Posted by
mumbloxy
17 yrs ago
My once "perfect-eater" has drastically reduced his food intake at 21 mths. It has been 2 weeks with no signs of improvement. I've read a lot about picky eaters etc & never thought it would happen to him as he ate everything we gave him & in good qty.
Unfortunately this is his recent diet :-
breakfast : 6-8 oz formula
(refuse his usual fruit & cereal & will not eat anything else till lunch)
lunch : 10 spoonfuls of his usual pasta or rice with veg & meat
mid-afternoon : 6-8 oz formula or hummous, yogurt or cottage cheese (eats only mushy things, refuse cheese on toast, waffles, sandwich, etc)
dinner : 10 spoonfuls of whatever we're having.
Aside from the lack of qty, it is becoming a high dairy diet & his poo is starting to show.... I know toddlers will not starve themselves, so I haven't worried too much thinking he may be teething from his molars. However, it doesn't look like it's getting better anytime soon and I'm now wondering if this will pass or is there something I can do to help? Frustrated mom, pls help.
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As you say, toddlers won't starve themselves.
Try different foods until you find something he likes. However don't go to extremes. If he's really hungry fussiness takes second place and he'll eat.
Yes, it is frustrating.
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It will pass. As frustrating and worrying as it may be now, you will look back and tell your story to someone who will go through the same thing, like I am now!
When my child was a toddler, the only thing she would eat was Heinz Little Kids tinned meals for dinner and vegemite and/or avacado sandwiches. That was it! Thsi went on for months and months. It used to drive me insane with frustration and worry. I tried everything, letting her go hungry to bed without eating what we served her, providing different choices.
I ended up resigning myself to the fact that this is the way it is. I still tried every now and then to offer different things. I think in the end we were at a family do and she ate sausages and vegetables like her cousin did and from that day on she was good. She is still very picky and won't try anything new, but at least we have her eating all the things she should be in all the food groups. So that's a comfort. Bloody hard going out to restaurants though, if they don't have chicken schnitzel or nuggets or fish and chips, then it's vegemite sandwiches that always come with me when we go out.
It will pass eventually. He may be teething or going through a new phase. He is eating, even if it is little amounts. I wouldn't start worrying unless he starts losing weight and stops eating altogether.
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Well you could try to
1. involve toddler (or pretend to anyways) in food preparation
2. If he doesnt want breakfast a8am, them then dont offer him something at 9 am and again at 10 am hoping that he'ss be hungry by then, but totally dont touch food issue till lunch time (maybe a bit earlier than usual)
3. Dont give any snacks at all or fruit juices or milk
3. Wait till he indicates that he wants to eat, by asking for it and following you arouind or indicaing his highchair (this is really waht i do with mine., it means he's hunfry enough to eat without fussing)
5. really energy buring/apetite stimulating activity, like going for short slow jog(between morning milk and breakfast), like we have various points of interest like fish pond, flowers etc and we go around and then go home. or if u have access to a swimming pool, then that before dinner (it also knocks them out after they eat).
6. a smiling relaxed you when offering meals. Toddlers pick up parental anxiety like sharks do blood in water, and for some reaon they seem to enjoy making it worse
But do remember that apart from whether they starve themselves or not, they are growing less, so they dont need so much calories.
and yes it is dreadfully aggravating. good luck to you and hope it all passes soon.
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oh yes and eating around other toddlers, or babies that are slightly older. Mine will eat really well when we are visitning a friends house. she kùhas three kids aged 3 to nine. he will watch them and eat whatever it is that they are eating.
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cd
17 yrs ago
It seems all kids go through a fussy stage, my then 1 year old daughter loved nothing better than a plate of broccoli, one day day decided it was a no go food, (same with most foods actually), then a few months later decided to start eating it again.
Try and eat together every day, and don't cook separately for your child, all eat the same things. And don't pile the plate up, just give a small portion, and then 2nds if they still want more. Toddlers get a bit intimidated I think by a big mound of food, they don't need to eat as much as we think they do.
Vary things a bit, instead of eating lunch at the table, put a sheet on the floor and have a picnic, make eating a fun thing for you both. And at 21 months they can help you prepare things a bit, lay the table etc. .
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Thanks everyone for the tips. Hope this phase doesn't last too long!
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Hi Cara, it's always that much more comforting to know someone else is going thru the same thing, though I hope your little girl gets better soon. I'm tempted not to give milk to my little one to see if he will eat more, I know he'll be screaming for it.... On top of this, I've got my mom (chinese) saying give him more formula, he's eating so little already; and my MIL (english) politely asking me when is he going onto fresh milk? (which BTW he gags on PURA). Aiya......just can't please everyone.
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Certainly parents can be so much fun. ;)
Our parents mean well but they are typically not up on he last 25-30 years of advances (yes there have been many) in baby and child care. For example with regards to SIDS.
My advice to you is to gather information (as you are doing) and then follow your instincts based on that information and what your gut tells you.
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