Worried about toddler's eating habits

[sarahmae1]

Hi all. I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this post? Anyways, I have a 2yr. old and I babysit another little boy that is the same age as he is. My ds eats great, it's his friend I'm worried about. He doesn't eat, he drinks... that's it. His mom told me he drinks around 20-some oz. of milk per day, and 30oz. of juice per day. Now, I know for a fact that the juice is pretty diluted w/ water - but still. His dad told me that he eats fuzz, which is true I've seen him do this, and that they used to try and get him to stop but they've given up now because he'll just pick at something and eat it and say 'yum, fuzz.'
I'm concerned that he could have PICA or aniemia since he eats very, very, very little. I don't know how to approach his parents w/ this though. I'm good friends w/ the mom but I haven't talked to her lately since she's gone back to work. I don't know what to say, and I'm afraid they will dismiss my concerns because I'm younger and our parenting styles are not the same. I know they trust me to watch their son though, and I also let them watch my ds as well. Any advice?

[cathe]

I think you do have cause for concern. Even pediatricians are not recommending milk and juice between meals anymore because the milk can live the child too full to eat. No more than 1 cup of juice per day because it is very concentrated sugar and virtually empty calories.

It's hard to criticize another parents childraising though. When I speak at parenting groups on nutrition, it is even sometimes a touchy subject. It depends on the parent - if they seem open or not. Possibly you could mention you heard that milk and juice between meals isn't recommended. Maybe you could just serve water to drink at your house and see if he'll eat some food. . .