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Does spoon feeding lead to fussy eating?

38 replies

Namechangeymcnamechange11 · 01/07/2019 16:45

My toddler is practically on a hunger strike right now. He's stopped eating stuff he liked before, almost overnight. I can get him to eat toast, yoghurt and pasta and not much else.
Won't try anything new. He'ss also eating small amounts no matter what I try. He's too young to understand logic or bribery!
I spoon fed him for weaning and am starting to wonder whether I've broken him because I didnt do BLW.
I couldn't do it as I had anxiety too badly and couldn't bring myself to give finger food for quite a while.
Is this salvageable?

OP posts:
BettysLeftTentacle · 01/07/2019 16:48

No. Kids get fussy at different stages in their lives. It’s part of their development and has bugger all to do with how you wean them.

Eminybob · 01/07/2019 16:50

I did BLW with DS1. He ate anything and everything as a baby but was the fussiest toddler ever. He’s still fussy now at 4 but getting slightly better.

I’m currently weaning Ds2 and have been happily spoon feeding him pouches (alongside finger food) as it clearly makes not a jot of difference.

tilder · 01/07/2019 16:51

What BettysLeftTentacle said.

They will eat. Different children need different amounts on different days.

Until about 10 years ago, spoons and puree were the norm. Finger foods are a new thing.

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BlossomCat · 01/07/2019 16:52

Baby led weaning is a relatively new phenomenon, look at anyone about 15 and over, and they were probably weaned by being spoon fed.
Yes, a proportion of them will be fussy eaters, but it won't be how they were weaned that created that.
Try not to stress, and I'm sure your son will start eating other things.

Eminybob · 01/07/2019 16:52

I was actually chatting about this with a health visitor today funnily enough, and she was surprised that DS1 is fussy since he was BLW’d, so she clearly believes the myth.

Paddingtonthebear · 01/07/2019 16:53

No. I did some spoon/purée and some self feeding. Also some shop bought pouches. Not fussy. Her cousins who were strictly baby led turned extremely fussy since around age 3 (now school age) and I’ve heard other BLW’ers say similar actually . It’s no guarantee either way is it, so as long as they are eating something who cares.

missyB1 · 01/07/2019 16:54

God no it’s got nothing to do with spoon or baby led (or whatever the latest fad is). It’s a stage most of them go through. Hold your nerve and keep trying new things at least a few times a week. Make it normal to experiment with food in your house. And don’t freak when they refuse to eat.

funmummy48 · 01/07/2019 16:58

Mine were spoon fed and aren’t fussy. As others have said, it’s quite a new thing. I suspect that in a few years it will be out of favour and spoon feeding will be the new thing. Don’t worry about it, it’s probably a phase your child is going through.

clevername · 01/07/2019 17:02

Agree with everything everyone has said. Also, how old is your DS? Both of mine went through a strange fussy stage at about 15 months ish... I think it's because they both suddenly realised that they had free will and could say no, so they got a bit 'no happy' and said it all the time!

userabcname · 01/07/2019 17:04

No, I spoon fed DS and he's not fussy at all with what he eats.

ScrambledToe · 01/07/2019 17:07

Turning 2 leads to fussy eating.

hettie · 01/07/2019 17:12

No..

freshasthebrightbluesky · 01/07/2019 17:16

No. Fussy eating just happens. You just have to ride it out and try not to stress about it or turn it into a big battle.

MauisHouseOnMaui · 01/07/2019 17:51

Agree with ScrambledToe that turning 2 leads to fussy eating, it's a normal phase that lots of kids go through.

Don't make a fuss. Keep offering normal meals and make sure there is always at least one food on the plate that you know he will eat so that even if he doesn't touch the refused part of the meal he will have eaten some of it, at the end of the meal clear it all away without comment.

PhillipeFellope · 01/07/2019 17:53

No. Its because toddlers are proper knobheads. For example, my 2.5 year old ate for dinner (with gusto, vim and vigour) a sandwich. When offered a bit of my sandwich later "eww no I don't like it!" literally less than 1.5 hours later.

Apparently when his father offers him food within bread he eats it, when I offer it, it becomes poisen. See, knobhead Grin

Hmmmbop · 01/07/2019 17:54

Mine isn't fussy. We did blw but I don't think that's why he isn't fussy! There's lots of benefits to blw, but I don't think it makes a difference as to how fussy a kid is.

AbbyHammond · 01/07/2019 17:56

I BLW DC1 at 6 months - fussiest child ever.

Subsequent children were spoonfed/sucked mush from pouches from 4/5 months and will all eat a wide range of healthy foods.

noblegiraffe · 01/07/2019 17:57

I did blw with both mine, they are both very fussy but about different foods making it impossible to all have the same meal Hmm

Pearlfish · 01/07/2019 17:59

I spoon fed DC1 (it was before BLW was a thing) and he's the least fussy eater I know.

stayfit · 01/07/2019 18:08

No do what suits you and children will go through stages of being fussy and that's why you still need to be offering milk to make up any nutrition lost. My son was spoon fed as blw didn't work for us mostly due to my anxiety about choking (first time mum) and also because he was v active child who struggled to sit and explore food rather wanted to climb all over the high chair.
It's important to keep trying things that they don't like and also eat together as they understand the concept of eating. He is going to be 7 and eats a good variety of fruit and veg and tried various cuisines recently on holiday. I have spent days looking at friends kid who did v well with blw and wondering why didn't it click for me, but now I am a older wiser mom, I have concluded it makes no difference.

Deadringer · 01/07/2019 18:13

I spoon fed all 5 of mine and only had one fussy one, the eldest. She was underweight too which didn't help my stress levels. She is a grown woman now, fit and healthy, but still picky. My other DC ate anything and everything. Try not to worry about it, easier said than done I know.

Cannyhandleit · 01/07/2019 18:18

I did not do BLW with ds1, he will eat pretty much anything you put in front of him.
I did do BLW with ds2 and he is the fussiest wee shire I've ever met.
So no spoon feeding did not make ds1 a fussy eater.

pikapikachu · 01/07/2019 18:29

Not related ime. BLW babies are generally better with lumps earlier but fussiness is bad luck. In my experience fussiness can be a phase that comes and goes. Fussiness now doesn't mean fussiness for years to come.

DippyAvocado · 01/07/2019 19:09

Fussy eaters are fussy eaters regardless of how they are fed. Obviously there's more chance of them eating better in the long run if they're offered a wide range of foods from a young age, but some kids are just fussier by nature.my spoon-fed DC is a much better eater than the one who was BLW. Both mine were good eaters as babies, then went through a fussy stage as toddlers which the younger one has never grown out of!

OneNightTimeMenaceStrikesBack · 01/07/2019 20:06

Out of me and my six brothers and sisters, all of us were mainly spoon fed and only one of us was fussy as a child and remains a bit fussy as an adult. the rest of us have dislikes of course but will eat most things. My son was a mix of spoon fed and some BLW and he eats most things but had a huge stage of fussiness between ages 3 and 5. I really don't think it makes much difference, i think fussiness is just another stage of toddlerhood to get through, some don't grow out of it really but i believe that's just their nature rather than anything their parents do or don't do