Meal times and not eating, WDYD?

[AliBaby]

I just go with it. *sighs* Ha! I go with it now after nearly 18 months, is what I mean . When it first started I was always worried DD wasnt eating enough, would starve etc but now I just sigh and accept it. Ive tried really encouraging her, making her something else, bribery (yep, Im that mother) all with no luck whatsoever! We have just been away, left Friday AM and returned this afternoon. During that time she literally ate one bite of a bread, half a bowl of cereal and half a pancake.

Try not to stress, I think your motto is great- you provide and its her job to eat! You cant force her and it sounds like she is just feeling a bit blah with teething too

Yep all of this. I love your motto as well.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

If he's not hungry, he won't eat. If he won't try the food in front of him (did him a gorgeous nicoise-y salad last night he refused to even try) then he doesn't get made anything else. I do give him new meals and if he can't hack part of it I'll serve him without the "nasty" bit next time I do it. But that salad is now off our menu list for another year, sigh. I'm not too unreasonable if he doesn't like food as I recall having to choke down food I detested as a child and feeling sick with every mouthful shoved in.

If he does try and really dislike, then eats all the bits he does like, he can have pudding. If he doesn't try or doesn't eat what he normally will, no pudding as he's not hungry. He doesn't complain and doesn't suffer.

I grew up being force-fed because "you haven't eaten enough" (literally forcefed, spoonfed for many years if I wouldn't eat something), denied food when I was hungry because "you've eaten enough", told it was impolite to eat as much as I did at one point, basically told to ignore my body signs for what my mother deemed correct. I am anorexic. Although I do eat, sometimes it is an effort to remember that I need to without being told I must eat because now it is an acceptable time for me to be hungry. And she wonders why I tell her off when she does the same to Liebling...

[Eenee]

It's normal toddler behaviour. DD used to eat heaps and now some days will hardly eat anything and one day all she ate was half a banana. Our rule is if she doesn't eat what we dish up then she goes without. Unless there is a medical condition kids will not starve themselves