Tell me positive stories of fussy eating toddlers

[Rosebud1302]

Hi all,

DS is nearly 15 months and has never been great with vegetables despite me offering from the start. But now he will not touch them. At all. Any of them. He is great with fruit and will eat that well. He is starting to get fussy with food in general tbh. Things he used to like he now won't touch (just an example from tonight was scrambled egg). I'm so worried I'm setting him up somehow to becoming a really fussy child that doesn't want anything except beige food or frozen rubbish but what can I do if he won't even try it?? I'm a very firm believer of not making mealtimes stressful and I never ever make a deal about him not eating stuff. I just remove the plate without mentioning it.

Really I guess I am looking for advice or reassurance that people had fussy toddlers who turned out to be good eaters into childhood? I'm so so keen for him to not be fussy as I used to love eating a wide variety of foods when younger while my friends all ate chips and nuggets 🤦🏼‍♀️

TIA :)

Bump

I'm not here with reassurance, but my 21 month old has been the same for a few months. I have a few 'go to' dishes that for some reason he will eat, but mostly veggies and new things are looked at with disgust and spat out. I'm hoping it's a phase and we just keep offering!?

My first child was extremely fussy when she was younger. It used to drive me crazy, i tried everything to get her to eat green vegetables but she wouldn't touch them. All you can do is keep offering them. She is now 7 and still won't eat a piece of broccoli! She has a glass of green juice daily instead because it's important to me that she gets the goodness. My second child is the complete opposite, he will eat green vegetables all day!!

Another bump for you. My 21 month old DS is the same and has been for what feels like too many months and so much so that I’ve been wondering if we should be following it up somehow. I think we may be seeing some tiny progress but too much too early to say if he’s about to go back to eating a broader range of things.

We’re trying to

1. be more careful with what we give him as snacks between meals, whilst still giving him enough of what he loves, and

1. be more relaxed about what and how or how much he eats at mealtimes (I think we were relaxed but we were perhaps not relaxed enough)

and

1. doing some more messy play as something I read suggested it could be a texture thing. This may not be the case but it’s fun and helps me to think we are doing something that helps.

He’s eaten and enjoyed a couple of things in the past week or two that he hadn’t tried in ages, including a carrot, so that’s good. And he’s taken a bite to try some other foods and gone ‘yuk!’ But it’s progress for us that he’s even been willing to try them. Oh and he’s also gone off some of the things that he’s always loved. What’s I’ve read suggests the fact that he used to eat everything and that he eats a range, albeit a very limited one, means this is likely to be a phase. I hope that’s right.

Thank you for your solidarity - I am glad to hear we aren't alone. It is so frustrating when he refuses things I know he loves. Today I offered him spaghetti bolognaise. I know for a fact he loves it. He cried and refused to touch it. He is now eating a slice of toast before bed as I can't send him to bed with absolutely nothing (there was a gap of 45 mins after his dinner refusal so not offered straight away).

Unfortunately he has never ever been good with vegetables so I'm not sure it is a phase :( he used to at least like carrots and parsnips but now those don't get touched either. He eats absolutely no salad or vegetables at all. I just don't know what to do. I'm so so worried about him not getting what he needs nutritionally. It's so important to me that he doesn't end up only eating beige food but that is the way it's going :( I try so hard not to stress about it in front of him but it's very difficult not to.

My DS is 19 months and I offered him a traditional roast dinner then zero veggies get eaten.

But he will eat a chicken curry which is blended carrots, onions, tomato's, spinach, sweet potato,cooked with loads of garlic and ginger, tin of coconut milk and spices with peas added at the end!

I basically have to camouflage the veggies into sauces and he loves it then!

I think with DS he just likes a lot of flavour, if he won't eat something I usually add garlic and then he will normally scoff it!!

Maybe just try a few new recipes and see how you get on