2 yo not eating meat

[Vladut7ani]

Hi happy parents

Ever since we came back from Holiday last summer my 2 yo soon 3, is not touching meat or cheese anymore. Also no afternoon nap, dummy or Aptamil. Ok, I understand the second part but why not meat? Not even Mc? And I make chicken nuggets at home, we call them Mc..
is this a body requirement not to eat meat? Only vegetables and cereals with milk. I did give him vitamins, but he is still as energetic. But he has become very fussy with food, also loooooves sweets. Chocolate, not sugary stuff you buy as candies. And doughnuts, he loves them so much I call him doughnut. Please advise.

My ds is younger than yours but he won't eat meat either. I don't worry about it, really we could all do with cutting down. On the meat we eat.
If yours is thriving and energetic then don't worry - plenty of kids grow up completely vegetarian and are fine.

I really wouldn't worry, my children are older now and I couldn't tell you what they are at age 2 but I do know it varied from day to day, a lot of parenting stress would be saved if people didn't get so het up about food.

Usual caveats and sensible use aside don't sweat the small stuff, children are small for such a short time, don't make your life more difficult than it needs to be

Just make sure he has other protein.
Beans in toast has a complete range of all the proteins from grains and pulses. Use good quality bread.

Does he like houmous ? A bean dip?

As long as you are giving him a healthy and balanced diet that will give him all the things he needs then I wouldn't worry about it.

If he refuses meat then find an alternative source of protein that he will eat as protein is important for the body. Lentils etc

Do a bit of research on what alternatives to meat will give him the protein and certain vitamins and minerals that normally meat provide.

The likelihood is that it's just a phase and will start eating it again. So offer it sometimes like on days when your having some.

He seems to be having a lot of sweet stuff though?

My DDs are 8 and stopped eating most meat around the same time. They eat mincemeat when we have spag bol, chicken nuggets, and sausages. Becomes a nightmare sometimes at meal times because I hate having to cook separate meals for everyone, so I just give them more of another option. They eat a lot of fruit and veg and I put lentils/pulses in anything with a sauce to pad them out more. Very rarely poorly and not underweight! Don't worry too much :)

The only meat my DS will eat at home is sausages, mince in spag Bol, ham, and chicken if he fancies it. He’s 2.5

I figured it’s just part of him asserting himself- he eats everything at nursery 4 days a week, and loves pulses so I don’t sweat it.

It's common, loads of kids I have worked with have refused meat unless it's processed so I've always assumed it's a texture thing. My own 2yo will only eat sausages given that she's allergic to dairy and eggs she is practically a vegan, but then we had a mostly vegetarian diet before she was born anyway so it's not been too difficult for us to adjust our meals!

My 6 year old is such a fussy eater and has always refused to eat any sort of meat at all, it's as if he was born a vegetarian!

Thank you

My 6yo rarely eats meat, she will have some roast chicken or chicken nuggets only from mc ds. So she probably eats a spoonful of meat a week. She does eat babybel and cheesestrings though. Have you tried those?

Mine went through a phase like that I think it was the texture (she would be OK with bits of soft mince in a bolognaise or something but anything that looked like meat was declined. It recently got better, we just kept offering. I found a slow cooker helped as it made things softer

My DSs both wouldn't eat any meat for years, and still aren't keen on cheese on its own. We have taken it slowly and they only started eating chicken drumsticks around age 5 and pieces of beef around 7. They would eat mince and sausages earlier than proper cuts of meat so I assume a texture/chewing thing.

I remember stressing so much about it at the beginning though, and mentioned it to the nurse when DS1 was having preschool jabs (he seemed not to be eating anything at all). The practice nurse took one look at his chubby cheeks and said witheringly "well he's not exactly wasting away, is he!!"

If it reassures you, dds dietician said that as long as they eat a variety of fruit and veg and pulses and get some carbs in (but not only carbs!) then she wouldn't be worried! Meat isn't an essential really but I can understand you being concerned if you aren't used to cooking and preparing meals without it!

Does he eat fish?

It's fine. Lots of children don't eat meat.

Can't see the problem?
Ds & dd have never eaten meat, they're now 13 & 17, slim, very healthy and both taller/stronger than me!
Plenty of other ways to consume protein, most of which are better for your health and the planet!