Fussy eater won't even try food!

[Dalesgirl16]

Please help! I don't know what to do with my 19 month old. She was very good at eating when we first started weaning and would eat purées and solids of all types. Now, she has become increasingly funny and won't eat things she ate several months ago like sandwiches, fish, different dishes. Also, when I try to give her new things she won't even try them and throws food on the floor. She won't eat vegetables unless they are hidden and I have a limited repertoire of dishes that she will eat. She loves pasta but I can't give her that every day!

You have a normal 19 month old OP! Most kids go through a fussy stage where they won't try anything new, it's normal. Usually it doesn't last.

For now, if all you can get her to eat is pasta, serve pasta and a small amount of something new/different/disliked. Sometimes she'll try it, sometimes she won't, but it usually works in expanding tastes again.

For about 4 months my DD would only eat cheese pizza, cheese sandwich and cucumber. Anything else was thrown, ignored or tantrummed about. She's 3 now and eats a wide range of foods but it still turning down new, unknown foods at nursery.

Don't beat yourself up with all the fiddly recipes . Heartbreak when they are rejected.
If she likes pasta, cut yourself some slack and give pasta for a while.
I have the world's fussiest eater. I have her lovely home made purees of all sorts of different varieties when she was weaning in the hope she wouldn't be a fussy eater. She had other ideas.
Stuff that sort of worked - finger food - cheese in a desperate attempt to get protein in her. Fruit plate with fruit playing the part of parts of a smiley face. Lentil soup with chicken hidden in it whizzed up to a puree.
Couscous with mini veg. Usually sweet corn and cucumber diced up small.
Try and hold your nerve. I would give you a hug and say it's going to be ok if I could.

Just give her what she will eat but eat different things in front of her, and if she asks let her try a bit. Don't worry if she doesn't like it it's trying things that will get her used to it. I had no idea mine would like marmite until she tried my toast and then wanted the rest. She's probably just developing preferences and will branch out as time goes on.

Mine lived on plain spaghetti and fish fingers for about 4 months.

Our excitement and celebration of her eating a Happy Meal when stuck at the airport for hours after our flight was delayed was probably a little OTT, and was met with some very surprised looks!

It took a long while, but just kept offering what she liked along with new bits on her plate, encouraging her to try them, occasionally we'd get her to lick a bit (sounds weird but it was the first step to trying new things).

The key (and I know almost impossible) is trying to stay calm and not get stressed. The minute it turns into a power struggle, you've lost.

My 20 month old is identical to this. Loved it yesterday, hates it today, wants to live on pasta. I'm just keeping the faith that it's normal and will pass!

Thanks. She's so tricky. I offer her a cheese sandwich and she won't have it , then give her cheese on toast and she devours it. Nightmare! I'm trying to think of lunch ideas other than that or pasta and it's hard!

Have you tried scrambled eggs with toast or beans with toast, they're quick and toddler friendly

Cheese on toast is progress. Also nice with baked beans.
Work with what works. I was a fussy eater apparently but would eat tripe (60s baby). Boak Which is what my mum said when she could take preparing it no more.
Think about vaguely giving her stuff that has protein (cheese!) , carbs(bread!) vitamins (whatever- supplement with chewy vit sweets or drops 'cos I won't judge).
Don't beat yourself up.

She used to eat scrambled eggs but has stopped. I try to disguise boiled eggs in baked beans. Little madam.

Mine preferred lots of bits to an actual meal.
So perhaps some cubes of cheese, chopped ham, some bread sticks or crackers, cucumber sticks or carrot sticks, raisins, chopped apple, all separated on the plate that she could just graze from.

Deconstructed meals worked best for a long time - didn't like things all mixed together. We often went with several mini-meals over the day as well - she didn't like eating too much at a time.

I will try the picky plate again although she just eats certain foods and leaves others. She rejected jacket potato with cheesy beans at lunch, then I took her out but just ate chips from Sainsbury's kids meal of fish fingers, chips and peas. I thought she would be starving by then but no!

I think it's normal at that age to be quite fussy - my DS1 is 3 later this month and has gone through phases that he will or won't eat certain foods, no child has ever starved them self through fussiness though, we just give DS1 the same as we are eating and he can choose to eat it or not but is never offered an alternative if he doesn't eat what's offered, and has to wait until the next meal time to eat again, this works for us - he's a healthy weight and he eats a very reasonable range of food as when he is hungry he will usually eat food that he has initially rejected.
At that age with food throwing I would completely ignore it - giving it attention encourages it - when DS1 one was older and able to understand I told him meal time was over if he threw any more and this worked for us. DS2 isn't ready for weaning yet but planning to use the same approach for him and hoping it works!

Thanks, I don't often leave her til the next meal and just give her snacks instead.

No idea what that last post was that got deleted!

I know the feeling of a fussy eater. My 14 month old lived on chicken nuggets smiley faces and beans for ages. Now she's going through the faze of just eating rubbish, no matter what I cook her she won't eat it, just have a few mouthfuls and that's it.

Haha! I've got no idea what it said either, probably best not to know!
I've just realised I should clarify just in case, DS1 didn't just eat 3 meals a day at that age - he ate 4 times a day at scheduled times (3 meals and one snack) and also was still BF twice a day, I don't think their tummies are big enough for just 3 meals a day that age. Just no snacking between the scheduled times, but if he chose not to eat much at one meal then he had the security of knowing when he would next be fed. He rarely skipped meals, but I think did once go to bed having not had dinner, I was a bit worried he would wake up in the night hungry and that we would all have a difficult night, but he just ate a big breakfast the next day.
Chocolatelover9 I remember DS1 not eating much and being pickier at 14 months, eg. just eating the sandwich filling and not the bread. I think their growth rate slows down compared to when they were babies and they're still only quite small so don't need to eat much. DS1 definitely gets less fussy when he's having a growth spurt!