3 year old won't eat anything

How long can she go without food? Does she get hungry? It is unlikely a child will starve themselves to death unless she is mentally ill.

Some children see food encounters as a stressful battle ground, with food as a potential physical assault. The advice my mother got many years ago from the family doctor was "leave food around, and don't let him see you watching". I can assure you I did not starve !

Well she will go all day with nothing, I have found that much out. She screams when I eat, and of course I offer her everything I have. So I know shes hungry. Its been going on for almost a month. She has probably lost about 1-2lbs. She screams for nutrition drinks to fill her up though. I tried going 3 days without giving her one.. but without her eating I had to break down and give it to her the 4th morning because I dont want her to wither away to nothing. I'm starting to think its just time to go to the doctor for it.

Yes, definitely you need to see a pediatrician about this. It is not normal for a child to willfully go without eating for so long. It is beyond pickiness.

does she reject your food when you offer it?

has she been checked for a sore throat etc? when was she last seen by a doctor?

She always rejects everything I offer her. I also try to make her chicken when I sit down to eat. She went to the doctor early November because she had the 24hr flu bug. I'm going to be taking her to the doctor in the next week or so because of the weight loss.

formulas can be hard on a babies body. especially if they have adapted to solid foods already. They are heavy on chemical additives and not on nutrition.

do you have a good blender?

1) take her to a doctor

2) try putting just fresh fruits with some greens in the blender with a little water or milk... if it doesnt blend enough to get rid of the chunks.. freeze it first so that it comes out like a smoothie. Try giving her that instead.

She may be REALLY thirsty too and since she can not discern the need.. just wantes drinks after drinks because she isnt satisfying her need. Since she also gets her hunger sedated, the two may have just begun to be hand in hand in her mind.

This is ok so long as there are no other health issues going on. It could just a texture preference.. or taste.. who knows.
But experiment with smoothies.
Do NOT add sugar, or salt or anything else. Let the fruits be the sweetner. A semi black frozen banana added to a smoothie makes it SUPER sweet .


but .. again..
first step GO TO A DOCTOR. That is not normal by any means.

a few days? oh yeah.. ALL kids do that. Some can even hold out for a week.
A month? Ohhh no.

Yes, a doctor.

On another forum I visit a parent told a story similar to this. The child had some kind of problem with his/her esophagus that made swallowing very painful. They had to use a feeding tube while the problem was corrected but everything turned out just fine.

I have no idea if this might be your child's problem of if there is some other problem but I would begin investigating right away.

Good luck to you both!

Did you find any answers? We have a 3.5 year old boy who only eats a very limited amt of foods: chicken nuggets on occassion, milk, fries, doritos, some cereals. Same, he chooses to drink his meals when he is hungry, but even that has started to slow down. This has been going on for ...always. He pretends to try and eat things to pacify the rest of us, but often will just lick it and throw it away. Even candy!

Hi, it's a couple years later. What worked for you?

I can tell you this from experience that kids get bored very easily. Whether it's toys or food, they need variation. There are so many things you can try making for her. Try to giver her something new so she'll be interested. She needs to eat veggies also and you'll get ideas for kids food on the internet. Try involving her in someway in the kitchen. She'll feel important and happy to eat as well. Early age nutrition is very important.

Hi Sue,

I am facing the same problem with my 3 y/o son right now. He started preschool a week and 1/2 ago. after the 1st day of school, he hasn't been eating since. He would scream/yell when I try to feed him. I leave his favorite food on the table, he didn't touch a thing. After a week, we got Pediasure and have to force-feeding him. I took him to the doctor and he said nothing to worry about. I am still not convinced and very concerned. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.