refusing to even try meals

[Portlypenguin]

My 18mo DS has gone into an extremely annoying phase - most of the time he is saying 'no' and pushing away his food at meal times without even looking at it/trying it etc. Then he says 'more' and does the eat sign constantly. He points at our plates (even if it is the same food) and wants that but if I try and give him some he then won't have it!! I have tried just completely refusing to give him anything else in the hope he will accept what there is but it just causes even more screaming and then he chucks bowls on the floor.

He eats really well at nursery and they report he rarely refuses things.

DS is dairy, soya and nut free (groan) and so some of the time he can't have the same food as other people. I do try to make his look at similar to everyone else's as possible but it doesn't seem to be helping.

He is on the 2nd centile - was below 0.4th before we went dairy etc free - so I don't want to starve him too much!

Any words of wisdom??? Thanks in advance

Oops...forgot to add that DS has 6oz of oat milk morning and evening plus some on cereal or in cooking etc. The allergy dietician we see said that amount is fine so I don't think he is filling up on too much milk. He only gets water to drink or occasional very dilute squash.

He's a toddler! Ur probably breathing wrong when u feed him :o just ignore the behaviour and carry on eating ur meal and talking to your dp/dh. And just get him down from the table when u finish if he's still not eaten anythin. Ignore the tantrum completely!!! :)

I would really try and avoid making an issue of food. Toddlers don't need a lot of food. I am sure he will eat what he needs when he needs it. Offer a variety of food and leave him to it.

Good luck!

Yes totally agree with the previous posts. Totally ignore or you will encourage greater food fussiness and (sorry for the pun) feed into the issue. It is typical toddler behaviour. Next they go through the phase of wanting to choose only certain clothes to wear! It is about asserting independence, the more you fight it the stronger the determination of the child becomes, let them make some choices and they feel more in control and the phase passes quicker.

I can empathise with the worry when food intolerance/allergy is involved it makes it harder. But trust that they will eat when hungry and that surviving on extra milk for a while will do no harm. Just keep the dinner table calm and things will work out.

If he rarely refuses food at nursery,it's nothing to do with the food you are offering him,rather because you are his mum and he is a toddler and that's how the world goes round. Food is a very contentious issue and one that most toddlers use very successfully to wind parents round their cute little fingers.

Offer food, remove anything left after you've finished, offer something else if you want like a fruit of yoghurt, then that's it til snack or the next meal. It's not a food issue, it's a getting-my-own-way issue, like tidying up toys or saying thank you or napping or toilet training. Stay firm and consistent.

Thanks!