20 Month Old Refusing To Eat

[kaylasmammy]

Hi

my 20 month old daughter will eat nothing at all off a spoon. She never has done and i kept thinking that as she got older it would get easier to get her to spoon feed. She wont feed herself off a spoon either. Its got to the stage now where i keep having to give her finger foods for her meals and im worried shes not getting the right amount of vitamins she needs. She refuses to try anything new although she will show an interest in whatever me or my partner are eating. She will point at it but seems scared to actually eat it. I usually put her high chair in front of the television and give her some finger foods and she will sit happily and eat it all but i realise this isnt a good thing and i want to try and get her to eat meals properly.

Has anyone else had this problem and has anyone got any ideas on how i can get her to eat proper meals? I am currently trying to get into a routine where we all sit round the table together and eat but its difficult as i work part time and my partner works full time.

Can you aim for one meal a day where you eat together?

What happens when you try and get her to spoon feed herself?

The fact that she's interested in your food is good. Let her take stuff off your plate and have a play. Try not to watch her so she doesn't feel under pressure to eat. Let her play and make a mess.

Also consider getting her a booster seat or chair that clips onto the table so she's more involved instead of on a highchair. Easier for her to snatch your food!

What about taking her out for the odd meal too? She can watch you eat and try and copy.

She won't starve herself. Perhaps make a note of what she eats over a week to reassure yourself.

Can you not just let her use her hands?

DD has had the same food as us since she was 6 months, but at nearly 18 months is only now interested in cutlery. That said, the novelty soon wears off and she reverts back to hands at some point during every meal. I can't imagine her not still doing that in a couple of months time.

It's more important to me that she enjoys her food, gets a variety, shares a meal with us etc etc than using cutlery. Table manners or whatever comes later in my eyes.

I have a similar problem with my 18 month old daughter, what works for me is to put 3 different foods on her plate from three different food groups, always choose one of them that she likes, like cheese in my daughters case, although she is picking it up at least she has a variety to choose from, my daughter does eat better up the table with us when we eat, she is always interested in what we eat so i cut a little up on my plate a feed to to her off a little folk, for breakfast she has wheetabix, she then has a yoghurt at half ten, then for her lunch at half 12 i do 2 chedder biscuits, a slice of ham, some slices of cheese and a little diced apple, each portion should be about a table spoon, she has a snack of biscuit or oatie bar at half 3, for evening meal she willl have something like a tuna pasta bake ~ which we eat and some grated cheese or if i do a roast she will have chicken, green beans and a nice dessert if she's still hungry. We have a rule now, if she refuses or messes about with a meal , we end the meal time and she has to wait to the next meal time, gradually she has got better and doesnt mess about or refuse food as much as she did, we use to allow her to eat in front of tv but that stopped workin for us which is probably a good thing. I think at this age a lot of it is about control, my daughter refused breakfast this morning but guess little ones have off days just like us adults. Yesterday she refused to have her trainers on, at times it feels like a fight to get things done, at this age they want to do things their way or they kick off. Try not to worry and just stay firm, it may take a while for her to try new foods. Dont make the mistake of cooking somethin different is she refuses the meal, just make sure theres one thing she loves on the plate, if she messes about, end the meal, she will soon learn to eat whats in front of her. Dont worry that she doesnt feed herself with a spoon yet, the more u sit up a table and eat with her, the more she will watch and learn from u.

I would let her use her fingers.
It may be messy but most toddlers won't care.

Many meals can be eaten with fingers- pasta, pizza, roast dinners... You could use a mug for soup. I'd start off by chopping up what you eat in toddler sized portions and let her go for it.