Toddler refusing most food

[Eagtess3]

Hi everyone . dd is 26 months. She used to be a brilliant eater. She’s gradually got worse.
she will now only eat chips , roast potatoes, chicken, sausages , fish fillets or battered and egg.
she will eat a few different fruits.
we have noticed she is now struggling more to go to the toilet.
sorry for TMI but her poo isn’t rock solid but not far off the size of a tennis ball. She’s in agony pushing it out. This can take up to an hour.

I’ve tried offering vegetables with every meal, encouragement, rewards, and just letting her eat but she will only eat “stodgy” foods and I’m worrying that it’s making her worse.
we also sit together every meal and role model positively while eating.

im so unsure on how I can change her eating habits.

It's hard, sounds like you're trying all the right things, kids sometimes just go through fussy phases. Keep offering and hopefully they'll eventually give more things a go (not under pressure, keep it relaxed).

I hide veggies by using things like frozen spinach cubes (microwave for a min), then stirring/hiding into pasta sauce or adding to eggy bread mixture.

Keeping giving them lots of water and their daily vitamins too.

Good luck! x x

Keep offering a wide range of foods at every meal time and don't worry about it. DS went through all sorts of stages with eating/not eating. He's 14 now and eats pretty much everything. It is all about control at that age.

Sounds like you're doing your best - I've got fussy preschoolers and at times it's driven me up the wall.

I don't have any eating advice - but from your description, are you sure she's drinking enough? One of mine isn't a good drinker and it can have a big impact on their digestion etc. Maybe some fruit juices or smoothies might help in the short term?

Try hidden veg as suggested above. Maybe also sweet potatoes?

And for fibres try oatmeal (maybe even oatmeal banana cookies?)

Does she drink enough?

And keep offering veg. Also maybe different veggies to snack on together, put it on a plate for the afternoon snack, so she has eaten veg before the evening meal. Small pieces of (cooked or raw) carrots, cucumber sticks, small pieces of tomato. Maybe even with a yoghurt or houmous dip.

Would she like (pureed) vegetable soup with wholemeal bread/breadsticks?

Have you tried giving them a different tool to eat with? My LO grabbed my fork one day and shovelled loads in! I was so shocked.

Houmous is a good one as the olive oil and fibre in chickpeas will help her go---- for a poo more easily .

Even better if she will eat strips of wholemeal pitta or toast with it to dip into it - or carrots, cucumber, yellow or red peppers

Dried apricots might be worth a go. High fibre and bright orange so almost look like sweets...

Grapes are a good source of fibre (cut in half lengthwise if you might leave them with her as a snacking bowl - I did this quite late on with my DS after a paramedic-level choking incident)

Take the pressure off by letting her just have a pick and mix selection and eat as and when she pleases.

Some chocolate cereals are also multigrain and reasonably high fibre

Weetabix is good

All bran is amazing - and can be a surprise hit with some children (it is fairly sweet) - years ago my friend came with her young son before we had children, and we only had All Bran in the house as we just don't eat much cereal - he had it, he loved it - he did three poos!!!

Wholegrain basmati rice was a surprise hit with my (also fairly fussy particular) DS

Encourage her to drink lots of water.

Ask the GP about laxatives if she is really struggling.

Annabel Karmel’s New Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner: No.1 Bestseller with new finger food guidance & recipes: 30th Anniversary Edition https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0091924855/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_E722HYGBDN58XEWR24RN

This book was absolutely brilliant – the chicken curry with butternut squash and apricot was a particular hit, and also a good level of fibre.

Mine was a really tricky eater(and still is at nine years old!) So you really have my sympathy.

I think some of them are and some of them aren't. And there isn't all that much that can be done about it, but just keep on trying. And don't let it become too much of a thing - for you or them.

My best friend from NCT - her DD was amazing and just hoovered up anything put in front of her while my DS looked at anything with utmost suspicion and chased it around the plate…

I have a video of him at Wagamamas with a chicken and rice veggie bowl thing systematically picking every green thing out of that bowl and carefully dropping them into my shopping bag 🙄