When toddlers do their fussy eating thing, do they actually start eating again?

[FlouryBap]

Hello,

DD1 is 22 months and for the last 6 months has been getting slowly fussier and fussier and now refuses most things except dry pasta, bread, porridge and snacky type stuff, yoghurt, cheese etc. We did BLW with her and she was great at the start. She is refusing stuff that i know she likes - for example she refused all week to eat soup that I make, but today ate two bowls of it for her dad.

After much heartbreak my approach has been to put stuff in front of her, not make a big deal that she pushes it away shouting no, give her her yoghurt after a decent amount of time and slap a few bits of toast into her before bed if i think she is hungry. However, I am finding that I just don't know what to give her and am just giving her pasta etc coz i know she will eat it. However I can't see how she will start eating again as she doesn't even try stuff.

My sis in law was up the other week with her toddler and she harranged her to eat her dinner and she did! my DD1 would just have refused to be harranged but I was so jealous. Can anyone give me hope?

FB

Yes, my boy was a delight when I started weaning him and would eat anything. Aged 2.5-4 he was a pain. Offered anything new, he would ask if he had had it before, and if he hadn't would declare that he didn't like it.

He improved a lot when he started school, and at 10 eats like a horse, and will now try most things.

The way I saw it, a newly independant and mobile child who eats unfamiliar things too freely would probably not have survived toddlerhood in the days of hunter-gatherers, so it is a very positive survival trait. Provided you don't crack first!

DS is 30months now and he's an absolute nightmare when it comes to mealtimes, really is.

Today he's eaten half a bowl of rice krispies, the top off a chicken bun in Nandos, a chip off my plate and a kiwi fruit.
I honestly don't know how he survives, it drives me absolutely crazy but he just will not eat.

I worry about when he'll start eating again too, he used to be such a good eater, would eat anything put down infront of him.

Now I'm just a horrible mother that tries to get him to eat all manner of horrible food when he's got much better things to be doing with his time!

My mantra at the moment is 'It will get better, it will get better....'!

Exactly the same started to happen to my son at 22 months. I am sure I read somewhere that this is a really common month for it to start.

Up until then he'd eat amazingly and enjoy having meals with us up at the table. Then he started refusing to go up to the table or if I got him there he was then refusing to try things that I knew he liked. It's heartbreaking when you've cooked something special for them and they won't even take a lick! What worked for us was making it very clear to him that this was all that was on offer. We'd make whatever and pop it on the table whilst we ate ours (we've always had meals together as often as possible). Then we'd make it seem like being at the table was fun (whilst seemingly ignoring him) and then if he decided to come to the table then eat he could.

If he didn't then he wouldn't be given anything else so it was his choice. I was lucky in that he would always eat a couple of meals a day so I wasn't worried that he'd starve or anything but after only about a week of doing this he started to join us and eat whatever again. Now he is 25 months and back to a non fussy eater.

I saw that new Jo Frost (Supernanny) tv programme the other day and she dished out very similar advice to a very picky eater and it worked too. The difference was she said to leave the meal on the side for 30 minutes after mealtimes somewhere where they can go to get it themselves if they want to.

I think you have to pretend / seem to be calm about whether or not they eat the meal then they realise that refusing to eat it isn't giving them any power just making them hungry! Badgering them into it may work a few times but longer term they need to decide for themselves that actually there's nothing to be gained by not eating something yummy.

Good luck hope you find a solution whatever that may be for you!

Both my eldest and second child went through the same picky phase too(ds is still in it!). Dd started to improve around the age of 4.5-5 and now at 6 will at least give new foods a go. Just ignore is my advice, give him things you know he will eat a lot of the time, but maybe keep up with offering new/disliked foods too, either as a whole meal (they sometimes surprise you and tuck in without complaint) or a bit on the side of a favoured dish.

Yes have been there with both my dds. DD1 went through a short phase of only eating grapes and toast. And for about 18 months would not eat fruit or veg, she survived on pasta (thankfully would take sauce with it)and dried fruit!!!
What you are doing is fine and eventually she will slowly start accepting other food. I know its hard and very disheartening watching your child reject meals you have put time into cooking but it will end.
Try getting your dh to feed her whenever possible and carry on offering all types of food. Also try eating in front of her as much as possible or alternatively have play dates with children who are less fussy eaters. They may not eat much but seeing other children try foods they don't does help in the long run.

Good luck.

Thank you all. I always have breakfast and lunch with her. Dinner is a bit tricker as I have 4 month old DD2 and DP doesn't get home to about 6ish (by which time she is too tired to eat), so I find it impossible to prepare an evening meal and am not organised enough to prepare it in advance as DD2 doesn't really nap by herself during the day.

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH

making crepes for lunch and getting ready for my hopes to be dashed.

thank you

FB xxxx

Yes they do although you might have to wait longer than you think. My oldest dd was a great eater as a baby but after 12 months she stopped - both in variety and quantity. After 24 months she gradually started eating better again. It's a v common phase - the key is not to get stressed about it - keep offering food, don't worry if they don't eat it, remember if you're not hungry you don't want to eat either, and trust your child to take whatever food they need.

Eek! So I posted here earlier about my DS not eating either... just had mince and dumplings tonight and he had 2 servings!

Wondering how long I can serve mince and dumplings without him throwing the plate at me!?

I'm so relieved to read this post. My DS was a dream to wean and loved all veg. At about 20 months he started eating less and less things to the point where he will only eat 5 different meals. Chicken curry with rice, chilli con carne with rice, spag bol, pasta and sauce and jacket potato cheese and beans. I gave in and just give him these meals but he has very slowly started to try the odd thing. He will eat fish fingers occasionally and he will eat plain rice, before it had to be mixed with something from above. He is still pretty fussy though and I hide veg in his sauces. The only veg he will eat is baby corn. He won't touch anything else. We just keep offering and hope he will grow out of it.

It has helped to see that some children have grown out of it by about 4-5. At least I can keep hoping.