To ask if my toddler is destined to become a picky eater? According to in laws, yes!

[TheLetterOfTheLawTheLetter]

If everyone says it happened to theirs, I'll say no more.

But I'm tired of perfectly nice, well-meaning in-laws reminding me that my 18 month old's (by the grace of god) amazing eating habits wont last. It's constant. And I'm hardly gloating over it, or dancing around clapping my hands, so I dont need the reality check they think they're providing. It's made worse by sister in law, who has frankly terrible eating kids (ie they eat nothing), who will chime in saying things like "oh you think they will eat organic goodness forever, well you've got a surprise ahead". Again, I don't discuss toddlers eating habits with her, it's just said when we're around table as a family group. I just find it highly patronising. For the record, by good eating habits, I mean he eats a lots, and pretty much anything I give him. I've basically given him what we eat from early on,lots of different flavours and veggies. And ref SIL organic comment, i'm hardly precious, he also gets a little tiny bit of cake, chocolate, ice cream or whatever I'm eating, if I'm feeling generous

I know that moan was mostly unnecessary and I'm over sensitive/easily annoyed, but my main q is whether anyone had a toddler who DIDNT refuse all food at 2.

Who knows, maybe they'll just keep moving the predicted food refusing back

*food-refusing age

Well mil I will just have to make sure you never cook for my dc and I am sure they will be fine...
Tinkly laugh....

God, just smile and ignore.
Mine was a fairly good eater, he just chopped and changed what he would/ wouldn't eat a few times. He's still great at age 4, knows a few things he doesn't like but happy to try other things. Sounds like you've got it good too!

Of my 3
Dd1 (12) always eaten ok
Dd2 (11) ate well....then fussy....now not bad
Ds....the less said the better.

Generally if a child eats what it’s parents eat at the same time, then they don’t become picky. I’ve noticed that picky eating tends to begin with seperate meal times / food for babies at the weaning stage.

Sil is just jealous. It's incredibly frustrating to have a child that won't eat proper food and yet begs for treats all the time. (looks at ds1 and 2). Ignore the comments and feel sorry for her.
You could offer her some helpful annoying advice on how to get her kids to eat.
No idea about Mil but again ignore. Watch out for sabotage attempts by feeding your child cake and ice cream just before a meal too. (looking at pil).

Ds is a good eater he went through a small phase of 'i don't like it' we kept going with it and he's back to eating everything. There's only a few things he doesn't like.

If your SIL has picky eaters then she is probably feeling conscious about it. She might see your commenting on your DC eating well as an attack on her kids.

Kids tastes do change as they get older. Mine don't like some things now that they would happily eat at 2. But then they're also trying more different foods as well. Just keep offering them a variety of foods and don't stop offering something straight away if they don't eat it once.

My youngest is the worst. He will love something one day, refuse to eat it the next and then it is his favorite food next week. He's 4 BTW.

A lot of preschoolers do go through a phase of being picky in what they eat, rejecting certain foods, or only eating certain foods. It's all part of pushing boundaries and trying to assert their wants over your wants, all very normal in terms of development.

Your DC might be one of them (he also might not) but consistently offering whatever you're offering and staying firm but patient will get you through it. It all settles down eventually.

I have four DC. Two eat a good range, one eats a very restricted diet, and one is going through the boundary pushing "I'm only eating bananas today" phase described above.

He might continue to eat everything, he might not. I think at some point most of them will try pushing the boundaries and asking for favourite foods to see if you give in.

Mine ate everything at 18 months, she’ll be 2 in June and is distinctly more fussy these days although she still eats a wide variety of foods, including vegetables. We went out to brunch this weekend and she ate more than her older cousins combined! Yet there are still foods she gobbles up at daycare but she refuses if we serve it. In our case she definitely likes her food but has standard toddler behaviour moments. Right now our biggest issue is stealing from other people’s plates if she decides their food looks better than hers!

Just ignore the ILs and crack on as you are, sounds like you’re doing great!

Mine ate really well as toddlers, then went through phases of not eating certain things, and now eat a wide variety of things. I think most kids go through phases of not eating much or not eating certain things.

There's a few things neither DC will eat, but not much.

Dd is an amazing eater, always has been, went through a little “I don’t like it”phase at the age of 2.5 but what she really meant was I don’t “want” it. I didn’t pander to it. She’s 6 now and will eat and try anything.

Ds2 has been a little bit fussier as I. It takes him time to try things but once he does he’s fine, he doesn’t like peas or tomatoes (but will eat a sauce made from tomatoes)🙄 and also won’t eat tomato ketchup (but he hasn’t tried it either) I’m not bothered!

Urgh I hate all of this "just you wait!!", gleeful, fear-spreading some people seem to relish in. I remember so many women saying similar things to be before I went into labour with my first. Totally unhelpful and unsupportive.
You are obviously doing all the right things so far, so keep doing what you're doing!

Some people - particularly of the older generation - just seem to remember their own version of their experience and love foisting it on others. It's as if the enjoy being forebearers of doom.

Standard parenting advice - smile & nod, smile & nod.

I did BLW with both mine and they are great eaters (not sure if that's the reason but they are). However, I remember the early days when 80% of finger foods ended up on the floor MIL would comment about them being 'picky'. They weren't. They were just had poor fine motor control and were learning all about gravity.

I think there's a developmental phase when they start to reject anything 'green' as an evolved survival mechanism, pretty sure its after 18 months. Obviously doesn't happen to all toddlers though. But generally it isn't anything that you or they have/haven't done, just the luck of the draw. Mine are both fairly fussy, I just roll with it tbh as I think in the long run, this will help them to try new things when they are ready.

DS is 3 and a half. Still eats most things. Loves carrots and cucumber especially

Teddybear45
Generally if a child eats what it’s parents eat at the same time, then they don’t become picky. I’ve noticed that picky eating tends to begin with seperate meal times / food for babies at the weaning stage

Really? It seems from my experience that a lot of children go through a picky phase as part of their development no matter how they were weaned or how the family eat. Children who have very restricted diets which go beyond fussiness, often have siblings who don't have similar issues...and it is hard to put it down to one thing.

Teddybear45 bahahahaaa!

Nope, that's bollocks. I know lots of toddlers and older kids, all of whose parents did BLW and tried to get them to eat what their parents ate. In some families the DC were all, amazingly, not at all fussy. In most, though, there's a mix of fussy, medium and omnivorous DC despite being treated exactly the same.

DS is an ok eater, falls somewhere in the middle, but I have several friends and acquaintances who had easy first babies and were shocked at how fussy subsequent DC were.

Apparently being fussy and wary of new foods is a survival instinct according to DSis (consultant paediatrician) and nothing to worry about.

My Dd has always eaten well especially with fruit and vegetables not necessarily large amountd but most things and tjos hasn't changed. She's five now and although sometimes she'll say 'I don't like a/b/c' I'll just remind her that she does like it, in fact love it and usually she'll eat a little face lights up and I get 'I forgot I liked this' and will promptly eat lots.

She's never eaten much meat but I didn't count it as fussy or picky as everyone is allowed to have things they don't like. Plus she'll usually eat a lot of meat when growing. We just make sure she Haa enough protein through dairy, eggs etc,.

And my only other rule was if she asked to try something as long as it's edible (see raw onion) I never said no (even if inside my head I'm thinking your not going to like it). I didn't want to prejudice her idea of how things taste.

My kids have always been amazing eaters. They still are at 17 and 13. Ignore mil!

Mine was an amazing eater at 18 months. At 4 I’d say she’s a decent eater. Eats good amounts at each meal, lots of veg but she definitely won’t try everything. That stopped around 2 when she became quite restricted - she’s out the other side of that now too.

Some pre schoolers barely eat and their parents constantly negotiate at meal times with them. That is one thing I’ve always refused to do as food shouldn’t be a negotiating tactic, not sure if that’s made a difference

Ignore your MIL, but you won't know if it's going to happen until it does, or doesn't. Did BLW with DD, she ate what we are when we are it, then one day she wouldn't eat one thing, then another then another until her diet was seriously limited. Not asking for junk, not moaning, just simply not eating it. The day she stopped eating my lovely Bolognese I could have cried. Her tastes are increasing/improving a bit now she's almost 5. DS is less picky but really won't eat sandwiches or lunchy stuff, which is annoying. But that may yet come.

I have one great eater, one fussy eater. Both are well at 2. Both fed what we eat.