Help. 18mth dd still on mushy dinners

[valerie28966]

My 18mth DD is still only eating mushy dinners. She will chew on bread & fruit etc but if we try to feed her anything remotely sold (even scrambled eggs) from a spoon she either spits it back out or bokes. To be honest she has been a ackward feeder since birth and really isnt interested in mealtimes at all. If I give her finger food after a few bites she bored and throws it away (even biscuits). Don't think we have ever experienced her hungry at all. Although I manage to get her to finish most meals it's rarely without a struggle. Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions on how we can get her more excited about her food. I prepare all her meals from scratch as I don't like the idea of giving her processed stuff so maybe it my cooking. Any advise would be welcome.

Hi valerie, just wanted to say that my DS very rarely ever finished a meal so I think you and DD are doing fantastically, actually! Many many toddlers aren't interested in meals as it gets in the way of playing and having fun, and also remember toddlers have tiny tummies and don't need nearly as much food as you might think. I think a few bites of finger food before throwing it away is great, she has no problem eating it and eats until she's had enough!

Even the spitting out is fine, as so long as she will take these things in her mouth, she is experiencing the taste and textures of all sorts of food. I wouldn't worry too much about it coming back out again, unless she is underweight or losing weight?

Does she like her independence, do you think she dislikes being fed from a spoon, would she do better on her own?

And my advice would also be don't make it an issue, keep happy at mealtimes and don't make them a struggle for either of you, it's not worth it!

Thanks. Have tried giving her a spoon but she only wants to play. She a average weight for her age so I am not worried about that. Just wish mealtimes were more fun and we could actually find some foods that she enjoyed. We live in Italy so taking kids out for meals is all part of family life and it would be nice if we didnt have to take along a special tub of mush for her when we do eatout. Think she is going to be the only italian baby who won't eat pasta.

Excuse me butting in,but how much milk is dd having in a day?A friend of mine has a 2yr old who is similar to yours and until recently was still having jars of baby food.She was howver drinking a heck of a lot of milk and when they cut that down she is now hungrier and eating proper food which they are overjoyed about.Just a thought..

Sorry for taking so long. She drinks around 400ml a day excluding the milk she has with her morning cereal. Around 150ml when she wakes around 6ish and 250ml before bed at night. Do u think thats too much. I have considered stopping the morning milk but she seems to love it so much.

I have a similar problem with my ds - he will eat certain finger foods though (he's 19 months). The advice I got from the health visitor was that as he weight was fine, just carry on giving 2 meals a day that she would normally eat. Then for the 3rd meal give something you would like her to eat. Keep all mealtimes as stress free as possible. Although my ds hasn't really progressed onto eating 'proper' food yet, our mealtimes, that were once three hour screaming battles are now calm and peaceful (mostly), and he will now try some new foods occasionally.

The best advice I got was that over 90% of preschool kids with eating problems grow out of it by the time they go to school. And I keep reminding myself that one day we will be able to go out for a meal and ds will eat something.

Although it might seem worrying (and if you're me slightly embarassing) at the moment, the best thing you can do is just keep trying things and she will get there.

Just want to let you know that you are not the only one with this problem - there are a few of us out there. But all the signs show that they do grow out of it.

Thanks 4 ur support. One of my friends commented that she has never came across a adult who cant chew their meals which did make me feel better. I think the slowly slowly approach is going 2 be the only way forward with my dd. Good luck with ur ds as well.

Hello,

To make you feel better, currently my 18 month dd will only eat eat sweet things: yoghurt, sultanas, dried fruit, baby biscuits etc. I have struggled to feed her ever since weaning - she is so fussy - I am just at a loss as to what to feed her and worry about her weight but what can you do. I keep thinking it's a phase, but to be honest it's been a long one!