Brief Answer:
A step by step approach needs to be taken

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for using the Ask a Doctor service.

I understand your concerns. Incidentally, your problem is not unique. Children are often fussy eaters. My suggestions for you would be:

* Do not force-feed the baby. This will increase the child's apathy towards food. Rather wait for the child to get hungry. At times you may have to wait several hours. Be patient. The urge should be her and not yours.

* Visit a dietician and discuss the scenario so that she can design a calorie-dense diet chart in accordance with the preferences of the child.

* The build of a child depends upon the build of the parents.

* Try to avoid any feeds between meals. They take the appetite away.

* Try to provide smaller portions of meals and keep other food items readily available for the child to pick up, e.g. keep fruits ready to be picked up from the table.

* Pick fruits and vegetables as per his choice (ask for his choice). Make food preparations using those food items. The child is more likely to eat those without a fuss.

* Award the child a star for every day he feeds well. After she collects a certain number of stars, promise him some non-food reward like extra sleep time or something that you would possibly have given her anyway (a pencil, eraser, etc. of his choice).

* Please be informed that there are NO syrups, medicines or tonics that can help in changing the situation. I would insist you not go for any one of them.

* For a proper growth the child needs proteins (available from fish, egg, meat, carrots, spinach, etc. and forms the structure of the body) and carbohydrates (available from rice, bread, etc. and supplies energy), both of which are required in bulk. So, any sort of medicine or dietary supplements will not be able to meet the nutritional requirements.

There is no shortcut.

Feel free to write back. Let me know if I could help further.

Regards

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