“What causes poor appetite in toddlers?”
My toddler daughter has a poor appetite. What causes poor appetite in toddlers?
3 Answers
Poor appetite in toddlers can have a variety of causes from behavioral to underlying medical issues. You want to be sure that the toddler is not “filling up” on other things like milk, juices, and frequent snacking throughout the day. It is quite common for toddlers to over-consume milk or juice. This leads to a decreased appetite for food and can cause significant anemia to develop. At times, the underlying cause can be behavioral. Toddlers may refuse to eat because they are trying to exert their own independence and don’t want to feel like they are being forced. Encouraging self feeding and not force feeding are important to minimize this component of it. If the above changes do not seem to produce any positive change, I would recommend having the child evaluated by the doctor as they can sometimes have underlying reflux or GI issues that may be contributing to their lack of desire to eat.
Toddlers go through a period where their growth slows down a lot, so their body compensates by decreasing their appetite. It is called the toddler appetite slump and occurs around 18 months to two years. Very normal. Just give her time.
Hello,
Thank you for your question, “My toddler daughter has a poor appetite. What causes poor appetite in toddlers?” Do you remember that old TV commercial, “is it real or is it Memorex?” It’s not that a toddler can’t have a poor appetite suggestive of a problem, but more likely than not “poor appetite” is in the eye of the beholder.
If a parent suspects there might be a toddler appetite problem, he or she, or better yet, they, should discuss with the child’s pediatrician or family doctor. Toddlers are normally seen for well care at 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age. This issue can be raised at any of these well checkups or at anytime as a “problem” visit. In addition to taking a diet history and examining the child, the doctor will look at the child’s growth curve or growth pattern as indicated by the child’s history of height and weight measurements since birth when seen for checkups and problem visits. If the child is growing at a normal rate or speed for height and weight, almost always there is no problem.
Children can be chunky, slender or average build and all grow at a normal rate of height and weight gain. Gaining weight at a faster rate than average for age can be a problem as obesity (over-weightness) is our country’s number one health problem. Gaining weight at a slower than normal speed or rate can also be a problem. Slow weight gain compared to height gain suggest inadequate calories or some health problem converting nutrition to calories and growth.
So let’s presume that you raise this issue with your child’s doctor who advises you that your child is gaining weight and height at a normal speed (rate) for age. This should sound reassuring, yet you still feel your child’s appetite is not normal. At this point the doctor or his staff, or a dietician the doctor recommends, should review a typical 3-day diet record with you of what your child typically consumes. The doctor is looking for an adequate nutritional variety and appropriate caloric intake for age for your child. Presuming that this dietary record is also reassuring, your doctor will probably make the following points:
1] A toddler’s appetite is often sporadic and not the same day to day.
2] Toddlers will almost always take what they need nutritionally over a span of a few days, if not every day.
3] Don’t accept the first 10-15 NO’s from your toddler. Just place the food in small quantities of a healthy safe variety on the surface in front of your child with a smile on your face and exert no pressure.
4] This is the tag line on toddler nutrition for the 21st century: “Parents provide; children decide.”
5] There are many parent/physician tricks to amplify the above general principles, but let’s leave them to your doctor, the staff or your dietician to review with you.
So, bottom line, if you know that your child is growing well and is generally healthy, has had healthy well checkups, has a normal growth curve, is fully immunized, and you are placing small quantities of a safe and healthy food variety in front of your toddler, and the child picks at it sporadically in different amounts over a few days, is pooping and peeing well, is happy and sleeping comfortably, you should presume that all is normal. I would also recommend that you visit the family website of the American Academy of Pediatrics, www.healthchildrenorg. Use its search window to read about toddler nutrition.
I hope you have found this general advice of value.
Regards,
Dr. T
Thank you for your question, “My toddler daughter has a poor appetite. What causes poor appetite in toddlers?” Do you remember that old TV commercial, “is it real or is it Memorex?” It’s not that a toddler can’t have a poor appetite suggestive of a problem, but more likely than not “poor appetite” is in the eye of the beholder.
If a parent suspects there might be a toddler appetite problem, he or she, or better yet, they, should discuss with the child’s pediatrician or family doctor. Toddlers are normally seen for well care at 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age. This issue can be raised at any of these well checkups or at anytime as a “problem” visit. In addition to taking a diet history and examining the child, the doctor will look at the child’s growth curve or growth pattern as indicated by the child’s history of height and weight measurements since birth when seen for checkups and problem visits. If the child is growing at a normal rate or speed for height and weight, almost always there is no problem.
Children can be chunky, slender or average build and all grow at a normal rate of height and weight gain. Gaining weight at a faster rate than average for age can be a problem as obesity (over-weightness) is our country’s number one health problem. Gaining weight at a slower than normal speed or rate can also be a problem. Slow weight gain compared to height gain suggest inadequate calories or some health problem converting nutrition to calories and growth.
So let’s presume that you raise this issue with your child’s doctor who advises you that your child is gaining weight and height at a normal speed (rate) for age. This should sound reassuring, yet you still feel your child’s appetite is not normal. At this point the doctor or his staff, or a dietician the doctor recommends, should review a typical 3-day diet record with you of what your child typically consumes. The doctor is looking for an adequate nutritional variety and appropriate caloric intake for age for your child. Presuming that this dietary record is also reassuring, your doctor will probably make the following points:
1] A toddler’s appetite is often sporadic and not the same day to day.
2] Toddlers will almost always take what they need nutritionally over a span of a few days, if not every day.
3] Don’t accept the first 10-15 NO’s from your toddler. Just place the food in small quantities of a healthy safe variety on the surface in front of your child with a smile on your face and exert no pressure.
4] This is the tag line on toddler nutrition for the 21st century: “Parents provide; children decide.”
5] There are many parent/physician tricks to amplify the above general principles, but let’s leave them to your doctor, the staff or your dietician to review with you.
So, bottom line, if you know that your child is growing well and is generally healthy, has had healthy well checkups, has a normal growth curve, is fully immunized, and you are placing small quantities of a safe and healthy food variety in front of your toddler, and the child picks at it sporadically in different amounts over a few days, is pooping and peeing well, is happy and sleeping comfortably, you should presume that all is normal. I would also recommend that you visit the family website of the American Academy of Pediatrics, www.healthchildrenorg. Use its search window to read about toddler nutrition.
I hope you have found this general advice of value.
Regards,
Dr. T
