Help my 1.5 year old daughter won't eat!!

[Littleloo]

My 18 month old won't eat properly. She only eats cheese nibbles and chicken bites or snacks like wafers and baby biscuits! She won't touch any fruit or any veg :( she's very fussy and won't try anything new and just throws it off her tray. Very stressful!! Anyone have any advice would be truly appreciated thank you :)

No advice but must be common as my little one is the same. She used to eat so well too!

This is really normal. I have three DC, all good eaters, and they all went through a fussy stage at this age!

My advice is: offer her several different foods at each mealtime - a mixture of things you know she likes, and things she might not. Try to stay completely relaxed about which items and how much of them she eats - as if you really don’t care whether she eats loads or nothing. Definitely no begging / bribing etc. Hang in there OP!

It's so frustrating!! I stand there cooking meals and different things for her to try but she just doesn't try anything and it all ends up on the floor! It's like a constant battle at dinner times.

Thank you, yes I offer her loads of different bits but it all just ends up in bin or on the floor or I eat it! My 4 year old is so good with food and has always eaten everything and anything! So its different for me I'm not used to it lol. I do need to chill out more with it as I do think she knows I'm stressed but it's just hard, i want her to enjoy her food like her sister does :)

It's normal for toddlers to go through a stage like this. It's an instinct for keeping them safe when they become mobile, before they are old enough to identify safe foods.

You need to focus on not creating a longer term food issue by getting into any sort of battle or power struggle.

Keep providing a good variety of foods and make sure she has lots of opportunities to touch, smell and experiment with foods without feeling under any pressure to put them in her mouth.

Remember that your job is to provide a healthy balanced diet and it is her job to select from that what she wants to put in her mouth.

Don't ever cajole, pressurise or trick her into putting anything in her mouth and don't ever put anything in her mouth yourself.

Hopefully the phase will soon be over and her diet will soon start to expand again.

Read the book “my child won’t eat”, it will really help you to relax about this.

I do need to chill out more with it as I do think she knows I'm stressed but it's just hard, i want her to enjoy her food like her sister does

You really need to follow your own advice.

If your DD is picking up on your stress, she is likely to become more resistant and you will get into an awful vicious circle.

You need to stop jumping through hoops to make things to tempt her. Cook what you would cook anyway, serve it and clear it away. Do not concern yourself with what happens in between.

Don't praise her for eating or encourage her in any way and don't let her see anything but a smiling relaxed mummy who is enjoying her own food.

I know how hard it is from personal experience. You can do this.