Help! My 2.3 year old still on baby puree

[Nicknok]

I know there are some similar conversations on here but can't find one to help me with the problem with my little boy. He is 2.3 years and I am still having to puree most meal times including my own dinners I make for him or even spaghetti hoops! The only chewy foods he will eat are chicken nuggets, cocktail sausages, chips, peas, cheese, breadsticks and toast. Anything else and he says he doesn't like it. And the amounts he eats are tiny, I don't know how he keeps going. He still enjoys about a pint of milk a day (mid morning and before bed) but that doesn't take much effort, does it? He seems to have a real problem with textures as anything that doesn't slide straight down will cause him to gag and bring it back. Delightful! He is only 26lbs in weight and very tiny for his age but in every other way developing normally. The medical profession seems to have given up and I'm at my wits end......any ideas???

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Well he can obviously chew as that's quite a list of foods he will eat properly

the milk consumption is good

what do you mean by the medical profession have given up? have you seen a nutritionist

personally, although this is only easy to say as it isn't my child, I wouldn't puree anything .. let him eat his limited foods and every single meal sneak something new on his plate, don't make a fuss if he doesn't eat it .. see if you can get a nutritional supplement to put in his

Hi Nicknok I agree with Twiglet - I would present him with an appetising looking meal including some food that he likes and put other foods on the plate too - if he doesnt eat it -say "Oh well maybe you are not hungry today - no pudding for you then!" This always works for my ds unless he is ill. I would explain that you are not going to puree food anymore - maybe the blender is broken!!!!!!!!!!

He will of course make a fuss but perhaps you could say talk to him about needing to eat big boy food now to help him grow big and strong!!!!

Its horrible when they gag isnt it - but if you are strong and consistent he will soon get the idea that things are different now - Dont give in!!!!!!!!!!!

HTH

you need to not react to gagging .. really hard I know .. but just clear it up and go on with whatever you're doing

Hi again Nicknok - theres another very similar thread ATM called My 2:5 year old wont try new foods - would be worth having a read - HTH

Im really lucky cos my ds is greedy and will eat almost anything - but does make a fuss several times a week too - but knows no dinner means no pudding - For me the BIG problem is potty training................

Nicknok, he's getting a reasonable mix of food stuffs with the solid foods he eats - I'd just stick to those I think - join our thread - 2.5 yr old won't eat - my 2.5 yr old eats only sandwiches, cereal, yoghurt and salami and milk. Drives me nuts - but we're not alone out there - we have to stay cool!

nicknock, that seems like quite a lot of milk. do you think that he can't see the point in making the effort with new foods because he's already filled his tanks with milk? might be worth cutting back on this and seeing if that has any effect on his appetite.

A friend's DD was the same, Niknok. Except that she would happily eat non-pureed foods at nursery; only at home did she fuss. I remember her mum pureeing pasta, veg & sauce a month before she turned 3. I wonder if making a fuss over her gets your DD attention, sometimes u have 2 let them win the weird battles.

Is 26 lbs so tiny at that age? I know a 4yo boy who weighs less.

Nicknok, I've been joining in with the other thread going at the moment. To be honest, your Ds is eating really quite chewy / crunchy foods in the 'solids' he will eat so it's not as if he can't so much as that he won't. I also think that a pint of milk a day is too much at this age. My dd's 2.2 years and won't tackle anything so chewy as nuggets, sausages etc. and is nothing like 26lbs in weight, I think she may be nearly 22 at most. I don't think the medical profession can help with fussy toddlers, but other Mnetters may be able to!

I really don't think a pint of milk is excessive .. 2 year olds are supposed to drink between 16 and 20 oz of milk (unless having other calcium rich foods like yogurts / cheese)

Glad you said that twiglett was a tad concerned as our dd has 20oz milk a day without fail and three meals.

Have you tried marinading all meat in natural yoghurt for 24 hours before cooking it (was the yog off first). It makes it very tender. Apparantly toddlers like things that are easy to chew and of course sausages, nuggets etc are all very easy whereas chicken, pork, beef etc is not.

I do this for dd, one of her faves is chicken breasts cut into fingers, marinade in the yoghurt, then dip in flour, then beaten egg, then paxo stuffing mix, I use sage and onion, then fry in olive oil til brown and stick in the oven til cooked. They freeze well too.