2 year old diet

[Loluk]

Hi there,

My 2 year old is starting to not eat the way he used to. He won't really eat meals. He'll have snacks like fruit, cheese, toast, Crackers, fish fingers, eggs sometimes, bake beans, mashed potato, corn on the cob, cereal but other than that nothing.
He used to eat minced beef, chicken etc but he just won't eat any meat or meat substitute. He won't eat any vegetables except corn on the cob. He used to eat sweet potato but now won't eat that.

I've researched it and researched it and it says toddlers go through picky stages but I'm really worried about him 😔 guess I'm just after some support or guidance. I'm a first time mom and just feel like I'm failing. I did baby led veg weaning and he used to love everything and anything and now he spits most things out unless it's on the list above.

I guess I'm just worried he's not getting enough iron as I know that's one of the most important things for toddlers.
Is it bad he just wants fruit all the time? Worried about his teeth etc.

Also he wouldn't eat his meatballs for dinner so I said he couldn't have a banana. Is this the right thing to do or not?

I was also meant to ask will he come out of this?

No advice but my 2 year old is going through the same thing.

uses meals and only wants to snack. I try the 'You can't have ..... until you have eaten your meal' but then I worry about her not sleeping g as she is hungry.

Yes same here. I worry he'll be hungry. Just frustrating because I put so much effort into home cooked meals etc since he was 6 months old and doesn't seem to have paid off unfortunately😢

Also have a picky 2 yo. I think they all get picky at this age. Frankly, I’d be thrilled by your range of food and especially fruit! 🤣

Apparently if they tried lots when they were young it will come back. And they are much more capable of living off snacks than at 12 months.

You are doing fine, your DC sounds grand.

Sounds perfectly normal. My 3 year old is still in this phase. He will eat a sausage and a chicken nugget but never a proper meal like a roast etc. I would serve want u want alongside a "safe" food that u know he will eat, like the banana or crackers or cheese u mentioned so u know he will eat something. Just keep going, I hear it gets better. Best of luck

Very normal but follow this advice to make it easier for everyone involved and hopefully the phase passes -

Eat together for as many meals as possible.
Eat at a table no screens
For every meal you serve him make sure his plate has some 'safe' foods and some foods you're not confident he will like. Eh sweetcorn / fish fingers / mash and sliced peppers. Don't serve an alternative or a dessert. If you want to serve dessert then serve a small small portion alongside the main meal - so 2 chocolate buttons or some satsuma slices.
When you serve the food there should be no encouragement / praise / pleading about what's on offer - just talk about your day or normal conversation
If you've served things you know he will eat (alongside the new unfamiliar or disliked food) then do not offer alternatives.
Keep exposing him to foods he currently doesn't like - even in the smallest of servings like 3-4 peas
Get him involved in prep if possible even if his job is to scoop peas onto everyone's plate or to pass cucumber slices

If they refuse all food at meal time, would you then offer something before bed??

My nearly 2 year old is exactly the same. She used to love food so much and eat such a great variety, now she just picks at things and only really wants snacks.

I think it's normal, they're just learning that they have control over what they eat. I try not to get drawn into battles over it and start negotiating about eating X so you can have Y. Though it is hard when you want them to eat so badly! I try my best not to comment on how much she is eating whether it's positive or negative. I give a little gentle encouragement, eg.telling her what foods she has on her plate and reminding her if she's enjoyed them before, but I try really hard not to put pressure on her. If she doesn't eat a lot then I still offer a dessert I know she'll like and will at least fill her a bit, eg Greek yoghurt bulked out with oats and honey or a banana. I also give her a big cup of milk with a multivitamin liquid before bed so I know her stomach is full and she has had at least some nutrition.

One thing I find works well often is just offering one piece of food at a time. Eg yesterday I presented her with a bowl of pasta and she immediately said 'no' before trying it. I didn't make a big deal of it and took the bowl away, but put one piece of pasta in front of her and she ate it. She then kept asking for more and ended up eating most of it, one piece at a time. I think sometimes they get overwhelmed by the amount of food on offer - it might not seem a lot to us but it does to them!

Great advice from @Smogtopia

As long as everything is served together, pressure off and there are safe foods, I don’t offer or give anything else, even later.

Whatever you do don't give them positive or negative attention for what they eat/don't eat. Just act like you are completely neutral. Then they can't play games (because you're not playing).

Same here except we don't do the 'safe foods' thing because our DD has none really. In her worst phases she often refuses to eat things we know she likes and that she's often eaten etc. So we serve dinner in appropriate portions, we all sit and eat together, she eats what she likes, whether that be some, all (extremely rare nowadays), or none (not as common these days as it used to be but sometimes still happens). There is dessert if dinner is all eaten - well, not necessarily every little scrap but basically all eaten, and I would overlook any component of a meal that I know she specifically has demonstrated that she does not like. If dinner isn't eaten, there is no dessert, because if she's not hungry enough to eat all her dinner she's not hungry to need an additional portion of food as dessert. She always gets a cup of milk and multivitamin before bed. She's 4.5 and her eating isn't great, she goes in and out of phases with it where some periods are horrendous and others not so bad. We can't usually identify triggers for the worst periods so we are consistent and ride them out really. We were concerned about her growth as she is petite but the GP and HV were not concerned and we even took her to a private paediatric doctor a few months ago who wasnt concerned either really and said just to monitor her growth closely for now.

My 2 year old has asd and has the strangest diet. Baby crisps (the Melty puff type) , smooth baby pouches (only veg won’t touch any fruit) , bananas, crackers (jacobs) and sliced apples. Won’t eat anything else and only drinks formula (it’s that or mugging been hospitalised with dehydration before so we were told stay on formula just because it’s fluid intake) Over the 99th centile too so not sure what’s going on there

mugging ……. Nothing

@Smogtopia has good advice. I would add please don’t get drawn into “if you eat this you can have this reward” or “ you can’t have this unless you eat that”. It can set up future problems with eating. It is hard to keep your emotions out of it when you desperately want your child to eat healthily, but you must or he will pick up on it. My children are older but are always allowed buttered toast, basic cereals and fruit so I would offer something like this before bed.

Take a look at SR Nutrition on insta. She is a child nutritionist and has a strong willed 2yo (same age as my boy) herself. I've found her advice and cook book invaluable when weaning and going through phases.

She does fussy eating webinars on a regular basis.

The gist of the advice seems to be to always put something on the plate you know they'll eat. So if you were to serve meatballs and he doesn't usually eat them, then team it with something he will.
Don't offer alternatives if they refuse a meal. But at the same time don't use food as punishment/weapon (like the banana you suggested, if it was originally on offer).

Continue exposure of all foods and apparently they'll eventually eat them 😅

Thank you all this is great advice! I guess he's doing OK and I should try not to worry. I did say today if you don't eat the meatballs then you can't have a banana. But I'll stop this immediately. I will just offer new foods and safe foods and just leave it to him. As long as I'm providing the right food it's up to him to eat it I guess .

Thanks all

@Smogtopia he will refuse his food and then cry for weetabix, yoghurt or fruit. I'll say no but he just screams and screams. He asks while we're at the dinner table. What should I do in that instance?

Reading with interest because my 2.5 year old is going through a similar phase. Sounds like I need to be more neutral. Tbh I’m so desperate for him to eat something I’m usually making him toast/fruit/cereal etc after he’s refused the actual dinner.

Feel free to always have those things in offer then - or at least offer them a huge majority of the time for example

Cereal / fruit breakfast
Sandwich yoghurt fruit lunch
Unsafe sausage / safe mash / safe toast / safe strawberry and unsafe peas

Try and make each plate a serving of things you know he will eat and new things so you're not in a position where they eat nothing and you have to offer alternatives

@Smogtopia thank you that's great advice 🙂

You're welcome. It really helps it not be a battle and if for a few months he's eating cereal / yoghurt / cheese / eggs and fruit - you're pretty lucky as that's relatively balanced in terms of picky eating.

Another tip I found was to offer new / unsafe things in a completely low pressure snack environment. Maybe if he's playing you could serve up some rainbow slices of peppers and a dip that you eat without any introduction. Sometimes away from the table and knowing it isn't mealtime will pique their interest more.
This also works for meal prep - not every day do you want a 3 year old in the kitchen! But asking them to help sprinkle spices or tip frozen veg or pasta into the on just edges you closer with them having experience of new textures / smells and breeds familiarity

My 20 month old is going through this exact phase. He used to eat everything that I put in front of him. Now he’ll only eat fruit, cereal, scrambled eggs, cheese and a couple of other things.

No advice, but it’s nice to know that others are going through the same thing at similar ages!

@ItsTheSmallThings if you have offered food you know they like and is safe such as the yoghurt / fruit / toast / weetabix then I personally wouldn't serve anything again before bed.
What you can do if they are (for want of a better phrase) playing up at dinner time then you can cover it up and if they're hungry later serve it again. It removes a little element of power / control and they know they can't just dictate willy nilly what's on the menu.
Another option is to offer the exact same snack every evening before bed such as a banana and an oat cake - but do this consistently not a 'I'm giving you this because you didn't eat earlier'