Tips for fussy eating 20 mth old

[Roo9979]

My daughter used to be an amazing eater..she would eat anything even sticks of broccoli. Loads of veg and really healthy diet. The last few months though she’s become really fussy and now more what I pictured a typical toddler to be like with food..she still likes wholemeal bread, porridge and pasta so have no issue with carbs but she won’t eat eggs, cheese, meat or fish so protein not great and won’t eat any veg except sweet potato / potato so I have to hide it in sauces but wonder if I should just be still giving her the whole veg or she won’t get used to / want to try it?

I feel like I’m giving her a lot of the same good every day as anything new she throws on the floor and won’t even try it...just can’t understand what changed as it would be fair enough if she’d always eaten like this. Is it just a phase of taste buds developing? Should I keep hiding healthy food in things or still try to offer big variety?

She’s at nursery 2 days a week and my mums for 1 s but nursery offer healthy food. My mum I had to tell her to stop giving biscuits etc as soon as we go round she’s straight to the treat drawer and goes nuts if she can’t have one and won’t eat her dinner. I think this is fairly standard with grandparents though and can’t complain too much at free child care...it’s ellas kitchen / organix treats not chocolate but it’s all she wants and my mum doesn’t limit portions

I do a bit of both, I hide some veg in sauces etc but also continue to offer whatever we are eating. Sometimes food that gets thrown off his plate will be eaten if it comes from my plate, I try hard not to comment on what he is or isn't eating.

It’s normal for kids to start eating less and getting pickier with what they eat at this age. They’re developing their preferences, trying to assert their authority, and growing less so need less food too.

If she’s eating carbs as normal it might be that you need to switch things up slightly with the protein. If she won’t eat boiled eggs then try poached or fried. DS is 21 mths old and will only eat eggs he can ‘pop’ lol so it’s poached or underdone fried eggs. He will only eat Boiled eggs if I paint them in green food colouring and call them Apple Eggs lol. The nursery I work at is full of toddlers who won’t eat chicken but will happily scoff turkey or Tofu in any form. So just do some trial and error and it should be fine.

One tip that might help is don’t offer mixed food during this fussy period. Cook it all seperately and offer it up next to each other & you may find she eats more. So for example instead of a chicken salad sandwich — offer her chicken, a bit of toast, salad and dressing on the side.

Good idea on the not offering mixed food! I tend to find she picks out what she likes and deconstructs a sandwich just to pick the sweet corn out so separate could be better! I’ve also found that she will throw her own food away but want the same food on our plate (or at least to try a bite of it). I’ve tried not to comment or make a big deal of it as I don’t want food to feel like a punishment but just couldn’t work out what had changed!

Love the ‘apple eggs’ 😁

I found cutting things into shapes helps loads. I got some metal cookie cutter things on Amazon cheaply and use them for fruit and sandwiches. DS won't eat a slice of mango but will happily eat a "star" of mango!

It’s a totally normal phase. Between 18 months and 2.5 my DD would only eat about 8 different foods and wouldn’t eat any meat whatsoever. Then something clicked, she became really adventurous again and now eats just about anything. Serve things separately, always have something you know she will eat, give it minimal attention, offer a variety of foods but don’t push it if she doesn’t want to try. If you mum is providing you with childcare then I wouldn’t push it with her either because one day a week won’t be contributing to the fussiness- your LO is just being a standard toddler!

@Roo9979

Good idea on the not offering mixed food! I tend to find she picks out what she likes and deconstructs a sandwich just to pick the sweet corn out so separate could be better! I’ve also found that she will throw her own food away but want the same food on our plate (or at least to try a bite of it). I’ve tried not to comment or make a big deal of it as I don’t want food to feel like a punishment but just couldn’t work out what had changed!

Maybe try to offer her the same plate as yours? I found it worked with DS but he doesn’t tend to launch his plates any more so it was safe. He loved being a ‘big boy’. But then the next day he was throwing a tantrum because he wanted to be a ‘little boy’ again so just do whatever works. It will improve.