My 19-month-old won’t eat most things

[DelilahBea]

Hello,

My 19-month-old son is an extremely fussy eater. He will eat breadsticks and bananas galore but goes on and off even ‘neutral’ foods such as pasta, baked potatoes, cheese. He likes fruit but won’t touch vegetables. Even if I try and disguise them in stews he seems to find them in his mouth and spit them out!

Someone suggested blitzing veg and disguising it that way (almost like a pesto), which I haven’t done yet as other than in pasta I’m not really sure how that would work (I guess rice, couscous and some stews).

He still has 9oz of milk first thing and before bed. I probably need to cut the morning feed now… maybe trying a smoothie instead.

My husband read that if children reject food you shouldn’t give them another option as it creates bad habits. But I just can’t let him go to bed starving and miserable so I don’t agree with this.

Does anyone have any tips, recipes or general advice please? Would be much appreciated! I am worried he’s not getting enough nutrients. He has vitamin drops every day though.

thank you!

If he goes ‘on and off’ food on a whim then it sounds like he’s pretty much going “nah, don’t fancy pasta today, I fancy whatever yummier alternative mummy will offer me if I refuse”. Imagine if you had 3 children and they all did this. You’d end up cooking 3 or more different meals every evening. Don’t pander to it; cook and serve a healthy meal and if he doesn’t eat it, he doesn’t eat it. End of. He won’t die of starvation.
It might help if he sees other children eating well. Do you know any other families with young children that you could invite over for a meal or go to the park for a picnic with? Mine always ate better in company!

Thanks. His older sister (4) eats well so we always try and encourage him by pointing out what she is eating at meal times. It doesn’t seem to work - yet…

Don't make mealtimes a battleground. Just provide a variety of stuff for him to pick and choose, and make sure there is at least one thing he will eat at each meal. Be casual and just eat your own dinner as if you couldn't care less what he does.

I'd just make sure there is a range of things on his plate to choose from. A portion of whatever you're having plus a couple of bits. Don't make a fuss. Rinse and repeat.

I wouldn't swap milk for a smoothie every day. Just offer a bit less milk and a substantial breakfast. Smoothies are fine occasionally though!

He'll get the hang of it.

Drop the milk and he's likely to be hungry enough to try more food!

I'd cut the milk by half.
He'll be hungry & far more likely to eat real food.

My now 3 year old has been like this since he started eating solids. His diet has slowly expanded and he will try some things now and at nursery, he eat one or two veg now. He eats fruit, not very keen on meat. Up until he was 3 I’m not gonna lie he mainly ate bready type things so pizza, toast, bagels etc fruit and yogurt, I am probably a bit soft but I just think I’m absolutely not battling a toddler daily about food. I don’t know many adults who eat like this so he will grow out of it. When he was around 2 sometimes I’d be pleading with him just to eat a packet of quavers as it’s better than nothing. I did speak to a therepist thru a colleague of mine (nhs) who gave me a load of info and actually hiding things in their food and really pushing them to eat is a big no no. I tried the lot. No milk less milk leaving him til he was hungry (he still wouldn’t eat just got more crabbit) Ul get all kinds of mental advice on this topic

It is hard isn't it? I found that it helped to give vegetables before the 'main course' when they are hungry. So while prepping the meal put him in the highchair and try some veg. One a day just so he can get used to the taste. Cucumber or pepper for example. Even if he spits it out he is getting used to the taste and texture. I don't think there is anything wrong with still mashing or blitzing food. Veg with pasta with some cheese to make it more palatable. I had a very fussy one and some days I felt all she had was milk! She's my most adventurous eater now.

Thanks for sharing! It’s so stressful at times. I appreciate your advice and honesty

Try a smoothie in the morning instead of the milk. YOu can add greek yoghurt to it as well which wil up the nutritional content. We like mixed frozen berries, bananas and then a bit of apple/orange juice, milk/yoghurt.

I made (and still make) a lot of homemade banana pancakes, regular pancakes or wafflfes at breakfast time. By doing it yourself you limit the sugar but also can ensure it's got the right volume of egg etc. My banana pancakes have no added sugar, plenty of egg etc. And I've also been known to make them with wholewheat or coconut flours for variety.

Blitzing veg works well as the base for any stew/bolognaise etc. So you can sweat them all out together with your onions and they'll disappear into the sauce (peppers, celery, leeks, mushrooms, courgettes, broccoli stems all work well). Also red split lentils are brilliant for adding to mince based dishes - they totally disappear into the sauce, bulk it out and add nutirtion.

Making pesto is a good idea if he will eat it. I used to roast tomatoes and other veg then blitz with cream cheese and sometimes walnuts/pine nuts. I froze in individual portions as ad hoc "red pesto" with pasta.

Will he eat strips of meat/chicken/fish?

Mashed potato can be boosted with carrots/butternut/sweet potato which we did often.

DS got a large chunk of his nutrition from hummus for a while. With breadsticks or sometimes cucumber chunks! If he likes it, you could try other versions. I like butterbean myself.

Fritters can be a good way to get veggies into them. Mine never liked them for some reason but I have loads of friends whose kids loved a courgette or corn fritter of some sort.

I would also agree with others that if he does eat things SOMETIMES, then it might be that he's just hoping ofr a better option at any given moment.

that is super helpful advice - thanks. I’ve cut his milk down now so I am hoping that will help, and your recipe suggestions sound great. He used to like chicken and fish but now spits them out… but, yes - maybe he’s waiting for a better option. Thanks for taking the time to post.