Frustrated parents of very fussy toddlers

[CaptainBarbossa]

Anyone else feeling frustrated trying to feed their very fussy toddlers?

Mine will mostly only eat fruit, toast with butter, crisps and cheese at the moment.

She will also only drink milk, no water.

Anyone else struggling? Or anyone with any ideas how to get them eating?

I’m wondering if she is only drinking milk, no water, if it’s simply a case that she’s not hungry. Is there any way you can start diluting the milk? If you start small, maybe 2 parts water to 4 parts milk it should be hard to detect. You can then gradually increase the amount of water.
How old is she?

2 years.

I have tried reducing milk/offering water.

She will not drink water at all. Just waits until next time milk is offered. I suppose the fruit is quite hydrating too, although has vitamins and everything.

I did give squash for a little while but that was worse, she just filled up on squash refused to eat and as it was sugar free then there was no calories. At least with milk there is calcium in it.

Can you try milky food like weetabix and porridge?

Does she pinch your food? Anything you can tempt her with?

I have no advice as am also struggling with an incredibly fussy toddler, but am following to see if any ideas are suggested that we haven't tried!

My 2.5yo is a nightmare. Very limited diet, if we attempt to put something new on his plate he screams, claps his hands over his mouth and refuses everything in front of him. He's the exact same at nursery, he's been going there 3.5 days a week for over a year and they've had no luck either. He seems perfectly happy to not eat at all if it's not something he wants. It's driving us bonkers at the moment.

My DTs will eat homemade lasagne, cottage pie and bolognese, skinned sausages and hotdogs, porridge, Cheerios and occasionally 1/4 slice of toast or 1/4 crumpet. They won’t eat fruit or vegetables, the odd bit of cheese or ham and rarely a chip or bite of fish - it was a bonus last night that one of them had a bite of my jacket potato with cheese. Drinks wise they have breast milk or water, have had sips of my tea. And that’s it.

I get stressed about it as they seem to eat so little but are still tracking along their centiles so I’ve got to trust that they’re getting enough. They’re coming up to 22 months old.

My 3 year old eats fish fingers, pizza, yoghurts, and then all the plain carbs - plain pasta, plain rice (I sneak an egg in), chips, bread, ellas fruit pouches which I've kept going just to get fruit in him. Occasionally apple or grapes.. But if he enjoys them today he's likely to hate them tomorrow.
No sauces at all. Been at creche for nearly a year also and will happily sit during lunch and eat nothing.
He will eat oats in milk/ yoghurt and weetabix so breakfast is his best meal of the day.
You know the saying... No child will starve themselves they will eat when hungry enough.. They haven't met my ds. He'd rather starve than so much as touch new foods.
I've tried to stop worrying about it. We serve him the same dinner as us (usually) but I make sure there's at least one "safe" food I know he'll eat. E.g. Spaghetti bolognese - I serve him plain spaghetti, the bolognese sauce, grated cheese and garlic bread in different sections of a plate and we serve it family style so he can see what there is and ask for more if/when needed. From that dinner he'd eat the spaghetti and garlic bread. I'm hoping that with enough exposure to the other foods he might eventually one day decide to taste it though I don't see it happening in the near future.

My 5 year old is still the same now, I thought she'd have got better by now to be honest. My 3 year old is much more adventurous, loves strong flavours like curry, chilli, enchiladas etc. However, she does love berries, kiwis and those tinned mandarins so she gets some goodness a couple of times per day.

I usually serve her some of our dinner on the same plate as a smaller portion of what she likes. So if we've had spaghetti meatballs, I will keep it all separate on her plate and also put some plain chicken on there because she will eat the plain pasta just not the sauce and meatballs. I was so shocked last night because she actually tried cucumber, lettuce and sweet corn from out tacos. That's the first time she's ever accepted it on her plate let alone her mouth! She has got slightly better over time and I just tell myself that I doubt she will be like this at 10 even.