Fussy eating - help!!!

When DS started solids I was truly blessed with the best baby in the whole world - he would open his month and everything went down - it was bliss!! He even ate steamed sticks of carrots, zucchini and broccoli as finger food - I was so lucky.

THEN

DS became a toddler and a nightmare overnight - suddenly the nose became screwed-up at the sight of a carrot, he would gag on anything that was a vegetable and was orange and the hands waved constantly in front of his face at the sight of a plate full of meat and vegies. Needless to say DS has gone to bed on many an occasion without eating dinner. He really doesn't seem to mind but I do!!

WHAT CAN I DO? :wall::wall:

With experimentation, I have found that DS will eat potatoes, pumpkin and sweet potato if they are fried like chips and will eat anything that is crumbed.

DO I REALLY HAVE TO FRY AND CRUMB EVERYTHING TO GET HIM TO EAT IT?

Do I just give in and fry and crumb everything for the rest of his childhood?

Also he will eat anything if it comes out of a jar? Great, he loves commercially made food and rejects home cooking - next it will be asking for Maccas!!!!

Is this a phase? Please tell me it is and that it will only last a few weeks!!!!:D

Please tell me that he will grow out of it and when he can talk he will tell me how he really loves carrots, peas, beans and pumpkin!

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Ticklish my GF is going through exactly the same with her toddler DD.

She cuts the veges into shaped with a fancy decorating knife and cookie cutters and she found that she will eat sandwiches and muffins. So she hides veges in them by making pinwheels (flat bread lined with veges etc and rolled up) or pocket breads and grated veges in "rainbow muffins". Needless to say no toddler ever starved to death so try not to beat yourself up - he's learning to push mummy's buttons

As for food out of a jar - maybe it's the texture he prefers?

Not sure when they grow out of it tho! Sorry!

Have a good day!

Sounds like he's a little one who knows what we wants!

Have you tried getting him involved with the preparation? Like, getting him to put toppings on pizza or even making his own sandwich?

Or you could try turning food into a bit of a game. Like instead of serving him fried eggs, give him a half peach, and put yoghurt around it. Make faces on a piece of pita bread with carrot, capsicum, grapes - anything that works!

You could also try getting him his own table and chairs, and leaving little snacks there. Without him feeling pressure to eat, he might actually go up and have a little nibble.

The advice you have been given so far is good advice. This is something I am worried about with Tom as he is such a good eater so far. Jack was a bad eater and is now a great eater.

One thing we learnt with Jack, was that it makes the problem worse when you give them something they like when they refuse the first food. As a pp said, kids do not starve themselves (I got advice from paed, MCHN and dietician too!!), so offer the food you want him to eat. If he doesn't eat them, don't give him anything else. When you offer an alternative, they learn to hold out for the food they want. It is hard to do as a mother as we hate to think of our kids starving, but I was told over and over and it proved to be true, if they are hungry they will eat. This is not an overnight fix mind you, but it did eventually work for us and Jack was perfectly healthy in the meantime. So, no, you shouldn't need to fry and crumb everything for the rest of your life!

Another thing is how much milk does he drink? We were giving Jack too much milk and this reduced his appetite for food. We were told to limit it to 3 cups a day (one with each main meal) and this also made a difference.

I am really sure this is just a phase and will pass. Hang in there and I am sure you will see the light at the end of the tunnel. If it helps you at all, now that Jack is eating well, he is eating REALLY well, and loves fruit, veges etc. I am sure your DS will soon be telling you how much he loves carrots!

Hi!

I haven't had this with Louis but there's still time - LOL! The times he won't eat now I know he really musn't like it so I offer don't offer it again (like minestrone - I think it was just too hard for him eat to be bothered..hehe) but I offered some toast just to fill his little tummy...
Other than that we just put a plate full of food exactly the same as ours and he eats off it what he likes...I never try and make him eat more or certain things on it...but it's all basically healthy stuff anyway...
I definitely would try and avoid giving him crumbed/fried foods as an alternative...and if you want to just fill his tummy give him something boring - s/which/toast/cereal etc so it's not really a more exciting option to the veggies iykwim??

Anyway...I'm not really sure but just a though...

Nelly - yep, your right I need to be more creative - things cut into little square and sticks without any imagination probably just doesn't cut it with DS! I think you're right about the texture thing. I made a casserole a couple of weeks ago with a similiar texture to the commercial food and he ate the lot, but then again - I made it again last week and he didn't eat it.

Jade - you are spot on! He is one little man who knows what he wants. He has always been like this! The midwives in the hospital commented on what a stubborn streak he has. DH just laughs and says that it is obvious where he gets that from!! I'll have to bank the idea in getting him to help out. The kinda help he is offering at 15 months would not get any dinner on the table. Great idea when he is a bit older! I definitely do that! I really like the idea of his own table and chairs, he would really go for that. Great inspiration!! He is a bit of a grazer and loves to sit and little table and chairs! I likes to have control of his environment and ultimately I think his refusal to eat is related to him wanting to have control.

Melanie - DS drinks 3 cups per day. In the last month, I have been giving him his last drink before bedtime because previously I was giving it in the afternoon and thought it was reducing his appetite for dinner. It didn't make any difference :(. When I cook dinner, he gets what he gets and I don't give him anything else. It is just that I try to plan dinner around what I know what he will eat. I know that MCHN, peads and dietitians say that kids do not starve themselves. Unfortunately I know a toddler who did starve himself because he wouldn't eat. His poor mother wasn't believed by the Drs because they gave exactly the same advice. This toddler would faint because he wasn't eating enough!! In the end his mother gave him what he would eat and ignored the Drs because in her case it wasn't true. The advice from this mum is to give him what he'll eat, of course!!!! My DS is not quite this bad, he does eat breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea. It is just dinner that is the problem!!

Kristie - I wish my DS was like Louis! Toast, yes - he will probably eat that for dinner too! I give DS a plate with vegies on it just like ours, but ultimately most get thrown around the kitchen. He likes roasted vegies as well as chips though!!!

A couple of nights ago we have shepherds pie, he refused to eat it, waved his arms around, screamed etc. I then managed to get some near his mouth. He licked it and then changed his attitude, decided it wasn't too bad and proceeded to eat a few spoonfuls. Then started refusing again.:( He certainly knows how to push mummy's buttons.

I welcome any more suggestions.

Ultimately, I can't wait until he talks then he can tell me what he wants and why he won't eat!!!

Ticklish, it sounds like you are doing everything right. Kids do often eat less in the evening than during the day so it sounds fairly normal to me. Apparently it's healthier that way too. I used to find that Jack didn't eat much at any meal, but was worse at dinner, especially if he was tired. He still doesn't eat dinner well when he's tired. An MCHN actually suggested switching Jack's meals so he was having his "dinner" food at lunch (left over from our dinner the night before) and then a sandwich or yoghurt, one of the foods he really liked, for dinner instead. It did help a little but not much so I stopped doing it. But it might be an idea for you?

Thanks Melanie - I had never heard that kids actually eat less in the evening. Maybe I expect too much of him. I think even for adults, having dinner in the middle of the day helps with metabolism and is ultimately better for us. Kinda makes sense not to go to bed with a really full stomach. Maybe toddlers instincts are cleaverer than we think.

We had pasta tonight and he did eat most of that, so tonight at least tonight he has had a decent meal. It still seems to be a case of him eating only what he likes and only when he wants to!

Ticklish, DD also doesn't eat a lot a dinner and most afternoons she wont have afternoon tea. I have swapped her meals because she does eat a lot for breakfast and lunch.

The difficult thing though is to try not to make a big deal about it. If he refuses to eat, let him. If you are worried about him not eating anything, offer something plain but still healthy like yogurt. DD eats reasonably well most the time but she does go through phases were she doesn't want to eat anything. I try not to react and just let her hope down from the table and don't offer her anything until the next planned meal. It seems to work and we dont' really have any meal time 'battles'
Good luck

Thanks Captain. Good advice. I think my DS is like your DD. Likes to eat breakfast and lunch but not dinner. It is just so easy to cook meat and vegies for dinner because that is what we eat. Swapping meals is probably the answer, so far I have been a bit lazy because a sandwich at lunch is just sooooo much easier!

Last night we had a break through.

I hadn't given DS anything steamed and orange for a while because he would just screw up his nose, gag, wave his hands in front of his mouth, scream and refuse to eat it.

Well, last night he picked up a steamed carrot stick and ate it :D.

Well, the second carrot stick was thrown straight on the floor, but there was one that definetly went past his lips!!!

Yah, there is hope! I just need a little persistence and a lot more patience.

Yeah for your DS Ticklish. It's funny how one small thing can seem like such an acheivement :D
I was thinking of you tonight. DD got up from her nap, didn't want afternoon tea and then didn't want any dinner either (after I spent 3 hours cooking a nice roast!). Basically she ate lunch than nothing else all day, and she didn't seem the least bit upset by it.
I just thought, oh well, I'm at least I'm not the only one LOL

Thanks Captain. Yep, sure felt like a bit achievement.
Frustrating when you cook a nice dinner and they don't want to eat it - mind you DS likes a roast when DH cooks it!
Sorry, but it makes me feel better too :lol: that your DD has the same behaviour as my DS - yep, we are not alone. :)