15 month won't eat my home cooking

[Themrmen]

I was looking for advice, my ds will not eat my home cooking, he just refuses, he has tray meals (was temp as went back to work) he will eat the childminders cooking at lunch. I really want him to stop eating the tray meals, how do I go about it

Not sure what a 'tray meal' is but can you make your home cooked food look like a 'tray meal'. Assuming no serious allergies etc just persevere with offering the same food that you are eating. Maybe just simple toast/banana/yogurt if he really won't eat (but not until he's missed a couple of meals). Don't stress - babies pick up on your anxiety about eating.

Are tray meals ready meals?

We tend to always give the children what ever we are cooking for us adults. Never done special kids meals or fish fingers/nuggets/chips. They generally eat anything - mild chilli, stuffed tomatos, mild curry, lasagne, fish chowder type foods. It really is worth persevering with your home cooking but in a stress free way and not worrying about calorific intake. 15 months isn't too late to turn things around, it's just a case of retraining her taste buds. Ensure she is hungry enough at tea time, don't pass comment on her eating, chat about the day, keep offering variety at each meal, slowly withdraw tray meals over the course of a month. Sometimes it helps to put the food in the middle of the table, so she can opt for which ever bits she likes. Only put small amounts in her plate. When she's stopped eating, let her get down and play

Like the idea of making your meal look like a tray meal.

Yes sorry tray meals are like jars but designed for over ones. I offer him food he just won't open his mouth or he picks it up and throws it on the floor if hand food. He eats well at lunch, but just worried about him eating nothing at dinner, he'll just refuse and don't want to start giving him toast or bananas in case he gets used to it and it makes it worse

I've tried tricking him and putting home cooked food in the same container that the tray meals come in but he won't eat it that way either

Maybe he's not that hungry at dinner time. I take it he eats reasonable at breakfast and lunch with snacks in-between?
Also does he drink lots of water/juice/milk?

If he's eating well at lunch then don't bother with a cooked meal at tea. just do something like veg sticks and dips maybe a small alive of bread and a hard boiled egg or slice of meat. A nice picky tea. see if he was that. two cooked meals a day o's alot mu kids never ate that past teh baby weaning stage

Sorry for typos on phone

Yes he usually eats well at lunch. He just has water during the day. Two bottles of milk one in morning and one at night. He will eat an entire tray meal which makes me think he's hungry, he doesn't always have Cooked lunch at cm, but he will eat it when it is. Will give him home cooking for a few nights and some fruit if he won't eat it and see if he improves

Oh and nothing wrong with a slice of toast with a nut butter or soft cheese and a banana for tea if he's not hungry or had a big lunch.

It's about balance over a few days not cramming it all into one day.

Some days my kids ate like horses others they'd barely touch it for days.

I know this might sound silly but could your home cooked food be too tasty? My son was like yours. Keep trying but don't get stressed out.

If it's any help my DS is 16 and he eats a good range of food (still no currys) so you can get through it. And for further help he would eat things at primary school that he wouldn't eat at home.

I'd probably ask the child minder not to give him any snacks past 2 so he can be a bit more hungry. It's quite common for kids to be uninterested in eating their tea if they fill up during the day. I'd just offer him a small portion of what ever you're eating for tea and accept if he's not interested. It's not like he's going to starve or be malnourished as he eats really well during the day.

You say he eats the tray meals but I would eat cake or chips or a nice savoury nibble if it was offered, even if I wasn't hungry because my taste buds really like the stuff. His tastebuds just need retraining