Toddler being fussy with food

[BarrytheFatcat]

Hey everyone, I hope you can offer me some advice.

I'm struggling with my 18 month old DD, she's become really fussy with food in particular warm food, she's fine with breakfast, I give her Weetabix, a slice of toast and banana, she'll eat that fine, it's just dinner time she'll eat a tiny bit or just refuse to eat it.

For example today I gave her Veggie burger, sweet potato fries and baked beans, she had one bite of a chip then refused to eat the rest.

She's never been fussy at all with food before and she doesn't struggle with solid food at all.
Plus if she sees me or DP eating anything she'll want it and have a tantrum if we don't give her anything.
And if I give her say spaghetti bolognese she'll only eat the bolognese and leave the spaghetti.

I don't know what to do I don't want to give her junk or sandwiches everyday.

Any advice mumnetters?

The best thing to do is to waoy until the nr t meal and try again. However, I'm crap at listening to my own advice and I often coax my little one to eat even when he clearly doesn't want it. Then I give up.

Wait until the next meal

Thanks for replying, I tried her with the same meal an hour and a half later but she wasn't interested so I caved in and gave her Crackers with cheese spread with fruit 😔

Im hoping it's just a phase that she'll grow out of?!

That age is prime time for battles of wills over food to begin - show a complete lack of interest in whether she eats anything or not. Just provide a variety of food on the plate and let her eat what she chooses.
Take it away when the meal is over.

Not making a fuss is key. This is prime age for resisting you.

If it's warm food she's not keen on serve a mix of warm and cold foods you know she normally likes.

We're into salad season really so good timing actually.

Cold doesn't have to mean "junk" - salad veg, potato salad, coleslaw, cheese, crackers, bread (you can vary this with rolls, pita etc) cold rice/pasta/cous cous, quiche, cold meat...

But the occasional "junk" doesn't hurt as long as not too much - cold pizza, sausage rolls,...

Pick your battles too. If she eats something even if not all of it take that as a win

I'm getting around it by filling her plate roughly half way (half her appetite) with things I know she likes and then the other half with something new or tricky. Mine doesn't really like sweet potatoes but I still continue to offer them but alongside chicken and brocolli for example. When faced with a full plate of food I know she dislikes she is more likely to have a fuss. When she sees something she knows she likes she usually eats that first and then picks at the 'new' things

Hi op I meant try again with new meal, if she doesn't eat it then she doesn't eat it. Like I say I'm a bit crap at taking my own advice as it's easy to wnt toddler to eat food etc. However when I have stuck to my guns hell either be hungry enough next meal or starving the next day.

I know what you mean and I got quite stressed then I thought fuck it I can't force her and don't want the stress so i gave her what she wanted within reason she lived on sandwiches, cereal, crackers etc. I would the put a new food on the plate aswell next to something familiar for her. Now she will try anything and eats a variety of fruit. I think it gets easier

Thank you all for the advice, I've taken it all in board and il give a few things a try.

The non reacting thing is a good idea I do praise her when she eaten a bit and I do get frustrated when she don't.

I'd love to give her a salad but she won't touch it or cold veg!

I keep sticking things on plate. So tomato has been on plate when we have cooked breakfast for instance. He's not touched it for six times and then suddenly he did.