Failure to Thrive
When children have a failure to thrive in infancy and early childhood, they typically show slower than normal growth, delayed mental development, and signs of malnutrition. An article published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry found that failure to thrive was directly related to parental neglect. Children were not receiving adequate nutrition to allow them to grow at the same rate as peers.
Another cause of failure to thrive can be medical child abuse, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Medical child abuse involves parents subjecting kids to unnecessary medical procedures and treatments. The study found that failure to thrive could be a sign that this type of abuse is happening.