Food and Toddlers

All my daughter wanted to do at that age was drink, so I bought Ovaltine (or any other vitamin enriched drink mix) so I knew she was at least getting some nutrients for the day. Also, my doctor told me she would eat when she was hungry, and not to stress about it. I hope this was helpful, J.

Both of my kids (now 2 1/2 and 7) did the same thing. My 7-year-old is still picky because I stopped offering her different foods and just stuck with the things she really liked. With my toddler I continued to offer veggies and new things along with his favorites and now he eats just about anything.

I think all toddlers do this. Just keep offering her the healthy and different foods and eventually she'll try them. I try to "rotate" foods with my kids so they don't get bored with things. Sometimes they just like the novelty. One week they'll eat raisins (easy snack), the next it's the Yogurt Cheerios. An easy lunch for my toddler is the microwaveable chicken noodle soup. I pour out some of the broth or add crackers so it's not as messy. He loves it! Don't worry if she doesn't eat as much. She'll eat when she's hungry.

Judging by what I've read on here, I think it's pretty normal for your kid to go on a hunger strike right around that age. Just keep offering her what you're eating. If she doesn't eat it, then she doesn't get something special. She'll eat when she's hungry. Just make sure you're not offering lots of snacks around mealtime. For breakfast, we do a bowl of cereal, eggs, cinnamon sugar toast, pancakes, frozen waffles and always a fruit or juice. Lunch is a little more confusing for me. Mostly, it's leftovers from last nights dinner or pieces of lunch meat, bread and butter, some kind of veg and fruit. Dinner is whatever we're having. My dd is on a kick where she'll only eat one large meal a day. Sorry I wasn't more help! Good Luck!

My son likes to eat the same thing that my husband and I are eating. If we give him something different he does not want it. He always wants what we have. You can try to eat with her. My son likes it when we eat with her. Does she like waffles,chocalate chip pancakes, or oatmeal? you can try that for her breakfast. For lunch you can try pastas. My son likes pastas. I would mix the foods that she does not like with the foods that she does like. Thats what I have to do for my son. You can also add things to what you are feeding her like miracle whip,ketchup,sourcream, etc.

I can somewhat relate to your problem. My 13 month old was a wonderful eater for about a month. He was eating pasta, meatballs, scrambled eggs, fruit, veggies, chicken, etc. It was great. Then he recently came down with a horrible head cold (coughing, runny nose) and I feel like I'm at square one with eating. Now he puts the food he used to love in his mouth, chew it a few times, and spit it out. It's extremely frustrating. Anyone have advice on that?

As far as ideas, macaroni and cheese is a great lunch along with chicken nuggets and french fries. I also made a huge pot of veggies (green beans, carrots, squash, corn, peas), noodles, and chicken boiled in chicken broth. He loved this meal and it was great because I was able to freeze portions for future meals.

Kids are very picky and will eat when they are hungry. Your child is probably not growing as fast as she used do and doesn't need as many calories. Kids need to sometimes eat things up to 20 times to start to like them. Let her re-explore her food and don't get overly concerned. Provide a variety of safe finger foods (from all food groups) and hope for the best. As long as she has more good days than bad over a week's time, she'll be fine.

DON'T get into the habit of making her only the foods you know she'll eat. Kids should be fed the same foods as you are eating (modified texture) to learn to eat variety. Parents tend to give the "safe" foods for fear their kids will be hungry and the kids end up being very picky. Being a "short-order cook" is exhausting and expensive. Over time your child will eat when they are hungry once they realize what's on their plate is all they get to eat. :)

K.
Currently SAHM and former pediatric dietitian

At what age did you start your child on table food? They say 1 but I don't agree....I have been in daycare for 12 years and have 2 kids of my own ages 17 and 13...They both went to table food at 6-7 months (age approp. food only)I stuck with the fruits and veggies, protein was easy foods for their age and teeth. Keep trying I have a 2 bite rule no matter the size of the bite they have to atleast try it. Some kids you can trick by saying one more bite...one more bite and before they know it it's gone. Try letting her use child size silverware and then she will feel like a big gir, too. Easy, I don't know to me it's just as easy to feed everyone the same thing, I found not to get in the habit of fixing 10 different things at each meal....Everyone has the same and not fuss. Stick to your guns and be firm and all will be good. Good luck.

At 16 months, I say don't worry about it. Don't let it become a battlefield. She's testing her own control over her world...she'll eat what she needs...mostly...and if you don't let it become a BIG deal... she'll move past it. As she gets a bit older...let her be involved with you in food preperation...it will spark interest in food.

I'll tell you what I just told another mom here - scrambled eggs! Throw a handful of frozen veggies in with the eggs as you are cooking them. My boys never noticed the veggies where even there with the eggs and always ate them. Good luck!

I had to get creative when my son was that age. Some hits at our house were sweet potato muffins, cottage cheese pancakes, and good ol' bacon. In the end, he did better when I stopped giving him something different than what the grown-ups were eating. Chicken fried rice is a great place to start. Accept the mess of self-feeding and see if she enjoys the small bits of chicken and veggies plus the interesting texture of rice. Good luck!