My Toddler wont eat

[todaysmum]

Hi
I need some help and advice my child only eats chips, i have tried everything i can do to get him to have a varied diet but it wont work he has tantrums and refuses to eat, all he will eat is chips and toast for breakfast, I am getting so stressed out about it - please can someone advise me who to speak to? what to do? is there anyone I can speak to? I need expert help as I dont know what to do. thank you

Let him tantrum. Keep offering the food you would like him to eat and he won't starve himself, eventually he'll try some.
Your HV should be your first call.

The first recommendation is not to get stressed because the child picks this up. Small children get their assessment of what is 'normal' from observing and copying others. So have your toddler at the table with you and other family members at mealtimes, give them the same food everyone else is eating, and then leave them to it. You have to resist the temptation to refer to what they're eating, encourage, cajole or respond to any tantrums but get on with your own meal and chat to the other people at the table normally. If they do taste something, big smiles and praise. If they don't eat anything, just clear away the plate and wash up without saying anything. Important not to offer alternatives or give in to fears that 'they have to eat something!!' They do cave eventually if you're consistent.

Good luck

please don't get stressed, they all do it. mine's favourite food was chipotle chilis til suddenly only toast would do.

Take deep breaths. Have just read on another thread that toddlers only need 3 tablespoons of food a day to survive! So don't stress. Offer lots of tiny meals/snacks.

Good toddler-friendly food suggestions:

sweetcorn (mine love it cold so I tip it straight from the tin onto the plate!)
mild cheddar cut into small cubes
raisins
grapes
slices of banana
breadsticks
plain pasta
ham cut into small squares
cherry tomatoes
rice cakes

I suggest you start by offering a small selection of these on a plate - maybe 3 cubes of cheese, 3 grapes, a small breadstick and a small rice cake. Offer something like that 5 times a day. Have a similar plate yourself, maybe!

Sit with him, talk to him, if he tantrums, say, "Would you like to get down now?" (It's fun to play dumb when they're being intolerable!) Move him to another room and try again later.

If it feels hard or you find it stressful, you could report back here and we can support you through the difficult first days?

Totally agree with the comments/ideas above. As soon as littlies realise you really really care about what they are eating/not eating, it can become a war of attrition. And one they usually win. Make food look attractive - different things arranged into a face or a house etc etc - and if it's not eaten just take away the plate without any emotion/comments. You could stick a chip or two and some cubes of toast on it (best have something familiar). It can take a load of tries before a new taste is accepted so you could perhaps offer the same things time and time again and wait to see if it gets tried. If it's any help my brother only ate chips and biscuits for about a year. My Mum used to be in tears about it apparantly. He's 60 now and is one of the fittest, healthiest people I know. Just try to not let any of your upset show and wait for him to grow out of it. He will eventually get tired of chips and toast and move onto say pasta and cheese and stick with that combo for a while. As long as he is happy and has the energy to play and is in good health I'd try to go with the flow. Easier said than done I know.

It is true - don't get stressed. That is what will cause issues regarding food for your children.

You cannot make your child eat when he doesn't want to. Don't get stuck into the trap of just giving him a very narrow food choice just so that 'he eats something'.

Make meal times a family time - your job is to provide healthy food on the table. If he doesn't want to eat anything that is offered - say a cheery 'no problem' and take it away. Don't scuttle off and make something else.

They will eat...eventually! Keeping things calm and mellow at the dinner table is the main thing. Trust your child, if they don't want to eat anything, they don't want to!

My two older children (youngest is only 6 months) have been through very fussy stages when it seemed that they barely ate anything for days, weeks even. They are 5 and 3 yrs old now and will eat almost everything (except spicy curries!).