DD On Hunger Strike except for...

[StressyHead]

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[MerryTissmas]

at "bin"

My very nearly 2 year old is much the same and says, "no wanty"

I don't have any advice, really, but to stick to your guns. Offer something that she's eaten before without a fuss, and if she refuses just take it away and get her down from the table/ highchair. Hide the crisps and yoghurts, so that she thinks they are "all gone".

Is she filling up on milk?

[StressyHead]

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[Evita]

I like her 'bin' very much. though I can imagine it might drive me nuts after a while.

My daughter's like this most of the time with her repertoire of around 6 foods she'll eat. But we frequently have potato waffle only days. Sometimes she barely drinks either. Then suddenly, like today, she eats like a wolf and I can't give her enough. Unfortunately that's pretty unusual.

Do you think she's asserting some independence? or maybe just feels a bit off colour?

[popsycal]

my ds is the best eater in the world...but a month agi he was like this (at 16 months)
he has about 14 teeth too but afterwards i ealised that he had afew coming in a once and also had a sore throat (he started to lose his 'voice' afew days later)
does she seem as though she is coming down with something>
ds discovered milky bar buttons at xmas........oh dear

[chloeb2002]

well sorry but im jealous! Dd currently and for 3 months now has eaten nothing! now down to 2 teaspoons a meal! of assorted produce! I am assured by alomost everyone tho that although her eating habits are not normal and are extreme that the faddy eating is quite normal from 12 months onward! My Hv suggested that if i found ome thing she would always eat in any reasonable quantaty then just give it too her! ( but she is now under weight!) the second stage that i am yet to was to reintroduce other foods. one at a time. with the food she likes. its meant to work. And friends have assured me that their various children have at one time or another lived on very little and repetative diets! long live the day that she will only eat anything!!!! so really dont panic, add some multi vits if you are... put your mind at rest! Good luck itll just be a phase?

[lyndsey66]

Hi Stressyhead

My ds is 16 months now and is the same. He used to be a great eater but recently he has become really fussy. Especially over christmas. I have found that he is much more like this when he is cutting a tooth.
Over christmas he cut his last molar and one of the front side, side ones (dont know the name!!) and he has gone completly off his food.
So I wouldnt worry too much. It seems like a common thing. I have found that me ds will eat finger foods - so maybe try this. Or another trick is that things on my plate look much nicer to him! So I make a massive plate of food for myself! (any excuse!) x

[Evita]

Chloe2002, I could have written your post!

[Evita]

Except for the spelling mistakes of course ..

[polly28]

stressyhead,Love your name by the way My ds 15mos is just the same.Very fussy some days lives of fish fingers at times.I do find that if I feed him in a different place other than his highchair such as in front of telly,or even give him a little tupperware of marmite and bread and a few raisins he thinks it's a treat so eats it.

My dd who is 12 tomorrow was the same at that age and now will eat anything.It is bloody annoying but I try not to get too "stressyhead" about it

[chloeb2002]

point taken evita!! poor stressed out student nurse little time to type so fast and inacurate!!! still no improvement but one of the paeds doctors at work suggested an additive called minadex? iron and A and D meant to work wonders and going to take DD to cranial osteopath too.. any port in a storm!!!

[Evita]

chloeb2002, my brother's a nurse so I know how it is. Every time he sits down in a chair he's asleep in seconds so it's a bit of a miracle you make it to the computer at all!

I've got those vitamin drops and although they don't improve my daughter's appetite (as hv said they might) it makes me feel a bit more relaxed that she's getting some essentials from somewhere.

Had a minor success last night with putting grated Edam in one of her toy cups. She sat on the floor and ate it all (flake by flake very delicately). This might not sound much but I've previously not got her anywhere near cheese. So context is obviously important.

[StressyHead]

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[StressyHead]

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[sar7]

Evita, you can get Minadex from Boots in the children's medicine section. Doesn't seems to improve my son's appetite particularly but does make me feel better!

[Northerner]

My ds is not a good eater either. It is good to hear it's not just him. He is 20 months and I reckon it's an independence thing. My HV calls it 'manipulating us with his food' and said we have to be tough and if he doesn't eat his meal calmly remove it and offer him nothing till next meal. This is easier said then done, and we sometimes have major battles at meal time. The food he will eat is:

fishfingers
chicken nuggets
chips
peas
most fruit
cheese
bread
ham
chicken

That's it.

[littlerach]

Northerner, same as dd plus sausage and meatballs and all salad. How annoying it is!!

[Northerner]

Very annoying. Especially when his cousin (only 2 weeks older than him) is such a good eater and munches pasta, salmon and broccoli with gusto!

[chloeb2002]

pleased to here that minadex does the same for you as me evita!!! I now however cant get her to take that either tho! sods law?? adding it to a dribble of milk in the hope she may take it.. will have to see! had a bit of a gap today when she decided to eat 1/4 of a roll with garilic butter and a few assorted spoons of everything else i offered. i think she may have managed 10 teaspoons today!!:0 have also arranged to see a cranial osteopath with her next week as a straw clutching exercise. if only i too could actually write a list of what she would eat id happily make fish fingers all day long! :0 so dont stress northener from another northener it will pass and if it makes you relaxed then just give ds what he wants.. if he is just playing up then try pulling his bluff, just do whats best for you. if hes eating i wouldnt lose sleep its a totally normal part of toddlerdom to be faddy. ill bet that the kid will be faddy at some point or perhaps just stay an eat anything child... not great either, so best that they learn to be selective now perhaps?

[Evita]

ChloeB, does your daughter drink a lot of milk? I know some people say that can suppress appetite for other foods. My daughter doesn't have much milk (12oz a day approx.) but I'm wondering whether to cut it down further.

Meanwhile, I look at Northener's list of what her boy will eat and feel nothing but sheer envy! Northener, it may not be the kind of food you'd really like him to have, but hey, it's better than potato waffles, potato waffles and potato waffles! I know what you mean though about having a friend with a child who eats what you'd love yours to. My friend's little girl just days younger than my daughter is such a sophisticated and open minded eater. She sits down and really seems to enjoy food and experimenting with new things. I have a job to keep my daughter in the high chair and have to use constant distractions to encourage her.

[collision]

My DS (21 months) was very faddy with his food and would then fill up on milk! Most annoying. So I decided to be tough and not give him anything in between meals and make him hungry! If he refused breakfast, lunch and dinner then he didnt get his full quota of milk. I did give him water and juice though.

It worked......and it only took a couple of days as he woke up hungry and I didnt fill him up on snacks during the day. The other thing is to keep offering the same foods a few times a week. I say to my DS that maybe today is a Carrot Day and he wolfs them down (although he might not eat them tomorrow!!) Same with peas, cauliflower etc

By not offering him the things he refuses he will never get to like them (if you see what I mean)

All the best