i feel your pain! when my first daughter was little, i would literally be in tears trying to get her to eat. But like others have said, kids do just go through periods when they are not hungry. The worst thing you can do is make a big deal out of it, because then it can become an emotional/power issue where children use it against you! i remember reading that children have very little control in their lives, but one thing they can control is what they put in their mouths!

in our house, we have around 40 minutes eating time. we encourage them, but if they don't eat, it is just taken away and that is it until the next meal. If they don't eat much dinner, then we give them extra (cows) milk before bed.