What does ur 18 mth old eat

My 18 mth old is driving me nuts...shes become such a fussy eater and sometime would just refuse bfast or lunch or both ....would take a bite or two of her food and then just refuse....and this despite the fact that shes hungry...


could you pls share the routine of ur bubs so that i can figure out what to do with her..


thanks

Agree with cara above, keep trying, but not to a point of being too forceful that it might give your child some food phobia. The last thing you want is for them to hate the stuff for life!


Kids learn a lot from imitation, so show them how yummy it is by example. We're lucky ours eats pretty much everything we give him, meat, fish, veggies, rice, pasta, noodles, fruits, etc.

Agreed with the above:


- Offer a variety of food. Encourage trying without being forceful.

- Don't worry if your child doesn't have any protein for a day or something like that. A good nutrition mix can be averaged over a week or so. He/she won't get scurvy or other deficiencies by missing his/her veggies for a couple of meals.

- Don't serve too much at once. Many kids are intimidated by big portions and refuse to eat. If he/she wants more, you can just serve up some more in the plate.

- Try to make food interesting. Fun shapes, nice veggie colors, etc...

- Be very careful with heat. If the first mouthful feels uncomfortable, the child may refuse the rest.

- Don't think that just because a child doesn't have all his/her teeth he/she can't eat bigger pieces. Our daughter could eat rather large pieces of chicken by gumming them to mush.

- Hand held foods are fun! Spring rolls, kabobs (watch for sharp points), fruit pieces on toothpics, corn on the cob are all great baby foods.

- As mentioned, kids want to eat what you eat. Make sure at least one adults is sitting at the table, with a plate. Pretend to eat if nothing else. And you can always try the "no, honey, that's only for adults" trick, followed by "well, all right, if you are really sure you want to try it..." Keep a straight face. ;)

- There's nothing wrong with flavor. You might want to spare him/her the strongest chilies but there's nothing wrong with spicy food. Some kids just don't like bland that much.

- Let him/her feed him/herself as much as possible regardless of the mess. This ensures he/she stays more interested and also gives him/her a feeling of control.



As for what my 18 month old eats, the list is long. For example:

- Chicken curry-

- Steamed snapper with leeks and ginger.

- Veggie and chicken spring rolls.

- Pasta with tomato sauce.

- Porridge.

- Yogurt.

- Lamb casserole with couscous.

- Mushroom omelet.

- Meat balls and avocado.

- Grilled chicken.

- Corn on the cob.

- Broccoli with almonds.

- All kinds of fruit.

- Fried rice.

smsm, i posted a thread like yours a couple of months ago. apparently its what toddlers do.. give their mum's a hard time :)


mine is now 20motnhs, but has been on more or less the same schedule for a while


Really early morning feed at 5 - 5.30 am


7.30-8.00 oats porridge with cheese, sourcream, grapes, bananas or other fruit


10.30 milk


pm lunch rice, congee, minestrone/ or some soup and meat, chicken or pork or beef or fish



2.30 milk


6pm dinner usually pasta with some kind of sauce



no snacks unless he needs to be bribed to stay in stroller

some activity like kicking the ball, running around, jumping, swimming pool for a about half an hour before meal times

some multivitamin in the morning all help.


remember dont stress, as it doesnt help. I will admit to using teletubbies as a tool to get some food into him. Everyone willt ell you that babies wont starve themselves, which is true. What does happen when they dont eat enough is tha they go on sugar lows and get cranky. That is a pain.


my baby is still a bit on the fussy side, but eats three meals a day. and is now 11 kilos ( he actually lost a kilo during his no eating phase and was down to 9kilos in july).

hmmmmm my 17 month old eats pretty well but i hear that it can change on any given day. so touch wood! but i find that if they aren't eating well it's good to starve them a little bit so when it's meal time they will eat... "starve" meaning completely hold off all snacks until meal time. also if bubs refuses something i will quickly go and get something else like instant oats, baked beans, yohgurt etc i'll probably try 3 different foods before accepting that he is simply not hungry opposed to being fussy.


i also use the TV to distract and this helps me to get food down him. of course some will say "that's bad" but sometimes you just gotta do what you have to do!


also right now giving him his own spoon and bowl to feed himself with helps to distract too. even though of course you are doing most of the real feeding.

Agreed with cara. Better to offer food and if he/she doesn't want it, then no more food. Kids don't starve themselves.

hmmmmm good point!

thanks a lot everyone....


i guess i do fret a little more than required even though she's my sec one and she is smart enough to sense and give me more trouble:)


I do give her variety but not something new everyday..if shes likes something new then i do try and give her the same thing next day...there was a time she loved her broccoli and now if i ask her whether she wants broccoli for dinner, she nods in negative and if i do give her she wont eat it!


how many times does she need to have her milk at this age..i try and give her 3 times though sometime she wont have more than 12 oz in a day and other times its bet 13 - 16 oz..



thanks again frds

My 18 month old eats precisely what we eat. He eats spices, rich foods, ethnic foods,...you name it! He's recently tried sushi and nori rolls and LOVES them. He also likes fried seaweed strips and strong Danish cheese...quite odd tastes for a toddler!

He's passionate about his veggies and gets excited over a big pile of cauliflower and snow peas! He can eat 3 kiwis in one sitting or a whole dragon fruit (great for keeping him regular). Nata de coco is a hit.



The only foods we've not had so much success with have been pumpkin (unless it's in a pumpkin and baccon alfredo sauce), balsamic vinegar, and stronger levels of chili! He's not a big milk drinker but gets 2 bottles a day of a fortified, porridge type of drink from Sweden called Välling which is milk based and full of good stuff. He doesn't really like bread unless it's dark rye or pumpernickel and then it dissappears in a flash. Rice has recently become popular.


I think we have an easy kid but I 100% agree with what others have said above regarding setting a good example as adults. His dad wouldn't eat much fruit if it was left up to him but I can manage to get him to eat a lot of the stuff under the guise that it's all about setting a good example!

"My 18 month old eats precisely what we eat. He eats spices, rich foods, ethnic foods,...you name it! He's recently tried sushi and nori rolls and LOVES them. He also likes fried seaweed strips and strong Danish cheese...quite odd tastes for a toddler!"


Not really odd. ;) The thing is that most parents shield their children from "adult" flavors. Naturally, kids learn that "adult" stuff tastes "ick". My tip: apart from alcohol, never deny a kid anything he/she wants to try, no matter how "adult".

"Agree, but I don't let my kids have pop (softdrinks!) and so far has been successful in letting the older one believe that it is "spicy." He initially, of course, wanted to try and I let him --a nice ice-cold one that was really fizzy! --and he made a face (mainly because of the biting fizz, I think) and said he didn't like it. I just continue to perpetuate that "myth.""


I do let my kids have soda, but only in very small amounts (a sip to try). I find that it is better to let them try some so they get over the urge than to forbid it and have it become "forbidden fruit".


The same will be true for wine and beer as they get older. The Italians wisely let their kids have a small drop of wine in a large glass of water starting at a young age. The kid feels "adult" and stops harping on about it. As age increases, so does the proportion of wine. The ultimate result is very little binge drinking in the country since alcoholic beverages have largely lost their mystique.

agree with axptguy about letting my kids try a sip of soda.... they are much older, the youngest is 20 months and they have tried and they decided that it is too cold and sweet for now so they dont bother to ask when we have it at Macdonald or KFC or at home (rarely).

Our son has tried cold, fizzy coke a couple of times and HATED it...he spat it out and almost cried!!! Same with cafe latte! He tried my iced coffee today and I was prepared with the napkin under his chin...lucky! We've not let him 'sip-and-hate' anything alcoholic yet but we rarely drink anyway so I think it's mainly been an opportunity thing. I'm from an Italian background and couldn't agree more with what was said, although the philosophy didn't work on my brother....he's a BIG social drinker! I know a family that let their 20 month old have ½ a glass of beer in a sitting because, 'he likes the taste and it gets him drunk and shuts him up' which I think is bordering on child abuse.

"I know a family that let their 20 month old have ½ a glass of beer in a sitting because, 'he likes the taste and it gets him drunk and shuts him up' which I think is bordering on child abuse."


Agreed with cara. "Bordering" is far behind them. Well INTO child abuse. Our kids will get to taste the foam and maybe have a tiny sip but nothing more.


"He tried my iced coffee today and I was prepared with the napkin under his chin...lucky!"


Our daughters love cappuccino. Thank goodness for decaf!