15 month old won't eat. SOB!

[drinkyourmilk]

I've recently started a new job where the lo is not a keen eater. I strongly suspect she was given puree or close to before i started a week ago. She won't accept any new foods, nor take anything off a spoon (screams and cries if i try). The foods mum tells me she loves goes untouched. Regular table food definitely goes down better (no screaming) than anything mashed or chopped.

I simply present her with her meal in a bowl/on a plate and leave her to it. I eat the same thing at the same time all 3 meals. If she eats great, if not then i get her down. Sometimes i try to encourage her (which will rarely work) by letting her taste it on my fork/spoon or making yom yom noises. I try to give her finger food as this is most successful. Pasta, rice and sweet chicken meatballs (pureed almost then cooked into fingerfood) have about a 50% success rate, and that's as good as it gets.

Her milk allowance isn't terribly high - i'd say she takes the minimum needed - approx 320ml. She obviously just doesn't need much and doesn't have a huge appetite.

I'd love advice on how to make mealtimes more fun, how to encourage trying new foods, and any successful recipes/ food ideas. Also - are snacks the way to go? She has 3 bottles a day plus 3 meals. If she has anything else she won't even sit at the table!

Food needs to be looked at over a period of a week. Stomach size is about the size of their fist, so they don't need that much.

Are parents giving food/milk at times when she is not in your care?

I find that at first children can be very fussy and not take food from a new carer... but as soon as mum gets home they will take as much as possible - esp if breastfeeding.

Keep a food diary if you feel it would help. Keep trying the finger foods.

I would try not to worry unless she is very low weight and acts tired/lethargic. Toddlers are fussy little buggers and as long as she eats a little bit for 3 meals and 2 snacks a day plus milk, there's not much you can do to increase intake except encourage and give foods you know they like with each meal. It is frustrating though! My little charge seems to go from eating a ton one day to surviving on fresh air and drool the next! She's a sturdy little girl though exceeding all her milestones so I'm not stressing.

pron trying it on with you as new nanny, she wont starve herself, i would talk to the parents and suggest that they dont top her up with milk when you are not there

its not the end of the world if having puree at 15mths - mine gagged on a mashed banana so let charge get used to you and slowly make food lumpier

Thanks everyone.
I work 14 hours a day - so she's not being given anything else by parents her during the week. I keep forgetting how much of a change it is having a new nanny for a little one, so maybe her appetite will improve the longer I'm here. She has plenty of energy and is mostly very happy - so i'm sure she's getting enough. However it would be lovely if she ate a bit more - we're talking about a half tablespoon of food per meal! The upside is the freezer is already full so I'm not going to be cooking lots!

just an add on as my littlies asleep... my ds(now a strapping lad of 21) ate bread and cheese and precious little else for all toddler years, I was soooo worried and envied all friends whose kids were 'good eaters;...

now as these kids are older, one and all of the 'good eaters' are overweight or obese, my son is slim..

as a cm now I can generally pick the children who will put on weight later in life and I am usually right..

I think if food is important to toddlers its not always a good sign.. if they full of energy and look healthey.. dont worry..

i completely agree with thebody, food is not that important to toddlers. they will not starve themselves and will eat when hungry. some days it is not too much and other days they gorge.

the only problem i have found is that if they do get hungry they can be really cranky.

gorge is a bit of a strong word, but ykwim

The right amount of food for a 2 year old is the amount you can fit on the palm of your hand, so if a 1 year old eats half of that it's a good eater. Remember that they are getting milk too. Look at the size of them and judge if they are too skiny before you worry. Ask mum about getting child regularly weighed.
By the way, a small appetite can be caused by many things but one easily solved is lack of iron. Do they look a bit pale, check palms of hands and inside the eye. You can boost iron with surprizing foods such as figs (fig roll biscuits for example). Red meat is an obvious source but harder to persuade the child to eat it (mince beef, onions and gravy with potato, all mashed up together, rarely gets refused by the small guys in this house[a very little paprika adds a slight sweetness if needed]).