22 month old completely refusing dinner ...

[peanutter]

DS has been a BLS boy since 6 months old, and likes his food!

But the last 4 nights, he has completely refused his dinner ... we've been eating "normal" things like chicken casserole, lamb stew, pasta, etc - but he just won't eat it!

He sits there, pushes it away, won't be enticed by it being offered, or by DH and me picking at his plate, showing him it's yummy, or anything ...

He just sits there, refuses it, and asks for weetbix, bananas, grapes, and milk ...

The last three nights, we tried offering him his dinner again after his bath, and just before bed, but no luck ...

Tonight, we just let him have weetbix and a banana when he again refused his proper dinner ...

I'm wondering whether it's related to the arrival of bubba?

Ideas? Tips?

[bubno.3]

this happened with my ds2 he is nearly 4 but he did that and if he wanted wheetbix he got it of banana he got it anything as long as he ate .... it doesnt mean their being 'naughty' or 'defiant' it is a phase trust me he will go back to eating anything and everything in site

[peanutter]

oh, we're not taking it as him being naughty etc - we're just not sure why he's refusing to eat his dinner ...

he's had similar things for breakfast, lunch and dinner since starting solids, and other a little fussiness here and then while teething or sick, he normally eats anything offered!

so just wondering what others' experiences have been

[YoYo]

Does he have his eye teeth yet (the fangs!!)? Or maybe second set of molars? The things he's wanting to eat are soft and cold.... Maybe they're soothing???

[peanutter]

his last 2 eye teeth have just cut through last week, but they haven't pushed through all the way yet ... maybe that's all ... ?

[~Hestia~]

Our Moo went off his food after Buster had been around a few weeks. It's like he realised that this bub was here to stay! I think that food is one of the few things toddlers can control, so it made sense to me that he would refuse to eat while his world had changed. We didn't make a big deal of it and while we kept offering dinner, we also let him have weet bix or whatever comfort food he wanted within reason. Then one day he got over it and picked up his fork and ate his dinner!

[HotI]

there must be something in the air! DD hasn't been eating much of anything at all this week - doesn't want breakfast, might have something small for lunch and not interested in dinner - even fav foods.

[nothing2lose]

Our Moo went off his food after Buster had been around a few weeks. It's like he realised that this bub was here to stay! I think that food is one of the few things toddlers can control, so it made sense to me that he would refuse to eat while his world had changed. We didn't make a big deal of it and while we kept offering dinner, we also let him have weet bix or whatever comfort food he wanted within reason. Then one day he got over it and picked up his fork and ate his dinner!

Yep. That. Big changes with bub. The Boy has no power except over things like this, so he is flexing his muscles - and getting lots of attention doing it.

He will eat when he realises, a) he's hungry, and b) bub is here to stay.

Good luck!

[OceanPrincess]

Someone told me something ages ago that stuck with me: meal times are shared responsibility. It is your responsibility to provide healthy, yummy, sustaining food to your kids. It is their responsibility to eat it.

I'm not saying ignore them when they are not eating but try not to stress if he goes off it for a bit. He won't starve - I have to agree that it might be a control thing!

Also sometimes toddlers go through not eating phases - might just be that!

[Miss.September]

While DD is a painfully fussy eater, she does this at times too. Just quits eating dinner for no apparent reason. She knows that there is nothing else offered and sometimes she can go for a week without having anything for dinner (but eating fine throughout the day). Then she'll just go back into a pattern of her eating again, sometimes having seconds. She's not teething, we eat early so she's not overtired, and I stop snacks well before dinner.

Our rule here is that even if she chooses not to eat, she must sit at the table with us until dinner is over. Sometimes she'll leave the table after not touching anything and once DH and I start clearing up, she bolts back and eats. It's hard and frustrating not to worry but we can only offer the food to her.

[Sterla]

My DS (he's 3) is really hit and miss with tea, and has been for awhile, probably a year or more. He'll eat ravioli and sausages, but everything else depends on the night. Some nights he'll try his tea and eat most of it, other nights he completely refuses to try it. We don't make him eat, but we do try to get him to stay at the table with us while we eat (not always successfully). We don't worry too much - he eats plenty through the day, sometimes I think he is simply too tired or just not hungry. I'm hoping he'll just start eating again one day .

[Manhattan]

My DS (he's 3) is really hit and miss with tea, and has been for awhile, probably a year or more. He'll eat ravioli and sausages, but everything else depends on the night. Some nights he'll try his tea and eat most of it, other nights he completely refuses to try it. We don't make him eat, but we do try to get him to stay at the table with us while we eat (not always successfully). We don't worry too much - he eats plenty through the day, sometimes I think he is simply too tired or just not hungry. I'm hoping he'll just start eating again one day .

Could have written this exact post, except my dd is 26 months old! One day something will be her favourite and she'll demolish a whole bowl, and the next day it's 'i dont like it!' So frustrating! But as pp's have said, I know with my dd that when she has teeth moving, she likes soft and cold food. She has her 2 year old molars cutting and moving right now, so as hard as it is, I tend to just go with it. She is also asking for milk more often, so I am letting her have it so at least she is getting something into her tummy.

So if anything, I would just follow his lead, and hopefully he'll be back to his usual self soon x

[peanutter]

thanks all!!

hopefully, this will pass soon ... will make sure he gets loads of 1-on-1 time with me over the weekend, when DH is home to help with bubba.