2 YO diet and teeth

[Flipflopflo]

I've just started looking after a 2 yo and i'm slightly worried about some aspects of their heath.

They come to me for lunch and the only things i've found they eat are beans on toast, scrambled egg and anything sweet. Their mum said when we first met that they weren't a fussy eater, but did love fruit. I started off doing things like finger sandwiches or rolls with lots of different nibbly things like cheese, veggies, crackers etc. They really didn't seem interested in this and would just eat the fruit or yoghurt i provided at the end. I tried lots of different combinations, cutting them into lovely shapes etc, but the they would end up eating something like 1 tomato and half a finger sandwich. I asked the mum and she said this was all stuff they would have at home.

I decided to start hot 'snacky' lunches, and they eat a little more of these, but if they see the fruit bowl before they've finished, then thats it, theres no persuading them to eat any more of the lunch. They also bluntly refuse to drink water, and as i don't offer juice or squash, milk is the only thing they drink. Fine, but not varied.

This in itself i wouldn't find particularly worrying as a fussy toddler is nothing new, but there are some other aspects of their health that i find concerning along side this. Their stools are liquid (not soft, actually liquid) and particularly foul smelling and their teeth are fairly extensively stained with brown marks. I'm worried that the child's diet is in fact a lot more sugar-filled than the mum is making out.

The teeth were one of the first things i noticed and have arranged a meeting for Thursday to discuss this issue. I was thinking something along the line of keeping a tooth brush here, reward charts and me taking the child to the dentist if the mum is struggling to find time.

Are the other things something i need to be worried about?

[natlou82]

I'd definitely be concerned about the loose stools and teeth, as well as the issues regarding their diet. There could be a health issue here that needs addressing. Have a meeting with mum and go through all of your concerns, she may shed some light on things or alternatively you could guide her to get further advice. You may need to document also in case other concerns arise.

[hectors house]

Surprised that your mindee will eat scrambled egg - could you try making faces out of scrambled egg with tinned spaghetti or beans hair and the soft sausages for eyes and nose with a tomato sauce smiley mouth? Just an idea to push different tastes and textures - then you could move onto proper sausages, then sausage casserole!

I have a little one who is coming up 2 years old and have looked after him for a year now (had his brother before that), this child according to his mum seems to survive on just milk and fruit - his nappies are yellow and loose (or blue if he has eaten lots of blueberries at the weekend). I don't know what other meals his mum tries him with but with me he will eat every hot meal I put in front of him and he is usually first to finish - I know that his nappy tomorrow will be better because he ate a good healthy lunch (mix of fish, pasta & veg) fruit in moderation, milk for snack only and water the rest of the day and sandwiches for tea.

Also not sure what age children start going to the Dentist but each time I drove past my dentist I ask my mindees if they go with their parents and they all say "No" !

All my mindees do have a toothbrush here and clean their teeth after lunch - flipflopflo you mention brown marks on the child's teeth - my daughter has these on her adult teeth (her first teeth were perfect) - brown marks can be caused by certain antibiotics taken by child as baby before their teeth have come through. And some children suffer with toddler diarrhea (which isn't catching) due to them eating too much fruit and veg.