Advice - toddler refusing to eat at nursery Post Reply

[hworsley]

Hello I'm after some advice. My daughter started a couple of sessions a week at nursery in September. They are only morning sessions But she gets a cooked lunch there and I go to pick her up at one. When she first started there she wouldn't eat anything and then slowly she started to have a snack and then try bits of her lunch. Then all of a sudden the last couple of weeks she's started to refuse to eat anything again and is constantly coming back home feeling hungry and wanting to eat again. Nursery have tried doing sticker charts for every time she eats something but it's not working anymore. Also I'm in the dilemma of do I or don't I feed her when she gets back? If I don't then it's just so long to wait until dinner and she looks exhausted when I pick her up so I always feel I should give her something to tide her over, but not sure whether I'm shooting myself in the foot!!

Has anyone else been through this and does it get better? Any tactics / advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks

[Sheds]

Hi hworsley

I feel for you. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer. From reading your words it seems that she has gone from not eating to eating before, so it can and will happen again. Probably sooner the less you and the nursery worry about it, and then feed your own worries by your actions. You could be creating something out of nothing!

In simple terms I would suggest that each day is a fresh one. These are just 4 possibilities each day - there may be more...
1)Today she may not eat at nursery, she comes home hungry so she eats. That is the extent of it.
2) Today she may not eat at nursery, she doesn't come home hungry so she doesn't eat.
3) Today she eats at nursery, she comes home hungry so she eats.
4) Today she eats at nursery, she doesn't come home hungry so she doesn't eat.

How often do you eat when you feel like it, and don't when you don't?

What point would be made by not feeding her if she was hungry?

Hope this helps a little… Kind regards