To feed my 16 month old readybrek for dinner?

[Platypusmama]

So hear me out.

Made dinner tonight, just a halloumi type stew in tomato sauce with couscous, something dd has eaten before and devoured. She literally didn’t even taste it, just sat in her chair. I tried to feed her a bit (she usually feeds herself) but she wouldn’t take it. Not a single bite made it into her mouth. Obviously I’m worried she’s going to wake up hungry so I made a (massive) bowl of readybrek, I mean massive! More than I would eat. She devoured the entire bowl which must mean she was starving, right? But if she’s so hungry, why won’t she even try her dinner? Fair enough if she tasted it and absolutely hated it, but not to taste it at all?!?

She’s a really healthy weight, in the 90 percentiles so certainly not going to starve, and I still breastfeed her quite a bit so there’s always that, but what do I do?!? I know it’s bad to cave and give something else because it’ll make her become picky but do I just send her to bed hungry?

God no one tells you how hard getting them to eat is! Some days she eats like a trooper and I finally think I’ve cracked it but then she resorts back to barely eating a thing. GAH!!

I sometimes give my 5 year old porridge with banana/raisins for dinner sometimes she purely doesnt want what we are having - not very often though and she loves porridge.

Sometimes I come home from work and dont want curry/ lasagna etc - so I have toast/cereal. I treat her just the same, I would put my foot down if it became a usual occurrence.

Also, there are much worse things you could be feeding her

My 8 month old wouldn’t touch his dinner tonight. He had a bit of broccoli but mostly mushed it up and threw it on the floor. He didn’t have lunch either. So I gave him a rusk, mixed with a rusk, banana and peanut butter. I don’t want him to be up all night hungry.

Sorry a rusk mixed with formula

Oh I get it, my DD and DS are two - DD’s favourite go to meal is usually a good shout and it works 90% of the time but often she will turn her nose up to it, she’s been like this since starting solids.

I see no issue with Ready Brek, better your DD ate something rather than nothing, just be aware that if your DD thinks she can get the tastier food by refusing dinner she will try it again - but definitely not a bad choice. My DD is sometimes fed an assortment of snack foods (as healthy as I can manage) some afternoons rather than a meal and some days it’s like she lives on fresh air!

Just a thought if it does continue past today, it might be teething? When DD started getting her pre-molars she went off textured foods altogether, she would munch toast and we reverted back to the purées for a while 😁

Ah it's not going to hurt her. When they're little I think maybe they just have days when they don't fancy what you've put in front of them and so long as they eat well most of the time a bowl of readybrek for supper won't hurt.

If it's all the time it's a battle to pick. If it's occasional, let her be.

Sounds fine to me. Porridge or toast are reasonable alternatives on occasion to fill them up without you having to cook another meal. Toddlers are awkward sometimes! (often!)

It's fine she's tired and there are much worse things she could be eating.. keep trying but don't worry she will eat all your lovely dinner one day (when she's about 8 in my experience )

I’m not sure what ready brek is but I used to give my toddler porridge before bed. I was told to do this by our Scandinavian nanny. Oats fill them up and have melatonin to induce sleepiness!

At that age I would always offer a non exciting alternative. So like you some porridge, or some plain toast. I found at that age my daughter could be a bit hit and miss at mealtimes, but I've found staying relaxed about it and keeping mealtimes stress free has really worked. She is 2.5 now and always tries everything that is on her plate, I can't remember the last time we had a complete refusal. The vast majority of the time she will eat what is on her plate, but if we make something new and she tries it and doesn't like it, I will make something simple like beans on toast.

Porridge would be better I think ready brek is full of sugar, but either way it’s fine if it’s not a common occurrence

My kids have sugar free rice pudding about once a fortnight for dinner. Filling, warm, comforting. As long as they have fruit, veg and some protein during the day I can't see the issue.

YANBU atall, my kids had porridge for tea more than once when they were little...they’ve survived to 22 and 17 😂

Don’t worry it certainly won’t be the last time. Kids are strange creatures stuff something in one day act like you have given them arsenic the next time you give it to them. Quite normal behaviour but quite trying at times.

That's absolutely fine but if she ate that much you might find she's sick later, it's very filling porridge and when they have their milk on top later it can be too much for little stomachs.

My nearly 2 year old has just had toast having rejected beef stew and mash.

Ready brek is smooth porridge and the plain one doesn't have sugar in response to PPs.
I'm sure I've done the same, OP. Not that I remember..

Don’t stress.

We always offer DD dinner if she’s doesn’t eat it we give her a couple of slices of (wholemeal) toast.

Last night we forgot and she woke up at 3am hungry refusing to go back to bed!

Much better to just fill them up.

We did the same last night- refused the delicious cottage pie that he enjoyed last week and I resorted to breakfast for dinner (it was baby though but I need him to sleep and that worked). Sometimes I think they just don’t fancy what we offer them and they can’t tell us in words.

Baby museli not porridge (must preview posts before posting them!)

YANBU

Toddlers however are very unreasonable, one minute they like it other times they don't!

If I've had a big lunch or don't fancy much I'll usually have cereal or porridge in the evenings. Not unreasonable to think they might aswell x

He’s gone to bed with a full stomach. Course you aren’t unreasonable. You pick your battles! If he wants ready brek instead of dinner and will eat that it’s better than being up in the night starving. Sometimes my son decides dinner should be 5 babybels instead of whatever we’ve prepared. He’s survived 😊

Yes of course it's fine. Do you ever find that some days you just don't fancy what you planned for dinner or it's infront of you and you're just not in the mood for it anymore so pick at it then have a bowl of cereal after or some toast? Kids are the same as us 😂. Sometimes they just don't fancy it that night, just by looking at it. My son has refused a meal a couple of times and not touched it so I've offered some toast or crackers and cheese after and he's eaten that!

My 16 month old had toast with peanut butter for dinner having refused the lentil bolognese that he normally wolfs down. I do worry that this happens more often than I'd like but I think his diet is generally the right side of ok and I don't think it's ok to do 'this or nothing' with a child that can't tell you what the issue is.

Kids can be funny like that.

Porridge would be better I think ready brek is full of sugar

I thought it was just a finer porridge with some vitamins added?