Sometimes, it is necessary to force a child to eat. I work at a large Christian daycare center. Recently, a new child (two years old) came to my classroom, with instructions to force-feed her stage three baby food if she didn't eat her solid food.
The parents later explained that their child has a texture aversion. According to my research, this means that her nerve endings, specifically in her mouth, are extremely sensitive to new sensations. These incredible sensations frighten her, causing her to gag and become extremely upset. Luckily, she has a mild version of the disorder. Some children will actually vomit if any part of their skin comes in contact with a strange sensation. Many of these children grow to be undernourished, underweight, and incur many health problems due to poor development.
Unfortunately, these children don't usually associate hunger with food, so she will not eat simply when she's hungry. Thus, because of her disorder, it is necessary for us to feed her a food we know will not frighten her if she doesn't eat enough solid food-forcing her if necessary. This may cause psychological damage, but that's our only option at this point in time, as IV injections would cause her disorder to regress.