16 months old not eating

[Gayu]

My DD s 16 months old and she started refusing food which he eat regularly.. she refuses at very first spoon.. for 7 days I distracted with tv and fed her.. but for couple f days she s throwing up with two spoons... I left her without feeding her lunch so she ll eat dinner and gave 4 oz of milk for lunch even then she s not eating... I m going mad and feels very bad..

Plz don't talk like my doctor which s not convincing me... I know she s hungry but why is she not eating... She likes all junk foods... We never introduced to any junks till now but she likes all junks when someone introduce her ..she opens her mouth... I m worried..

[OctoberMarch]

My DD is 19 months old but refuses her food every few weeks or so and has done since she was about your DDs age. Normally it's when she's teething or feeling poorly, but it can last for about a week which is bloody horrible when you know she's hungry, and likes the food you're offering

I did and still do the TV thing too sometimes out of desperation.

Apparently it's normal at this age to start refusing food, because they develop a fear of foods which could be dangerous - a throwback evolutionary thing. That doesn't make it any easier for you though.

We just tried to keep mealtimes as chilled as possible. We also found that leaving her to eat and Pottering about in the same room really helped, possibly
because she didn't feel pressured to eat.

Just know that yes it's bloody hard and worrying but you're not alone and sound like you're doing a brilliant job

[moita]

Do you give her finger foods or are you trying to spoon feed her? Also what do you mean by junk food?

[Gayu]

Thanks octmar...your reply makes me feel I m not alone...

moita... I spoon fed her sometime... Sometime give her finger food... Both not working... Sometime finger food works but all times spoon feed fails...

Junk food .. I meant man made shelf life food like cookies, cakes, chips...etc

[pastabest]

She might be trying to tell you that she doesn't want to be spoon fed any more.

It could also be something simple like teeth coming through.

I would be tempted to give her a spoon and a pot of something soft like yogurt or spaghetti and see how she gets on with it.

It will be messy but some will probably make it into her mouth!

[Mamabear12]

My son was like this. He was a great eater and ate EVERYTHING such as salmon, rice, spinach, mexican bean soup, cod soup, eggs, etc. To slowly rejecting everything around 18 months. There was a time he would only eat chicken nuggets and pouches (fruit puree and yogurts), cheese. He is still quite picky at 4 years old. But he will at least eat more of a variety. I would just continue to try to offer her healthy foods and reduce the junk food.

[moita]

Yes keep offering her finger foods (and eat the same yourself). My son can be like this. He'd eat those puff crisp things for lunch if I let him.

He ate a good portion of spaghetti bolognese yesterday - I felt like cheering but I didn't make a fuss. I don't want food to be a weapon.

It's hard though.

[Gayu]

Thank you all for reply... Let me try giving her finger food