Can't eat, won't eat - 16m old

[tillykins]

Any ideas? He is so difficult to feed, he won't try any of our food and seems to live off toast, bread stuff like teacakes, cheese, fruit and milk. He went thru a phase where he would have pizza and spaghetti (not together!) but he won't have them now either Won't have eggs, in any form, any meat or even consider pasta and pesto
I'm trying not to get wound up but....

[Bex05]

My 18 month old daughter is terrible at eating. She refuses food before she's tasted it. She is so picky with her food. I'm worried she is isn't getting sufficient vitamins etc.... I feel as if I have been a bad mother as I can't seem to get her to eat a whole variety of food or at regular times. I get so frustrated and tired. I waste so much food, it's really beginning to get me down. I need some good advice!!

[Bex05]

I'm sorry, I'm new to this website, I've now come to realise that I should have maybe created a new conversation topic.

[colditzmum]

You may not want to try this, but have you tried letting her get really hungry? Provide meals, then if they are refused, take them away with no fuss, but NOTHING except water until the next meal. Also I find with my son that if he has a long drink before a meal, he doesn't eat, I think the drink fills him up.

Do you give puddings? We had to stop giving these as my son was sweeping hios dinner into his highchair, safe in the knowledge that yoghurt would be provided.

It worked for us, so might be worth a try?

[fuzzywuzzy]

I also found that dd's would go off food when teething, other than that, I used colditz method too.

[tillykins]

not at all Bex, we seem to have the same problem!
Colditz approach... what if he doesn't give in and eat though?

[colditzmum]

Tillykins - I honestly don't know, he gave in. But they do say no healthy child will starve itself....

[tillykins]

mine blooming well will...

[Abirosie]

My daughter is refusing food too, but still wants her bottle i am giving her 5 bottles a day still and she is 9 months old. How amny should she be having at this age. Trying to get her to eat is a nightmare.

[hovely]

We have similar problems with DS (15mths). He will eat some things if they are very smoothly pureed - it's not a problem with teeth, as he crunches up poppadums and breadsticks despite only having front teeth - he just seems to have objections to any kind of texture apart from smooth or crunchy. However like yours he is very keen on toast, and this was the way in - he gets a bowl of what we're having, smoothly blended, plus toast to dip in it. At the moment what is working is letting him do it all himself - he has the spoon, he gets the bowl to himself on his tray - and surreptitiously I slip in a bit here and there once he has got under way. However he totally refuses to eat potato, egg, hard cheese, or visible vegetables, and we don't eat meat. Tonight he ate one bit of pasta for the first time ever - hoorah!
he also accepts those vegetarian pates made by Cauldron foods - Moroccan chickpea, even parsnip & carrot - and sometimes he agrees to eat mashed up veg spread on toast with a layer of humuus or cheese on top.
anyway, as other threads have emphasised, they do manage to get by somehow. I personally would not do the Colditz thing yet, I reckon closer to 2 years is time enough for the hard line. I just don't think he can understand that it is 'this or nothing'. Over about 2.5 then you can use sticker charts or rewards, which have worked wonders for DD.
Abirosie, for a 9 month old I would say chill out, there is plenty of time yet for her to decide she wants food instead of milk. Maybe you can emphasise milk-based foods, eg cereals, porridge, yoghourts, or finger foods like breadsticks or rice cakes. I know she starts to need iron in her diet, but this can be got from lots of sources.

[tillykins]

thanks hovely, I'll give that a go