Why has my 14 month old stopped eating fruit and veg ?

[IveGotAlpen]

Sorry if this topic has been done to death but very interested in any advice !

My toddler was such a good eater up until now and loved fruit and veg.
He has suddenly decided he hates it , doesn't even try it and throws it on the floor in favour of something else . For example dinner tonight was a homemade salmon fish cake with cauliflower cheese and peas. He only ate the fish whereas before he would eat all of it.

I'm pulling my hair out as I'm so worried he's not getting enough of the good stuff.

I made a hidden veg pasta sauce the other day which he ate but can't keep giving him that. The cauliflower cheese he had tonight I gave in in hope he would eat as it was cheese.

I don't want to get into the habit it of offering something else as then he will think if he doesn't eat dinner he gets something else, but obviously I don't want him to be hungry.

Any advice or your experiences would be hugely appreciated !

Don’t offer something else . If he has eaten salmon fish cake he has eaten .

Would he eat cold veg like tomatoes , carrots .

No fuss just keep re offering .

He used to love tomatoes and carrots etc and now refuses !

I think I need to stop being so anxious , as you said at least he has eaten !

Mine just go through phases. Loved veg, hated veg, had a month of only pasta - but only spaghetti. Now it's blueberries and dates, will only want and eat them, and hates bread... (19 months now)

Just kept offering, and still keep offering 😂

Is it teething related? My daughter is really fussy when she is teething.

Because (allegedly) he's likely to have just got more mobile and independent so it's a safety mechanism against him going off and eating lots of poisonous berries and toads he finds while not under your watchful eye, if he was a cave/tribe baby.

Also allegedly, because he's using a lot of energy at the moment with his new mobility or working towards becoming mobile so he is going for foods which are energy dense, rather than nutrient dense. We tend to worry and think that they need nutrient dense all the time but in reality they don't. Keep offering a selection of foods, don't offer processed snacks, you should, apparently, find that he tends to take small amounts of fruit and vegetables with more of the protein component of the meal. No need to hide veg or worry - this is totally normal toddler behaviour and will pass.

Ellyn satter division of responsibility in feeding is a helpful approach, I've found - you can Google this.

Thanks everyone will keep offering and will look up the recommendation on google !

I offer my son his dinner and he chooses what he feels like eating. Usually he eats everything. Some days he eats only a few things off the plate. If he doesn't touch it at all I'll put it away and try an hour later. I don't give him anything else. UsuLly he eats it, some days he doesn't so I'll offer a fruit or something healthy. I suppose just like adults some days they aren't in the mood for certain foods. I'd suggest you always atleast offer him fruit and veg, avoid making him feel bad if he doesn't it it or praising him if he does. Eating is something that should never be punished nor rewarded, rather something that should be enjoyable.

Also going back to my ds’s toddler days . He would go off food , I would cut snacks hoping he would eat his meals , he didn’t .

I discovered when I took him to McDonald’s I really didn’t care if he ate it or not and it seemed to restart him eating . Not suggesting McDonald’s btw 🤣 simply I became aware my anxiety about him not eating made it worse.

As he is now older I have figured if he doesn’t want to eat then he will catch up at some point.

Thanks everyone. Have been praising him when he eats nd trying to ignore when he throws food...I've been cleaning a lot of food off the floor the past few days haha.

I am going to keep offering him what he would usually have and try not to feel anxious. I feel a bit better now that a lot of parents have been through this.
I'm a first time mum so not sure what is normal and worry !

Oh, they're a pain Op. Dd (2yrs 5m) is so fickle with food. One day she loves cauliflower and will clear the plate, the next day (literally) "My not like cauliflower" and it all gets chucked on the floor.

Just stay calm, praise what gets eaten and remind yourself nobody is starving.