Toddler eating

[Ginger1982]

I am struggling a bit with my just turned 2 year old DS and his eating. As a newly weaned baby he used to eat everything put in front of him. Now he will only eat:

Chips
Waffles
Beans
Sausage
Bacon
Pasta in bolognese
Toast
Cereal
Ham wraps
Fruit
Toddler snacks
Crisps
Chocolate/sweets
Raisins

I can't get him to eat chicken, fish, veg, eggs, cheese, soup, sandwiches, salad, other pasta etc. I find evening meals in particular really tricky.

More than that, I find he doesn't want to sit at the table to eat. He started hating his high chair so I bought him an IKEA table and chairs. That worked for a while but now he won't sit still there. So I bought a booster seat for the main table. Again this worked for a bit but now he'll sit in it for a few bites then demand to get down. If I was to let him eat in the living room with his nursery rhymes on he would eat more so I've found myself doing this at times just to make sure he's eaten something but I'm so conscious that I'm creating a situation where he thinks TV dinners are ok and I want us to sit round the table as he grows up.

Tonight for example, I made him sausage, waffles, beans and toast. He ate some sausage at the table then demanded down. I finished my tea then took his plate to the living room and he's currently working his way through the rest of the food whilst watching The Wheels on The Bus 🤦‍♀️

Should I not let him eat in front of the tv and have him be hungry or just focus on making sure he eats regardless of where?

Thanks for any advice

My son is 16 months, two bottom teeth but has four on the top coming through, he will only eat:

Bananas
Fruit pots
Custard
Porridge
Weetabix
Raisin wheats
Scrambled egg
Beans
Filled fresh pasta
Couscous with asda hidden veg pasta sauce
Heinz pasta stars
Toast
Sausage cut up tiny
Chicken cut up tiny
Cheese thinly grated
Mashed potato
Fish fingers
Peas/cauli/carrots/broccoli/cabbage mashed
Roast dinner mashed up so it’s chunky
Mince and gravy mashed up with veg
Home made veg soup

He will eat some 10 month old jar food which I only use when we go out, handy to put in change bag. Occasionally has a 12 months plus cow and gate meal if we get home later than normal.
He won’t eat pieces of fruit or veg, apple and pears have to be stewed and puréed. Medical reasons he was weaned early so this has probably affected his fussiness with texture.
He also won’t entertain wraps or sandwiches.

Someone on here suggested the rainbow waffles. I’ve never given him waffles, are they bad for toddlers? Obviously I wouldn’t be giving all the time, I just want him to have more variety.

He used to love raisins but has completely gone off these! And the organix flapjack bars and the goodies banana and date bars.

@PinkDaydreams it was me that suggested the waffles. I think anything in moderation is fine. I'm just stuck because DC won't eat anything else, not even oven chips! You are lucky in the respect that you have quite a varied list for them to choose from - I long for that day 🤞

I'll just keep offering, and as they get bigger and have more understanding, I'll start switching them over to our food and employ the 'that or nothing' - just too small for me to do that now!

GL

Really want to get the rainbow waffles now!

It's pasta bolognese tonight so fingers crossed, though I think I might have to let him watch some nursery rhymes to stay at the table and eat. I hate it though. I never wanted to be a 'screens' parent but trying to convince myself it's just the modern 'colouring book!'

@Ginger1982 whatever works! Cut yourself some slack!

Before DC was born, I always swore I'd never let my child watch the tv too much and was certainly never having an iPad....... fast forward 2 years and the tv is useful for being able to get a few jobs done in he morning, and he has the iPad (or my phone!) whilst he's eating. It makes the battle that little bit smaller and like a PP said, it's not worth making mealtimes a battle.

I watched my DN watch a woman frying eggs on YouTube at the weekend...... 🤦‍♀️ that's a little much imo 😂

@Ginger1982
I honestly don't think the solution to your son's eating habits is giving him an even higher processed food. If your read the ingredients of rainbow waffle
Beetroot Waffle: Potato, Beetroot (31%), Sunflower Oil, Rice Flour, Dried Potato, Salt, Stabiliser (E464)#, Dextrose, Turmeric, Garden Pea Waffle: Potato, Garden Peas (32%), Sunflower Oil, Rice Flour, Dried Potato, Salt, Stabiliser (E464)#, Dextrose, Turmeric, Sweet Potato Waffle: Sweet Potato (40%), Potato, Sunflower Oil, Rice Flour, Dried Potato, Salt, Stabiliser (E464)#, Dextrose, Turmeric, Potato Waffle: Potato, Sunflower Oil, Rice Flour, Dried Potato, Salt, Stabiliser (E464)#, Dextrose, Turmeric, #E464 is derived from a natural plant material. We use it to control the level of fat absorbed by the waffles and to maintain their shape & texture

you will see that there is a toxic mutagen that might cause cell alterations and is genotoxic
efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4088

You can add beetroot powder to crap it will still be crap with just a brighter colour. The transformation process in food industry complete bares the nutritional value and is just an additional marketing tool.

Buy and cook fresh, something you have to wash, cut, prepare , season, not something that comes in a jar or packet. It is of course fine to use baked beans , but the sugar and additives contents is usually quite high, some even have sweetener in them.
And yes, fruit is fine, but balanced with other food groups.

A PP asked why planet I live on for suggesting drastic changes, but seriously, do you have an idea what you buy? Of course, some processed food is inevitable, but the majority should be fresh or dry (pasta, beans, ....).

No wonder, children refuse normal food because their taste is alternate and prefers industrial. And giving them the habit to eat in front of a screen might be something you will regret later. Once in awhile, yes, every meal, no.

Well, that put me and my terrible parenting in our place!

I didn't think I could be made to feel worse about DC's eating habits, but you've proved me wrong! Thanks for that!

I don't critic parents, I critic the food industry. Artificially made food causes an irresistible attraction and the more you give them, the less likely they will eat food in its original form.
In nature, you don't find a food that is fatty (oil)+ salty (salt)+sweet (sugar in any of its given name such as dextrose for the waffle example) , especially when intensified with hydrogenation or high pressure add a couple more products extracted from an original form (dried, flour, starch, ....) and you get people hooked on this high reactive food.
Even basic food, such as bread, are heavily transformed with added gluten for softness. No wonder there is an explosion of gluten disorders, gluten in its original form, as part of wheat, hardly caused problems, but now gluten is added to everything from ham to vinegar. Additives cause metabolic reactions so we get a high.

Highly transformed food in any of its forms, even the "healthy" lentil pasta or vegan cheese, basically any food you need a factory to create with a degree in food engineering, will have an impact on food preferences and metabolic health.

As I said, the blame is not on the parents, they want to do the best for their children, so will trust a package saying it is healthy or 1 of 5.
IF a child already has a preference for highly transformed food and babies are targeted with their first foods - the puffs, melty sticks, fake veggies crisps, ... - switching back will be tremendously difficult.

I just wanted the OP to avoid falling in the trap of going from processed food to equally processed "pretend" healthy food. A rainbow waffle, a turmeric chips or similar snacks, won't give you the benefits, polyphenols and phytochemical of the vegetable in its original form. It is just marketing exploiting your wish to feed your child well.

I don't blame you @thebabysmellsofpooagain , nor do I judge your parenting. My intention wasn't to hurt you or anyone .