Toddler Too Busy to Eat

I think you need a schedule. When mine were 3 they sat at the table and ate dinner with the family.

Read the book "How to get your child to eat (but not too much)". Lots of good, reasonable advice about avoiding food battles.

If he's drinking milk through the day, he's probably getting plenty of protein, fat, and calories.

It is normal for hunger to vary at different ages. There were times I swore my child photosynthesized.......

He will be fine.
He will not starve.

My son was like that too and picky and loved milk.
He is super healthy, tall, lean, strong and always in the upper 97th percentiles and he grows like a weed.

My son is now 4 almost 5. Now at his age, his palate has NATURALLY expanded.
We do not, battle about eating or food.
My son eats if hungry and stops eating when full. He KNOWS his body's cues. That is how it should be.

My friend's son, is that way too. Like your son and mine.
He is tall, healthy, strong, lean and grows like a weed. Loves milk too.
He is fine.
No food hang-ups.

There have been days my son is not hungry either. And my friend's son too.
Fine.
They don't starve
And at growth-spurts, they eat a ton.
Healthy stuff.

My son was a picky eater since he started solids at 6 months old. NO biggie. We do not, battle about food or eating.
It is a natural progression and my son now eats more variety. He is also healthy and NEVER, eats out of unhealthy reasons: such as boredom or stress or only to please others or for emotional hang ups.

And yes, my son did sit at the table at meal times. It was fine.

I agree with trying not to let eating ever become a battle. When my son (now 3) went through a short picky spell about a year ago, his doctor said something I'll never forget. He said with little kids, forget about a balanced day. If you can get a balanced week, you're doing awesome. I think its really natural for them to have days when they eat more than others. Even now I see this pattern with my son; although thankfully he is a great eater, he eats a wide variety of foods, there are days when he eats very little and days when he eats like a horse. I just follow his lead. I know that's easy for me to say since overall he does eat well, but I think if you can focus on not letting it become a battle you'll all be better off. What if you limit his milk but offer unlimited water - so at some point in the day you say you know what, you've had enough milk today, our bodies need lots of different things, so you can have water if you're thirsty and food if you're hungry. This way you won't feel like you're depriving him altogether, water is healthy too, and you might encourage him to listen to his body and pick up some cues he's been too busy to notice. Just a thought. You're doing great, hang in there.

My son is 2.5, but he loves to eat, so I dont know if our kids can relate, but I have a booster chair for my son that I STRAP him into for meals. He cant get out. I let him sit there for awhile, it takes a long time, but he eventually eats all his food and lets me know hes done so I can un-strap him.
Another thing, our Pedi brought to my attention that my son was drinking too much milk and would interfere with meals. She suggested no milk (just water) at meals so they dont fill up on milk and not eat. She suggested offering milk after meals.
My son has started eating a lot more because I dont allow him to drink milk all day.
Good luck with your little fella!

try smoothies - fruit and organic yoghurt (only). He might be more accepting of a smoothie because it's a liquid.
plus what other ladies have said:
restrict the milk - filling up on it and he needs more variety in his diet
insist on sitting at the table for meals - you don't have to eat but you do have to sit and 'there's no more food until breakfast so east now' (We say this 10 times during dinner and then let our son down from the table)

Having him sit at the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner with the expectation to at least eat "something" that is offered and limiting the inbetween milk by substituting with a yogurt or piece of fruit might help. Milk is a heavy filler inbetween meals and could be limiting is real appetite or desire to try new things. When he asks for milk do you give it to him and let him go or do you have him sit at the table to drink it? He sounds like he doesnt want to have to sit for a meal, but he is almost 3 and should be learning to control himself long enough to stay at the table and eat.

Personally I would require him to at least sit at the table during meal times, to get him used to the routine and provide some structure around meals. He doesn't HAVE to eat what is there, but in my house, if you don't eat what's on your plate for lunch or dinner, I'll save it for you. If you're hungry in a 1/2 hour, you can have your leftover lunch or dinner (preserved/reheated so it's at least somewhat appetizing!). I'm not a stickler for breakfast since breakfast foods pretty much need to be eaten right away...but the kids do have to sit at the table during breakfast too. The intention is that if they realize they are going to have to eat what's for lunch or dinner anyway, they might as well go ahead and do it at the mealtime. It's worked wonders for my kids, who used to picky about their food, get up, then want a snack a short time later. That's not allowed anymore (within reason) and they can only snack if they've first eaten their healthy food.

My pediatrician told me that filling them up with milk all the time can actually lead to a possible iron deficiency.

Stop giving him milk all day. He's filling up on it and has no reason to eat much else. When he's thirsty during the day, give him water. Milk only at meals, and only sitting at the table/high chair.

Offer him little snacks throughout the day. Toddlers don't fit well into the 3 meals and a snack schedule. Feed him a small breakfast when he gets up (just offer him some cereal with milk, or something), then offer him something else a few hours later. One snack can be a fruit, another a grain or cheese, etc. Keep lunch and dinner portions small for him too. A lot of "picky eaters" are really just overwhelmed by how much they are served! (both variety and portions). Always have 1 thing you know he likes, and don't expect him to try more than 1 new thing at a meal.
Make meal time a family time. Fix your lunch and his, then sit and eat together. Yes, he'll want to get up and run off. But if you can get him to sit still and talk to you for 1-2 minutes (the length of attention you can expect at this age), he'll be building a habit of spending meals with family. And he will probably start eating at least that one thing he likes while he sits there (especially if he hasn't filled up on milk already!)

Feeding can drive you nuts! :) A couple things come to mind...
1. Absolutely stop the milk. AND repalce it with water. When small bellies get milk and/or juice, it removes the urge to eat and gives just enough calories. Buy some silly straws and learn to enjoy water. After a couple days of a drink shift, his belly will probably wake up. Perhaps he can have milk with a meal--but be sure it's the appropriate quantity (google it--I'm thinking 1/2 cup is a serving for that age, either 3-4 times a day, unless he eats icecream, yogurt, or cheese, then less milk).
2. You might involve him in the choice: choose a bread, a fruit or veggie, and a protein. When my kids were younger, I actually had a food pyramid poster so they could begin learning. :)
3. Let him feed himsef. It can be finger food, food that he dips, a fork--whatever.
4. If you find he can't tolerate certain textures, or will chew up food but refuse to swallow and spits it out instead, find a speech language pathologist (or occupational therapist) that provides pediatric feeding therapy. It works wonders! But first rule out problems by ditching the drinks. Good luck!

My nephew is almost 7 and he still will only eat particular foods. My in-laws have him sit at the table during meals, but his meal is often (always) not what they are eating. He would starve if they did not make this concession. Thank God for the vegetable called ketchup!