved cheese. Still does. She hates veggies but loves fish. Sometimes she would just not have rice, but if she was offered roti, she would have one whole with milk. I recently found out that while she always rejected milk with complan etc, she actually likes milk with just a bit of sugar. So give your child a few options at every meal (rice, roti, chicken, fish, eggs, different veggies) and find out his favourites and then mix and match accordingly.

Hi all! Returning here after a long time. Thanks for all the suggestions.