1.5 year old girl won't really eat at meal time! Help

[nicT19]

My daughter is 1.5 years old. She's really stubborn when it comes to food! We have probably one good week out the month with her eating. Breakfast is fine she has porridge with fruit or some days toast with cheese spread. Snacks are fine she has no problem eating those apart from will not eat any fruit on its own. I have to hide it in breakfast or smoothie. Same with veg won't eat it on its own. She loves spinach and banana pancakes. Dinner is the one we have most difficulty with. I end up giving her toast and a yogurt most night before bed along with milk... I worry she's not having enough calories or vitamins. She had two bottles i normal give her her daily dose of vitamins in one bottle. No juice very rarely had sweets. Any advise or just go with how it's going now such a worry I'm a worrier at the best of times! :(

Does she still need bottles? The extra milk maybe depressing her appetite.

What times are you giving her the meals and snacks? If I give my 14 month old a snack in the afternoon she's not hungry at dinner time. Meals plus snacks plus bottles may just be more frequent than she needs.

What time do you have dinner? Could she be tired? Have you tried giving her her ‘main meal’ at lunchtime?

In all honesty I’d just try not to worry about it or coerce her, just keep offering her a varied diet. Maybe try cutting back on snacks and milk to see if that helps. Mine are 2 and 3 and they go through stages of barely eating anything and then other weeks where they eat more than me 🤷🏻‍♀️ I really believe in trying not to make food into a battle or an issue and she’s still so young so just keep trying gently and she’ll get there

Reducing the bottle is a good idea!

Breakfast 7:30/8am
Lunch 1pm after nap
Dinner 4/430pm
Snack usual around 9:30 but also has 3oz milk at 11:30 then bed time bottle at 6:30 7oz

I'd probably drop the bottles full stop. If she needs a drink at bedtime, replace with water. You may find her appetite for food increases once the milk isn't an option

Definitely going to cut the bottles. She's having plenty fluid during the day with her water bottle she loves water! So no really point in the milk? If she's having other dairy products during the day. I think the bedtime bottle makes me feel good knowing she won't be hungry in the night 😭

I think you can still offer her a small cup of milk and a small snack at bedtime since she's already eaten her main meals for the day. If she's not hungry she'll leave it.

Her evening meal is only three hours after her lunch which might be why she doesn't really want it. Perhaps try to push that a little later?

DS is 10 months; we have breakfast around the same time as you but then nothing (no milk/snack) until lunch which is about 11.30/12. DS usually eats all of it. Dinner is there around 5ish with a bottle around 2pm. He still has a bottle when he wakes up and before bed too. I agree that you can probably drop the daytime bottle and snack but also agree that it's best just to not worry too much. If she's hungry, she'll eat.

Dinner is far too early. You have a 5 hour gap to lunch and then only a 3 ish hour gap. Even these out. Lunch 1 hour earlier and then offer a small snack mid afternoon and then move dinner to 5 pm at the earliest. (Unless she’s going to bed very early.) Too much milk - that’s protein and a food equivalent and it is filling her up. But even out meal times.

Todays been okay so far breakfast was overnight oats at about 7:30 small snack at 9:30 nap today was at 10:30 u till 12. We had lunch at 12:30 two small rice cakes at 2:30 and we'll try dinner at 4:30 /4:45 and still going to offer milk before bed. Intend to give early dinner as she's sometime ready for bed at 6:30. But moving dinner to 5 would still be okay for 6:30 bedtime?

My boy is taken up for bath at 6:30 - dinner is 5:15/5:30 :)