14 month old won’t eat anything but ….

[doneitagain12]

My 14 month old DS has never been a huge foodie, all through weaning he was never guzzling food down, very selective, not overly interested in food. But, he would try most things, both finger food and spoon feeding. Up until he was about 1, he would also eat meat, however, not stand alone meat, it had to be like a cottage pie/stew etc.

However, over the last few months his acceptance of most foods has almost completely gone. He often refuses breakfast recently… and the only foods he’ll actually eat is:

Cheese on toast, Blueberries, Bananas, mango (sometimes) strawberries (sometimes) potato shapes, yoghurts and cheese.

I’ve tried everything, and still at every meal I will put options of different foods. But he ether completely ignores it, or picks it up and drops it on the floor. He doesn’t even contemplate eating it, not even a taste, or feel or sniff.

He won’t eat meat. - At all. Again, will barely acknowledge it let alone try eating it. I’ve even attempted hiding ham under the cheese of his cheese on toast, but he knows and then won’t eat it.
Wont eat fish.
Wont eat veg - the most he’s done in the last few months is pick up some carrots, chew it and spit it out. Any other veg he ignores, throws or flicks around.
wont eat salad.
will occasionally eat scrambled egg (fed to him) but it’s rare. Wont eat a fried, boiled egg.
Wont eat any pasta or rice.
Will eat a chip sometimes or a potato smiley face but won’t eat a boiled, roasted potato
wont eat beans, or spaghetti hoops.
wont eat pancakes

We Limit snacks and make them light when offered.
We have consistent meals times and eat with him most the time.
He has a cup of milk in the morning and a bottle at bedtime (for comfort and also because I worry he’s not full at the end of the day as he eats so little)
Ive tried making many different foods from the baby cook books. He won’t entertain them.
No tounge tie etc.
and he has teeth’d on and off through this but this doesn’t seem like a pain aversion but just a complete lack of interest issue.

I feel like I’m failing him…
Like I’m not providing right for his growth and development by him just eating a very beige and diet lacking in nutrients.
I mentioned it my HV and she didn’t seem bothered.
He is growing and is healthy (although we’ve had back to back colds recently but it’s winter and he started nursery in Jan)

Is this normal?? At what point do I start to get worried?

One of mine did this. Now a strapping 11 year old that eats a wide variety of things. You just have to wait it out and give them what you can. It makes sense from an evolution perspective, as we don't want them learning to walk away from us and putting all sorts of mushrooms and red berries in their mouths. It just doesn't work so well in modern times!

Thank you @HarryVanderspeigle& @lazyarse123that's really reassuring. He doesn’t appear to be loosing Weight yet, and hopefully doesn’t. Although he’s still in 9-12 month trousers mostly but he’s always been a size below for his trousers (he’s long) gets that from his dad.

My DD was similar. She would eat grilled cheese, pb&j sandwiches, avocado toast, berries, french fries, apple sauce, ice cream and weirdly deep friend cheese curds. That was all. Now she’s 8 and her favourite foods are steak and sushi so actually I miss eating out with her when it was super cheap as she’d only have a plate of fries!! It’s nearly always a phase- fussy toddlers are so common but it’s actually pretty rare to meet a truly fussy adult.

It is likely nothing to do with your parenting. DS4 was always a great eater, ate pretty much everything we offered from when we started weaning. DD1 hardly eats anything. Greek yoghurt and raspberries is usually a success. Sometimes Weetabix and sometimes potato and beans or carrots. Occasionally will eat other food. She hardly eats at nursery either. I approached weaning the same way with both children but DD just isn't a foodie. I do worry but just hope it will click at some point.

I wouldn’t call this a ‘beige diet lacking in nutrients’, there’s good vitamins in the fruit, calcium in the cheese and yoghurt, potassium in the potato. Many yoghurts have added vitamin D. What’s missing really is iron, omega 3 and folate.

I would give him what he’ll eat for now (if the list was chicken nuggets and melty puffs I wouldn’t be saying that!), and try to give him an iron and omega 3 supplement by adding it to the yoghurt.

That’s a really good idea. I’ll look into that, thank you. He had the wellbaby vitamins in his bedtime milk already. X

One of mine basically ate fruit and plain pasta for the first 2.5 years of her life. She's much better now, though still fairly selective. She does love meat though!

I recommend First Bite by Bee Wilson on persuading kids (including babies) to try new things.

All of mine went through these phases. It is a normal part of weaning. As long as he's healthy and growing, just give him what he will eat, keep trying new foods, and try not to stress.

@doneitagain12

how are things going now?

I’m afraid to say. No better.

He will still only eat, toast, cheese on toast, a cheese sandwich or cheese on crackers (but will never finish it) some fruit, yoghurt, potato but only in some forms (chips/wedges/waffles) not mash or boiled or roast.

Wont be spoon fed anything but yoghurt by anyone now. But also won’t feed himself..

Even with the childminder it’s the same, he barely eats anything there.

but he is full of energy, growing and developing fine. I haven’t weighed him in a while so not 100% on weight but he’s growing into next size clothes etc fine.

I know it's hard (emotionally) but he's thriving & that's all you need to worry about. Just keep adding a few other bits to 'safe' food & eventually he'll try them. Or will want stuff iff your plate, especially if not offered!

this phase is designed (I'm sure) to make you not mind so much when they're teenagers & eating you out of house & hind!!

try not to worry! Xx

Don't make it an issue.

Don't try to trick him or hide things - that accomplishes nothing.

He is eating healthily and from the different food groups - that's enough.

As others have said although his diet is limited he is getting his food groups and he is very young. Hopefully he will be better with eating as he gets older but if not get your GP to refer you to a dietician if it gets worse

@AgnesMcDoo@Katemax82

I've stopped the hiding of things now, as was warned previously in this thread that it can be counterproductive.

I just worry so much at how little he eats and never being able to serve him a proper meal. I’d love to see him sit and eat a spag bol or sausage and mash with some veg. It always looks like a picnic style lunch and dinner.
and I worry about the lack of meat.

I certainly don’t let him see me stress, I don’t make a fuss or encourage him to eat more, I simply offer it, leave him to it, and accept when it’s being continuously thrown on the floor that he doesn’t want anymore. But internally I worry about it daily. Especially when the childminder tells me, he’s eaten virtually nothing today, or ‘he will not try anything new’.

How long did this phase last for you though? This has been an ongoing thing for almost 8 months now. And now even some of the foods he’d previously eat, (porridge, scrambled egg) he won’t anymore. X

Really?? What changed at 2 and a half? Did it just click? Another thing I worry about is because he’s not eating anything that actually requires cutlery, he isn’t using them, so he’s not learning that skill at all. I leave them for him, he mostly picks it up, slaps the food with it a bit and then throws it. X

Nursery helped a lot and the more active she became, the hungrier she became I imagine. She also started getting more curious about food I was eating and ate things I was trying like olives, smoked salmon, etc. Honestly, I was in such a tizz for such a long time with her with her food

I would absolutely not worry if he is not losing weight and is having milk etc

Fussy eating is normal, my 3yo was a terrible eater, and while he is still quite fussy he is definitely improving (and he is still breastfed)

There's a theory that this fussiness can be a safety mechanism to stop young children eating poisonous things (how credible that is I don't know).

My advice from my experience
Keep mealtimes fun, if they don't eat, they don't eat, do not stress, just leave the food there until meal time is over and take away.
Can you have two meals of familiar items and one of new items, or all familiar meals but with one new or 'not acceptable' item of food on the plate. Just exposure to new foods with no expectation is positive

Reward or prsise any interaction with a new item - my main rule is, if you don't want to eat it that's fine, but keep it on your plate

The following:
picking up and putting down
Licking
Trying and spitting out
These are all positive interactions with food.

Things that increased eating for us (though not necessary fussiness) - having a game of feeding through the 'food hole' (which was just a gap between some glass and the stairs near the dinner table. Stories at the dinner table, particularly where eating helped move the story along - eg can you eat some potato to help the car get to the motorway etc.

Fussiness may get worse before it gets better, but please do feel no shame, enjoy him, enjoy meals with him and ignore any judgy faces!

Plenty of things change. At his age, your baby’s taste buds haven’t fully developed. His motor skills are still weak. There’s really no reason to worry. Give him the food he wants, make sure he gets enough that he’s still gaining weight, and let go of whatever ideas you had about what he should or shouldn’t be doing. Often the babies who eat anything regress badly anyway when they hit 2 or 3 and they start to be able to taste more flavours.