To let my 18 month old go without dinner if he's refusing to eat it?

[ohwouldntitbenice]

Just that really. My 18 month old ds has point blank refused to eat his dinner. It is a meal he normally enjoys, he should be hungry as he hasn't eaten since lunchtime, I was sat with him as normal and had exactly the same dinner as him and he kept saying 'no mummy', pursing his lips and pushing his fork and plate away. He then started pointing to the cupboard and saying 'snacks', and had a tantrum when I said he couldn't have any snacks. So aibu to let him go without eating? Is he old enough yet to truly understand? Should I offer him alternatives at this age to make sure he eats? I will definitely not be giving him the snacks he wants though.

Mine can be like this, he's nearly 2. I always keep a bit aside in case he changes his mind but I don't push it, it's easy to give kids a food complex by forcing them to eat when they don't want to

I hope more people respond. I have the exact same problem.

My daughter is a similar age and if she doesn't want her dinner then I normally offer some buttered toast and a bit of fruit

Yanbu. He may be coming down with something. My dd never has eaten at all when she is and she's 10 now.

If I ever persuaded her to, I'd always see if back up again in the night.

Keep something handy to give him if he gets hungry.

Can you put it in the fridge and try later?

It's fine. He'll probably eat more tomorrow. What toddlers eat over a week is more important than any individual day.
My 1 year old makes it very clear when he doesn't want to eat and I never force the issue.

I wouldn't give treats, but I would give something otherwise dc will be hungry during the night. Toast or similar.

Probably a one off, but SIL used to give a dinner for lunch and lunch for dinner as her child ate better at lunchtime. And sandwich could sit for a while.

DS has always been a fussy eater; our rule is that he doesn't get anything to eat between dinner and supper (only a couple of hours apart), so if he doesn't eat dinner, he has to wait. They won't starve in that space of time.

I wouldn't let him go to bed hungry, if possible, though.

Gosh yes it's fine. He's too young to "truly understand" but that's not a problem, you dont have to hold him to it - just warm up and reoffer the same if he chsnges his mind. You made find he guinelh doesnt want it but hell just make up for it at breakfast or lunch tomorrow.

Main thing is not to get stressed, not to get into a battle over it and not to offer him alternatives just to make him eat.

He will be perfectly fine without eating for the night. Perhaps his body is telling him something. I would offer a healthy snack, but if he refuses I wouldn't worry. Trust me, he will not starve himself!

If he’s anything like my DC, the trouble with letting him go without eating is that he’s likely to wake up hungry in the night.

I’d normally offer something plain like toast or crackers if they won’t eat dinner.

At that age I'd offer weetabix or something bland.

I'd offer the dinner later, or a boring alternative (but something you knew he normally eats e.g. toast). If he has nothing won't he wake up ravenous in the middle of the night?

Dont do it. ! I did this once. The poor child cried and fell asleep and it haunts me. Im actually ashamed at the memory. An 18month old doesnt get bargaining iykwim.! Later on you can bribe etc and it does work. I have lego advent calendars at the moment
They cannot open a window til thwy eat the dinner i put infront of them and the fruit afterwards and they do !! My 6 yr old is now enjoying oranges . Am so thrilled. The calendars worth every penney. So its not crisis or set in stone if he/she wont eat it tonight as to it never being eaten.

You are doing the right thing. Just remove it but don't offer an immediate alternative. Try again later and offer the same meal reheated before bed. If not then a dull alternative e.g. Toast with butter or crackers.

He'll be fine. He's just pushing his luck. Don't worry about it. Don't give him snacks.
Can you keep the dinner to re-offer it later? If not, offer him something plain. Bread and butter and a serving of vegetables is our standard emergency meal in this situation (like if dinner is reheated leftovers and can't be reheated again).
It's not worth making meal times a battle ground.