18mnth eats mostly food from jars

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my ds will only eat jarred food at 18mnths. he will now and again eat a bit of toast or a biscuit. i have tried all the usual things like not giving him the jarred food and he will eat finger food when hes hungry but it just doesnt work. he just does without and is then up all night screaming for bottles cos he has an empty belly. does anyone have a simalar problem or any advice.i am not sure if i need to someone about this or if this is quite normal. it is embarassing when i am out and feeding him as some people will tut tut when they see him eating from a jar.

you've probably tried it but what about putting your food into the jar and feeding him?

thanks both of you for your advice i will try both things. you never know it might just work. i dont blame him for not wanting my food am a terrible cook.

Agree with Riven. Have you got a basic book - there are lots out there - which make suggeestions for children. Annabel Karmel is teh obvious one, but there are others. The recipes are generally pretty simple.

I think some of those posts are a bit harsh. She hasnt said she doesnt cook just that she feels she is a terrible cook. She probably isnt just needs some encouragement. And a 18mth old that refuses to eat your home cooking isnt the best encouragement.

OP Have a look at some of the recipes on here and other on line ones.

I find that my two year old isnt overly kind on meat but will happily eat carrots.

Here are some ideas of things you can try him on that may not be completely fab in the nutrution stakes nut will hopefully break the jar "habit" You can choose to either go cold turkey or gently gently.

Beans on toast.
Cheese on toast.
Scrambled egg.
Pasta bake....my DS loves picking up pasta with his hands.
Mashed potato...maybe with sausages? potato is smooth yet sausage he can hold and get some texture from.
Breadsticks and fruits are a good snack.

He needs to get use to the additional taste and texture that normal food has.

Admit the above list isnt the most healthiest but sometimes it about getting them to eat and working on the nutution

riven and mum of 2 thanks for advice i am gonna enrol in night school for some basic cooking skills. it doesnt come natural to me i envy people who can cook.

onadietcokebreak i will try some of your ideas and see how i get on. i might try cold turkey or put my food into jars like suggested earlier on. thankyou

Sometimes Sure Start centres offer cooking lessons. It might be worth checking it out. I hope you enjoy night classes - cooking can be great fun and really rewarding too.

Good luck.

PS Jamie Oliver is great - Riven is right when she says that 18 month olds should be eating teh same as adults (well perhaps not a vindaloo!) See how you get on, but get one of his books from the library and also check out the recipe section on MN.

If you want another recommendation of an easy to follow cookbook with lots of good family recipes in try Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food.

Oops sorry I had this thread open hours ago and hadn't refreshed it.

i think i will try jamie olivers book. i can try and encourage my ds to have good food and and i can admire the pictures. pictures of jamie that is not the food. its a win win situation

Im going to get Jamies book as well....look like its a hit with everyone.

My ds won't eat jars either! (now a year old)By which I mean he hasn't been keen on the whole eating business! I did Annabel Karmel cover to cover virtually with dd and it hasn't had much effect on the three year old stage where food is viewed with deep suspicion! I enjoyed it, dd enjoyed it, great. Doesn't mean you have to. My friends ds ate almost exclusively jars to start with now at three is one of the widest eaters I know. And my ds, well this morning he ate half a banana, last night lots of pasta and half a pear. So could be like the old hare and the tortoise story! Also, try thinking about the number of eighteen year olds who eat nothing but jarred baby food - they haven't even made a freaky eaters programme about it so there can't be that many!

when my dd was about a year old she went through a phase of rejecting any food that wasnt in a jar. i started by mixing about a quarter of my homemade spag bol, for example, in with a jar of spag bol and gradually increasing the amount of home cooked food until she wasnt having any jar at all. i think as the jars are quite bland in taste any homecooked food tastes very rich so can be a shock to their palates.
dd1 is now 3 and eats really well!

At least he is eating something, mine hardly eats anything, of our real food.

thanks for all your messages it makes me feel a bit better to realise trying to get a 18mnth old to eat is quite a common problem. i just feel awful when where out and all the children around him are tucking in good food and he just refuses. never mind its only another 16years till hes 18 and i no longer have to worry.

Yeah, hey at least he is eating. You can build on that!
My son is 15 months and has gone through various phased where he will only eat pureed food, only eat jars, or whatever. I can usually get him out of it, it it takes practice. And I keep forgetting to make the effort to buy varied stuff! I'm not a very good cook either, and I found a book that really helped me was The First-Time Cook by Sophie Grigson. It's really friendly and gets you feeling like anyone can learn, it doesn't matter when, you just start with the basics and build up from there over time. A bit like what you need to do with your DS, I suppose.

Mixing a little home cooked food into the jars in a great idea, and gradually increase the percentage until he is eating all home cooked. You will get there. Also, don't stress about food in front of him, even if you feel like tearing your hair out in private. Be happy and calm about his eating, praise him when he finishes his meal and tell him what a good boy he is, and give him different finger foods to play with so he gets more used to different tastes even if he doesn't eat them for a while. Mine likes bread sticks snapped in half, and sultanas. Oh, and pasta twirls, so long as they have pesto on. A few months ago, it would have been laughable he would eat anything like that. If you can get yours onto pasta that he can pick up and eat himself, you can blend some veg like peas or spinach etc and mix a bit through the pasta. Then, he has just eaten fresh home cooked veg!

Remember that he won't be eating jars forever, at some point he will want to try the food on your plate and love being praised for eating like a big boy! Then he won't need to have separate food, he can just have what you're having.
Good luck, I know how guilt-making it is when your child is a tricky eater..
x

thanks cheerfulvicky i will try the pasta like you said and see how it goes. you are right about it making you feel guilty that he wont eat. had a bad day with him today he just hasnt ate at all. i think its exactly what youve said he can sense i am stressed then becomes stressed himself. i will try and destress myself tomorrow and make dinner time more enjoyable for him.