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Behaviour/development

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Extremely fussy eater

5 replies

15PD18 · 05/04/2021 18:25

Help! My 2.5 year old will not sit and eat a meal with us. He refuses ANY type of food we put in front of him and will only have weaning pouches. He will eat some fruit, and has no problem with sweet things 😒
Has anyone else been in this situation and come thru the other side! Meal times are an absolute battle and will often result in us both in tears.

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mamablondie33 · 05/04/2021 20:06

Could you get him involved in the meal prep? Even if it’s putting toppings on a basic pizza, so he gets praise for making it then he may want to eat it?

Not practical all the time but maybe to get him trying things

Kaiken · 05/04/2021 22:49

Weaning pouches taste of ... well weaning pouches. The weird combination of ingredients (such as spinach and blueberries) with a high prevalence of sweet tasting food such as sweet corn and carrot combined with the high temperature and pressure process has develop a preference for taste that doesn't exist in real life but he will like similarly sweet tasting food .

The first step is to have him seated. The only place one eats is at the table. Not walking around, not on the sofa, bedroom, car, street, .... name it . This is the rule for the whole family, parents included,

The second step is when seating is consolidated to empty the content of thew pouch in the bowl. Only babies suck on food. Chances are the vomit-looking content might put him off. If this doesn't work, add a bit of vinegar to the pouch before giving it to him and when he says "beurck" it tastes bad, look at the ingredients and say "oh, they changed the recipe, sorry honey, let me make you some nice pasta"

If you want to change his eating habits and preferences, you need to remove the competition, so as long as there will be sweet stuff (not talking real fresh food such as fruit) you stand no chance.

Stop buying new pouches. Let the one you have go "bad" and enforce the "at the table " rule .

The more you wait @15PD18 , the worst it will be

Jannt86 · 06/04/2021 20:49

How is his development otherwise? Meeting his milestones? Growing ok? Any other signs of sensory issues like not liking certain noises/textures? Does he just refuse to try new things or does he seem to gag/vomit when he tries it? This does sound quite extreme. I'd cut out the pouch food completely (it isn't really age appropriate at 2.5) and I'd just try and have lots of finger foods available in view throughout the day and praise when he tries something . I agree as well with insisting that you have sit down meals 3 times a day where possible. I wouldn't make him eat a set amount but he has to stay with you and have a bit of something on his plate. This works well with my dd. I think it sounds like you need to chill a bit too. I know it's really distressing if your child won't eat but honestly the more of a drama it becomes the more he'll fight back. The reality is he is probably not daft and highly unlikely to starve himself and they need a lot less than you think to keep them going at this age. Good luck xx

15PD18 · 06/04/2021 21:11

Thank you! Yes he’s fine in all other aspects of development. No he’s not soft, if he’s told no after asking for a cake or a yoghurt he asks his sister...
What it is, he will just say “no” when he sees food on his plate. The most annoying thing is , he will have eaten it in the past and now just refuses and puts his hands over his mouth and cries. I’ve tried leaving his plate and seeing if he approaches it, sometimes he will go over but never eats it unless it’s something sweet 😒

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Jannt86 · 06/04/2021 21:21

I really think it sounds mostly behavioural tbh. I would just cut the purees out and have plenty of food on offer and explain clearly that this is all there is available. Try not to get upset or cross at him but stay firm. If you're still struggling after a few weeks of trying this then you might want to get advice from the GP/HV. I don't necessarily agree with ONLY having food available at the table. I think if his eating is this extreme I'd be tempted to have something available to try at all times of day and I wouldn't fuss to much about where or how he eats it (you can tackle this later). I do think sit down meal times are important too though and I'd try and do this as a family 3 times a day. My daughter is a good eater but eats much better when we are sat down together and plays up and fusses much more if we try to get her to eat by herself. I think the social element really encourages them sometimes

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