Please tell me your DC did this as well?!

[Bridezilla3521]

For the last 3 months or so, my 18month old DD has been so fussy at tea time.

Typical day-
Wake up
210ml milk
Breakfast 8am-toast and fruit
Lunch 12.30- sandwich (half eaten most of the time), fruit and sometimes crisps.

On the whole, she generally eats well for these meals. She will sometimes have a biscuit or a few chocolate buttons (once a week) in the afternoon after her nap.

Her issue is tea time, she won't eat any food home made by anyone (myself, DP, GPs). She'll usually be ok with spaghetti hoops, baked beans, chips, and Little Dish meals. Had a phase a few weeks ago of eating sausages, but that lasted a week.

Tonight I made beef stew, same foods that were in Little Dish, but totally refused.

Please tell me that one day she will magically decide to start eating my food?!!

Just so you know, I don't offer alternatives, I'm aware she eats relatively well the rest of the time but surely not eating home made tea will last forever?!

Am having exactly the same issue with 18mo DS! won't eat anything home made but happy with fruit /snacks /fish fingers etc. Marking place as also hoping someone will say they'll magically eat again!

I think they can start getting fussy at that age sometimes teething made my DD worse with different textures too although biscuits are always ok!
It is a phase but in my experience quite a long lasting one! My DD is almost 3 and has improved as she has got older. One thing I did notice is that the kiddy ready meals have lots of sauce compared to home cooked so maybe try home cooked with extra sauce?

My dd2 at that age would eat roughly:
Breakfast-1 mouthful of whatever offered, then refuse anything else.
Lunch: either 2 bites of a sandwich or half a 4month (the complete slop) baby jar. Maybe a spoon or two of yoghurt.
Dinner: something like 2 peas, one bite of a chip, 2 pieces of meat. 1 slice of apple. Or 1/2 a 4 month baby jar.
She wouldn't take any home made stuff, she liked it the total slop, and I couldn't get it thin enough or a bite or two finger food.

She only ate tinned sweetcorn consistantly well. She hit 5yo and suddenly ate lots in lots of quantity.

Otoh my dd1, for whom the above would have been 1 meal at 6 months and was a dream to wean went off food at aged 8yo when ill and aged 14yo still hardly eats.
Dd1 only had home made stuff and wasn't keen on shop bought.

Can you make lunch the main meal, then sandwiches or stuff on toast for tea?

My HV has told me to offer up everything we want him to eat at the same time so he knows that's everything he's getting - ie both the main and dessert.

Let him eat what he wants and whatever he doesn't eat, take it away without fuss/drama/reacting but don't give him anything else. If he wants more food before his next meal, offer whatever he didn't eat earlier.

Am going to try this from this weekend.

LackingCommonsense Your post was full of common sense... ;)

OP I hear your pain!

With the eldest we pandered to fussiness with crap meals- hot dogs , the awful potato smilies etc. By the time I had 2 ( then 3) kids I hadn't got the time to mess about and magically they all started eating what was offered most of the time. I do remember a lot of pasta and beans though as easy meals.

This is probably "just a phase" again. I'd keep offering her proper food - the strategy to hand it all over at ones sounds very logical too and take a deep breath.... you'll get there in the end!

motherhood must be changing me