My 16 month old has been seriously narrowing down his food choices over the past two months . He will only eat eggs with spinach, lamb or chicken meatballs, tofu hot dogs and pancakes ( I sneak in some carrot, banana, apple). Occasionally I can get him to eat a Peanut butter or goat cheese and honey sandwich if I call it a " cookie'. He eats health food ( fruit filled) cookies as a snack in between meals . I am still nursing on demand , so I am not panicked ( yet) about his nutrition , but I am getting really tired of serving the exact same thing everyday . I see all these other toddlers at the playground snacking on grapes and strawberries and apples etc. While my son loves to " play" with fruit, he is absolutely offended by the thought of eating any of it. I Would like to try to wean him gently over the next three months and I am trying to introduce other foods with his meals to round out his limited repertoire but he wont have any of it. He also refuses all purees which rules out yogurt and many other healthy options. It has been suggested that I should simply offer up different choices at mealtimes and if he refuses, let him skip a meal, apparently, he wont starve himself and will eventually eat something. I hate the idea of having a hungry, crabby baby on my hands all day . I am wondering if anyone out there may have some good advice about how they handled this stage or even reassurance that it will get better... or some recipes that I can try out. He doesnt seem to be actively teething, he has about 12 teeth, still waiting for those eyeteeth to come in, does that make any difference. Thanks for any feedback.
J.
HI All,
Thanks for the support and good advice, it really made me feel so much better about the situation. I am continuing to offer up little portions of new foods with his old favorites. He has gone back to eating some peas and baked french fries! I am also trying to sit down and eat meals with him, more often, so he can learn by example.
He definetely seems to be teething, so maybe things will shift when his eye teeth come in.
My DD does this off and on. She will have favs for a while then one day want only new foods. Always serve something with the favs so it is there to try. It does leave waste but I had to get over it. Somethings we try are smoothies, peas, crackers of any kind, no crust sandwiches. She is 21 months now and we have pretty much moved to giving her only what I make for dinner. Sometimes she doesn't eat any of it and she hasn't lost an ounce.
I felt so relieved when I read your question! I was getting ready to post a similar one. My daughter will be 2 next month. She used to be an amazing eater, but has become very difficult. She will only eat a handful of foods. I have tried the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. She won't even try the food.
I am hoping this is just a phase. I will continue offering new foods, but be prepared that she probably won't eat it. Hang in there!
I don't want to narrow your food any more J. but you are not supposed to give a baby honey. Not until they are over 2 years old.
My son has been doing something similar with narrowing down foods and I know there is a boy in his daycare that only eats 4 foods. My pediatrician didn't seem too worried but did say continue to offer him different things, especially offering food that I am eating. I couldn't get him to eat real carrots but he loves baby food carrots so I give him that and he can use a spoon and feed it to himself. Sneaking food in like you said you are doing is great too. I'm told they usually grow out of this phase. Good luck!
I think your solution depends on what's more important to you, the short term of having a happy baby, or the long term that he eats what the whole family is eating. Once my kids were that age they were on table food at supper, whatever we all ate cut up real tiny. If they didn't eat it, they got a healthy offering(only if they tired a biteof each item), if they said no then they went to bed hungry. They got used to the fact that they have to at least try a bite of whatever we are having as well, it can take up to 15 tries for a child to lie a new food. I stuck to this at supper, but at breakfast and lunch would individualize to what the kids liked. This way if they refused supper I know they had 2 good meals, plus I got them to try new foods and learn the consequences if they were not willing. What you do is really based on how important this is to you. I know kids who refused all fruits and veggies and are very picky, and they seem to be growing fine. They have mothers who are willing to cook them a different meal than the rest of the family. Do what works for you and you family and eases your mind.
J... It sounds like he eats a good variety of foods for a boy his age. Please don't make yourself crazy watching other kids.. I bet none of them eats eggs with spinach or goat cheese sandwiches or tofu of any kind...
Kids have individual tastes that change over time.. over and over and over, lol My daughter went through a phase of eating nothing but cheese, black olives and cucumber slices.
Don't worry about him enjoying the same foods all the time. Your boredom with his diet doesn't really matter.. at least you can eat something different every day. Just offer little bits of new things alongside his favorite things, offer it in different ways too. Does he have his molars? If so, try cutting melon into pretty shapes, shred crunchy carrots, spread peanut butter on banana slices, etc.
Look at his diet over the course of a week, rather than day-by-day. You'll have a better perspective on his nutrition that way.
My kids are very fussy eaters and I also feel like I am feeding them the same things every day. I decided that it's just easier this way now (they are relatively healthy foods) than have food battles or crabby kids on your hands. I figure when they are both a little older and understand more, I will be changing the dinner situation at that time.
Hi J.. I also have a fussy eater. I have very limited choices. Meat is the hardest thing I can get him to eat. I have no luck with the graduate dinners either. He'll take a few bites and that is it. It has come down to 3 veggies he likes I give him almost every day and 2 frts I know he will eat. I've been trying to give him egg,cheese and yogurt for protein. My pediatrician suggested pediasure since my son is only in the 5% in weight. I feel your frustration. I constantly offer new things and try repeatedly with things he hasn't tried yet. My son also likes to play with canned fruit. I don't know about your child but I have never been able to get him to drink out of the sippy cup too. You are not alone. Hang in there. I could use advice also.
Hi J., Your son eats some very interesting things. Many go through this stage of only wanting a few things. By all means give him those foods and try to sneak in some others. This stage will pass and he will be eating lots more. He will not starve and it is only you who is getting bored. Smile mommy, Best wishes, Grandma Mary
Hi J.,
Someone mentioned not giving him honey, but the age recommenddation on honey is actually a year. However, peanut butter is not recommended anymore until age 3.
As for your son's diet, a lot of parents worry that their child isn't eating enough variety and it would make us crazy to eat the same things over and over again. But for babies and toddlers, familiar foods are comforting. I'd say that the thing to focus on is getting your little guy to eat one thing from each food group he needs - one good source of complete protein, one wholegrain product, one green veggie, one yellow-orange veggie, one fruit. He doesn't need to eat 6 fruits, 4 green veggies and 3 yellow/orange ones, he can get the nutrition he needs from one choice in each category. I would not suggest only serving things unfamiliar that he doesn't like and letting him skip a meal. I would go about it by offering him something during the meal that you know he likes (but in an amount where you think he might still be a little hungry after) along with something else you'd like him to try - after he's been satisfied by what he likes, he might be more willing to try something else. But I'd serve them at the same time, give him a few things in separate bowls or a plate with dividers and don't encourage, tempting as it may be, simply let him make his own choices and don't criticize or comment on anything he didnt' try. Good luck!
we put canned pumpkin in our pancakes. our toddler loves them! have you tried things like zucchini, banana or pumpkin bread?
Honey is one year. And as for peanut butter, my ped told me I could give it at a year, because there was no family history of a nut allergy, and my son had not shown sensitivity to any other foods to that point.
My son doesn't eat as well as your child! He started this behavior around the same time, and is now 20 months, but will not eat any meat other than chicken, and it almost always has to be in nugget form! And he won't eat eggs at all.
I try to give him what I can, and figure it will all work out. My son is also still nursing. He started refusing apple sauce and yogurt, but sometimes he'll take it. A few things you can try...I crush a graham cracker into his yogurt, and that makes it more appealing, Or, I spread it between two graham crackers, as thickly as I can, and then freeze it for a yogurt sandwich. You can also try smoothies--milk and fruit blended, and/or yogurt. Throw in some flax seed and wheat germ. Good luck--he'll be okay. Just keep trying.
That's GREAT that he is eating the protein! In the book,
"Superimmunity for Kids" by Leo Galland, MD, he actually recommends a diet for the young toddlers such as yours higher in protein and lower in the fruits / sugars & veggies although some is good.
As long as you can sneak it into his diet and finagle w/ "cookies", he's getting it!
Two ideas you might want to consider. First, it may be teething. When my daughter is teething (Anna, 16 months) her food intake drastically decreases. This passes. Second, infants and toddlers actually get bored of food. Anna has recently decided she's sick of shredded cheese. She used to love it and we felt secure that in a pinch we could always pick up some shredded cheese somewhere and she would eat it. Not anymore. For two weeks she's refused to even pick up a little strand. So, perhaps introducing more foods multiple times. After five tries over a month, Anna finally ate half of a hard boiled egg. There's hope.
There were 2 things that worked to get my son to eat more at that age, maybe they will help you, maybe not. He's turning 2 this week and he eats almost anything.
1. Dip. He would try anything he could dip. When my son would only eat crackers or bread I made him veggie-loaded tomato sauce to dip them in. It helped him get more nutrients. After awhile he tried anything as long as there was something to dip them into. Since your son takes offense to purees this may not work.
2. (This just happened around 18 months and we took advantage of it) He started mimicking mommy & daddy, including in how he ate. If my food looked different from his he wouldn't eat his food, he wanted mine. So if we were eating something that he couldn't I would put his food on my plate as well and just put something small on his plate. Then he would ask for food from my plate and I would give him his food. (One day before we figured this out his dinner was organic chicken nuggets & tater tots, mine was a burger with A-1 sauce. He ended up eating my burger while I age the nuggets & fries!)
Also, I'm sure you've heard that he's establishing his independence at this age - it is very true. The more you push the more he will refuse.
Good luck.
