19 month old hardly eats anything now.

[Ivortheengine8]

My DD was 7lbs 2oz when born, so she certainly was not a large baby in today's standards and she has always stayed quite petite, She is not 'skinny' but she is slim. She is also very active,walks alot and is always on the go.
But the past couple of months she doesnt seem to be eating much at all. I try really hard to do healthy things that she might like. I give her a wheatabix,Porridge or toast at breakfast.Sometimes she nibbles away at it, but much of the time she doesn't eat it (apart from the butter on top of the toast!) So basically apart from her milk she is not eating much breakfast,if any probably most days.
Lunch time, I have tried sandwiches which she won't eat (again she just licks the butter off the top!) sometimes she has a bit of cheese and biscuits and a yoghurt but not much else.
For dinner, I give her usually what we eat (I cook food every night) but she only has about 2 teaspoons full and pushes it away.
Maybe I am putting too much food on the plate? Would that put her off?

So what can I do? Should I be worried about it or is this normal for toddlers?

When she goes somewhere else or to someone elses house she will eat things that she utterly refuses at home.

How much milk is she having? Might it be filling her up? But generally I wouldn't worry too much. DS1 lived on air from about a year old but found his appetite at about 3.6.

Meg, she has a big beaker full when she wakes up at 6.30am and another before she goes to bed at night. That's the toddler milk/growing up milk. ( about 250-300ml a day) I don't tend to give it in the daytime though (not sure if I am supposed to or not actually!)

Hi. Have you checked her weight. If she is gaining weight then she is getting enough food. Butter, cheese, yoghurt and milk all good foods for toddlers but they have lots of calories in them so maybe she is getting enough energy from them.
Toddlers try to get control of stuff. How much of the known universe can I bend to my will? One of the things it is easiest to control is what you eat and drink. If that can be combined with getting parents playing a game of cafeteria then that is really great!
If you are feeling anxious about her food intake she will use this to keep the cafeteria game going. Cut down on her cheese and butter and try to stay calm. Put normal food in front of her. Take it away without comment if she doesn't eat it within a short time and don't offer her other things until the next meal time. Avoid the temptation to offer her a snack in an hour or so. When you have given her something to eat, talk to her about something other than food, or read the paper. Pretend you don't care (yes it will be a challenge) . If she is not getting on with eating then take it away. Remind yourself she will not starve herself.

Good luck!

Thanks Imagine. I havent had her weighed in quite a while actually so I should take her to a weigh in soon.
Maybe I am fussing over her too much, I often comment and say things like 'are you sure you don't want any more?' but I should just quit that like you say and stick it in front of her. We have a new baby on the way so she might as well get used to that!
I will stop any snacks too between meals and see if that helps.
She seems fine in herself otherwise and is always full of energy so I am sure its nothing serious!

Just to say my DD was like this too at this age - fast forward a few months and things are much better.

I can't give you any reason why unfortunately, apart from she started sleeping slightly later in the mornings ( from 5ish am to somewhere between 6 and 630) and then seemed to be in generally better spirits, which encompassed enjoying her food a bit more.

She doesn't have the most enormous appetite - eg today she had half a crumpet for breakfast, a small bit of sandwich for lunch, apple and banana as as snacks...but then she polished off 3 fishfingers, peas, sweetcorn, chips and 2 yoghurts for dinner.

Anyway, second what others have said above - try and not get strung out over it, if possible. Don't offer alternatives, if they don't have what you make that's it. I would give a snack if asked but then maybe push the meal a bit later. I also stopped offering stuff she liked as a snack and offered something dull like a rice cake. We now do dinner at 6pm as well which is later than many would have it but seems to work for us.

Hope things improve, as others say they won't starve themselves! But totally sympathise as I know how worrying it is.

Thanks Bobby
I wonder if she will change when the baby comes. I think cutting out the snacks is a good idea so will do that.

My 20 month old is like this as well, always been a great eater but for the last month or so seems to not want to eat. He always polishes off his breakfast but come snack time, lunch and dinner he can be a bit of a nightmare. Yesterday we had tuna wraps with salad, he picked the cucumber out and ate that then threw it all on the floor, dinner was chicken with potatoes and peas, he munched the peas and the rest was launched across the room.

I did try to encourage him to eat more but I've stopped stressing about it now, telling myself if he's hungry he will eat and he's not underweight or weak so he's obviously getting what he needs. Usually when he starts launching food around I pick it up and put it in the bin and he doesn't get anything else after that, I don't beg him to eat or try and feed him myself anymore, sometimes when he sees me taking it away he will eat the remainder of his food on his plate, other times he wont. Not really got any good advice for you but try not to worry too much, they must just be at an awkward age.