Help My son Won't Eat

[Tomasina]

Hi

My 21mth old son Adrian will not eat any vegies, meat, fish, chicken etc. He won't eat anything at dinner time. Can anyone suggest ways of getting him to eat!

I'm going crazy!


Tomasina

[clairbear]

Hi, I empathise with you, my son is the same age as yours and is a very fussy eater at times . He only eats finger food type things, and will eat more if they are very small pieces on his highchair tray rather than a plate piled with food............at the moment he likes parmesan cheese pieces cut small from a block (very tasty and very high in calcium), he will eat a couple of pieces then I sneak in a tiny piece of broccoli which he likes in small bits, then a piece of chopped up lamb chop etc., and so on until he's eaten nearly a whole chop and a fair bit of broccoli..........might not work with your son but maybe find the finger foods he finds tastiest first, then introduce the other ones as he gets into the habit of eating little pieces. I always feed him in the highchair in the kitchen, and put on some playschool music which he enjoys listening to as he eats. Other finger foods he enjoys are raw green capsicum pieces, potato smiles, potato farm animals, grapes, chopped up dates, chopped up dried apricots, sultanas, spring rolls, little fishies and chicken chippies. I also make mini muffins for him with grated carrot and zucchini. For breakfast he will eat some dry nutrigrain pieces / mini wheats or cornflakes and drinks a banana & strawberry smoothy from a straw cup.
Of course some days he just throws it all on the floor and I feel like screaming but I force myself not to react because he'll know he has the power! Good luck Thomasina!

[Ivy-Rose]

hi,
I was always told not to worry they will eat what they need and not starve themselves.
Never convinced of this I decided to put very little on the plate say a mouth full or two and when they had finished make a big fuss over them and give lots of praise.
Little kiddies always like to know they have done really well. Soon my kiddies were eating more and more and every time were proud of them selves cause they finished and I was very happy for them. It is hard to judge sometimes how big of a meal to serve but I just let them know that there was always more if they were still hungry. Better to little on the plate than to much as to much leads to failure and disappointment in their eyes.
Well that's my veiw and how I got around it.
Hoping you find something that works for you and your little one.
Emma :)

[Graeme]

Hi,

Neither or our girls were good eaters, but Jaz (the 4 year old) is now doing well. We were really worried about Jaz - she was off the bottom of the growth charts in the NSW blue book - so when to see a doctor about her. He basically said to chill out (in more scientific language). We kept track of what she ate and had a look at the nutritional value and were surprised that at how good it was. She ate a lot of fruit (but not a lot else).

Alexa (the 16 month old) is also really bad. She eats a good breakfast and then if it wasn't for cheese and sometimes pasta, she'd probably starve. She does eat a few other things, but not much variety. We sometimes find if she feeds herself she does better. Once again we try not to worry too much, as she is fully of energy and quite happy.

Sorry I don't have more of an answer - good luck!
Graeme

[Baby Girl]

My daughter is also not food driven. If it weren't for yoghurt and pasta I am sure she would be a bean pole!! I couldn't understand as I have always been a very good eater and so has her dad!!

I tried letting her serve her own meals as much as possible, I found if she put her own food on her plate she was more likely to eat it all with not much fuss. It is easier if you put a little bit of everything you have for them to eat at a particular meal into smaller containers/bowls and then let them choose what they want and how much. Homemade mini pizza's, soft tacos (minus too much seasoning in the meat) and sandwiches are great fun for little ones to help make too and you can top/fill them with anything you like!! It can be a little messy but I got to the point that I was just happy if she would eat more than half a tub of yoghurt for dinner!!

Good Luck.