Daughter is scared to eat, advice needed please

[tabbysmum]

Hi all

A couple of weeks ago my 3 year old daughter choked on a sweet, she eventually coughed it up herself,it was scary for all of us but obviously traumatic for her as she just will not eat now. She's eating shed loads of ice cream and ice lollies, yoghurts etc, a bit of breakfast cereal but not much else, she just chews and chews and eventually either spits it out or swallows it down with water, i've tried ignoring it, talking to her about it etc but nothing is working and i'm now really stressed about it. Any advice very much appreciated.

Many thanks

TM

[wanagetoverthis]

Hi TM

It's a tough one... Trying to think of the best advice I can...

I'd say try giving her foods that she can chew but will still melt in her mouth... Maybe try her with baby crisps, skinless grapes etc... Just so she can gradually get used to chewing again without panicking she will end up choking.

I'm no expert but I imagine she just needs to gradually see that when she has something she needs to chew, it wont end badly and it's nothing to be scared of.

I don't think there's a quick fix unfortunately... I think it's just going to be a process. I'd speak to the doc for some advice, not necessarily with her just yet... Just to make sure she's ok nutritionally while you're helping her get her appetite back to normal.

If she won't eat easy to chew and swallow foods, it may be worth sitting her down and saying let's spend some time together everyday eating just a few chewable foods... Patiently, no pressure, just you two... you do it with her, praise her for each bite (sure you are already) and just take it really slowly, at her pace with just a little push from you.

Hope that helps a bit and made sense...

Let me know how you're getting on, poor baby... It will get better, it's just a big shock for her... I remember having a tooth pulled when I was 11 and it traumatised me so much I refused to eat anything with sugar for a month... Which is surprisingly more foods than you would think!
She'll move on from it, she just needs to process the whole thing in her head. Try not to panic x

N xxx

[juppster]

Hi Tabbysmum
This is a really difficult one i know. My son did a very similar thing and wouldn't eat that particular food for a long time but he did after time. Obviously if your daughters refusing to eat most foods its going to be a bit of a worry for you. I would maybe ring the health visitor and get some advice from them or even go and talk to your gp about it? Let us know how you get on, i really think its just a case of taking some time for her to trust food again x