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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think DD should eat a meal now and again?

44 replies

NewShooz · 07/01/2012 22:40

I'm really starting to worry about this now...
DD has just turned 2, and although her diet is quite healthy, (plenty of dairy, loads of fruit and veg), she never eats meat apart from sausages!
She used to love eating 'proper' meals at tea time, like Lasagne, Spag Bol etc but she won't eat anything like this anymore, and just seems to live on what I would call 'packed lunch food'. She doesn't even like chips or potato waffles!
AIBU to worry about this?, or should I just go with it? This has been going on for a good couple of months now Sad

OP posts:
faeriefruitcake · 07/01/2012 22:42

It's a stage, don't make a big deal of it. My DT's have been going through it but are coming out the other side.

It has been very frustrating though and at times I have been pulling my hair out. I just concentrated on the good things they do eat

LisaD1 · 07/01/2012 22:46

I think they all go through phases with food. DD2 is just over 4yrs old and from around 3 was a nightmare with her food, she is much much better now but annoyingly hates processed foods (although I am happy to serve it!), she doesn't really like chips or waffles, but loves home made roasts or mashed potato, she will eat chips etc just not many of them, she also has days where she eats loads and days she eats like a baby bird, I've stopped making any kind of fuss now, i dish up dinner and she eats it or she doesn't but there's no snacking from the cupboard afterwards if she hasn't eaten a fair amount.

DD1 was the same, she is now nearly 12 and eats like a horse!

OhyouBadBadkitten · 07/01/2012 22:46

just go with it, but put a teeny bit of other stuff on her plate and dont comment if she doesnt touch it. It is a phase and they do come out of it :)

agedknees · 07/01/2012 22:55

Not seen you around for ages, badbadkitten. Hope everything is ok.

WorraLiberty · 07/01/2012 23:03

Regarding the Lasagne and Spag Bol...

It's not unusual for kids to develop a dislike of 'bits'...and mince is 'bitty' in a way.

I remember mine going off mince, yoghurts with bits of fruit in and jam that wasn't smooth.

It was just a phase though

euphrosyne · 07/01/2012 23:06

Same here. DS 2years and 3 months won't have anything other than milk, juice, cereal, cheese, pasta and yoghurt and the occasional fruit.
He used to eat almost all cooked foods, including meat and fish, but not for the last 5 months or so.
Some think IABU not to force-feed him... Confused
I really hope it's just a phase.

OhyouBadBadkitten · 07/01/2012 23:07

I'm fine agedknees - thank you for asking :) - have been in the weather section quite a bit (and have a proper paying job now Shock which keeps me more occupied)

SebastionTheCrab · 07/01/2012 23:13

Definitely just a phase. In my experience it's best just to pay no attention to it. Just remove their plate when they don't want any more. Still serve up what you always do but don't make it a big deal if they won't eat it. They eventually come round.

Original poster
NewShooz · 07/01/2012 23:22

Thanks for your comments. I will put it down to a phase, and hope she gets a taste for hot meals again soon.
I don't make a fuss anymore. I used to get a bit stressed when it first started, I think some of that was worrying that she would wake up in the middle of the night hungry!, but she never has.

OP posts:
differentnameforthis · 08/01/2012 07:08

It may also be that she is too tired for a big meal at night. With both girls, for about 6-8mths after their 2nd birthday (rough timing of course) I swapped their lunch for dinner & vice versa!

DD1 in particular would eat much better at lunch time than dinner time.

TroublesomeEx · 08/01/2012 07:11

If she's only eating sausages and you're worried about the nutritional content, could you try giving her vegetarian meals which are nutritionally sound without the meat.

TroublesomeEx · 08/01/2012 07:12

If it makes you feel any better, my DD 5 has stopped drinking. One small pot of orange juice yesterday and a small cup of water sipped throughout the day. She's just "not thirsty".

Worries me to death!

troisgarcons · 08/01/2012 07:21

Its to do with the tastebuds. Babies/weaners barely have any thats why their food is so bland and as taste buds develope and they increase intake of different textures likes/dislikes start to form.

Something I learned this week, "bitter" equates to poison and "green" equates to dangerous which is why no child likes brussel sprouts! There is actually a toxin in brassica which suppresses thryroid function (mind you, you'd have to eat 4 thousand kilo of them a day for about 50 years to have any effect). It all comes back to primal instinct.

HooverTheHamaBeads · 08/01/2012 07:23

Could you move towards a home-made beef pattie in the shape of a sausage? Chicken strips with something to dip in? Unless very good quality sausages they can contain some undesirables/preservatives etc

It will be a phase and in six months from now if will be something else again, toddlers/preschoolers can be tricky. Try not to worry about it too much and agree to put small amounts of other things on her plate without too much hovering while eating. Also suggest sitting down as whole family to eat as much as possible.

BrokenBananaMeltdown · 08/01/2012 07:31

Does she eat eggs?

Inertia · 08/01/2012 09:37

My DD went through a stage of refusing meat - think it was a texture / chewing issue. She is now like Desperate Dan - loves meat and easily polishes off an adult's portion of steak.

In terms of getting protein, will your DD eat pulses/ beans (eg hummus) , cheese, eggs, fish (even fishfingers) ?

jubilee10 · 08/01/2012 10:08

I would just go with it - and buy the best quality sausages you can.

ladymariner · 08/01/2012 10:28

Oooohhh this so rings a bell. My ds was the worlds worst eater, or so it felt like, he was a nightmare. He always had breakfast ( weetabix and milk, and fresh orange) but then after that it went all downhill. For ages he existed on honey sandwiches, then they went out of favour and it was turkey dinosaurs things ( yes I know they were shite but there you go), another stage was just beans on toast.....you get the picture.
All the time this was going on I was trying to still get him to eat "proper" food, meat and veg, fruit, all the stuff he should have been having. It got to the stage where when I called him for meals he would cry, and thats when I thought this is ridiculous. I'd tried all the different ways I could think of to get him to eat, I'd tolerated all the advice from people who knew best, all the " well, if he was mine he'd sit there till it was eaten".......really, well thanks for that (hmm) ), and nothing worked.
He was due a check up at the health clinic and whilst we were there the nurse asked if everything was ok and I burst into tears and said he doesn't eat. Every day I thank that nurse because she gave me ahug, and said to look at him, he was above average height, he wa average weight, his eyes were sparkling, and he was so obviously healthy. She also said that in a perfect world theyd eat fruit and veg but it's not prefect and they don't, but as long as he was having a good breakfast he'd be ok. She ended by saying when he's 6 feet tall and eating me out of house and home to come back and see her......
And she was right. He is 16 now, nearly 6 feet tall, and absolutely gorgeous. Hes in the school sports teams, he was in the local athletics club for 6 years, hes just fabulous (ok, I'm his mum so I'm allowed to gush (smile) ). He eats roast dinners, curries, pretty much most things, he can't stand mushrooms or carrots but thats ok, but he'll eat what I put in front of him.
Sorry for this being so long, but we beat ourselves up so much over our children's eating, and it's hard. Just wanted to say there is light at the end of the tunnel, I guess xxxx

ladymariner · 08/01/2012 10:30

Where did my emoticons go??????

(hmm)
(smile)

ladymariner · 08/01/2012 10:30

Still not there......didn't want them anyway......

eurochick · 08/01/2012 10:33

square brackets, not round ones will make the magic happen!

ladymariner · 08/01/2012 10:50

Hmm Smile

ladymariner · 08/01/2012 10:52

Awww, thanks euro chick x. Thanks

RealLifeIsForWimps · 08/01/2012 10:56

trois garcons "bitter" equates to poison and "green" equates to dangerous which is why no child likes brussel sprouts!

My DS does. Oh God, does this mean he has a taste for toxins??

RealLifeIsForWimps · 08/01/2012 10:57

I did also hear though, that like of sprouts (and coriander) is genetic. Some people don't think they taste like bitter farts and so like them.

Apparently coriander tastes like dirt to some people.