Won't eat fruit

[bec79]

My daughter is almost 14 months old and won't eat fruit of any kind.
I have tried puree, mashed and steamed. I had some success with canned fruit for a while, but now she has even refusing this.
Any suggestions? I am getting quite worried that she is missing out on all the goodies that fruit provides.

[the pero clinic]

Dear Bec79,

You say you have tried pureed, mashed and steamed fruit, so I presume you have also tried plain old raw fruit as well?? At 14 months, your little girl is probably becoming a very wise and independent young lady.

Her interest and motivation for different foods may be increased if it looks just like what mum and dad are eating, and she is able to feed it to herself. She probably won’t have much success eating something like a whole apple, but it might be great fun to sit at the table with you, and try her best, while you sit and enjoy an apple yourself. Try to make eating fruit as fun and appealing as you can, and let her feed it to herself as much as possible.

In addition to this, she may also be picking up on even the slightest cues that you REALLY want her to eat fruit and you are frustrated or concerned when she doesn’t. This can turn into a game, entertainment or even a challenge for little ones. She might like the fun or power of refusing or saying “no” to you, or the extra feeding time and attention that come from your efforts to bribe or coerce the fruit into her.

Avoid making fruit a big deal. Continue to offer it to your little girl, give her praise if she even touches or has a tiny taste of it, but simply take it away again if she refuses – without comment or reaction. She should eventually realize that everyone else enjoys it and she gets no reaction for not eating it – so it’s worth a try.

the pero clinic