Fussy toddler at meal times

[justanothermanicmonday1]

I need help.

I didn't realise this was going to be so frustrating and I blame myself to be honest for not exploring more foods with my 2 year old toddler when we were weaning. Everything was blended and I wish we did more BLW and tried different textures etc.

Now she's so fussy. She used to love bolognese. Won't eat much, won't eat much pasta in any variety of flavour.

Won't eat a Sunday roast (with or without sauce)

Isn't a massive lover of chicken

I tried sausage beans and chips last night. Didn't want it.

But in nursery she eats absolutely everything.

We have a 8 month old who I am weaning. We are doing a mixture of BLW and blended and it's going well. I just don't want her watching her big sister and picking up bad habits when she becomes a toddler.

What am I doing wrong? Do I need to be more persistent?

She'd quite happily snack on fruit, yoghurts and crackers all day if I let her.

Bump

Sounds just like my child, she's a snack monster, moans she's hungry but refuses a meal and only wants snacks!

We are stubborn at meal times, 'if you don't want to eat it that's fine but there are no snacks'

So I don't stress out I look at food consumption over a few days rather than daily, some days she eats more than others.

Sounds like she's doing great at nursery and filling her tummy there!x

Take the stress out of it.

Remember it's your job to provide balanced, healthy food. It's her job to decide how much she eats.

Present food.
Give her adequate time to eat.
Remove what's left.
End of meal, don't offer anything else.

No nagging, bribing, rewarding or punishing.

Sit at the table with her, chat, eat your food, but make no mention of what she is/isn't eating.

Maximum of two snacks in a day, morning and afternoon.

It's all very well shifting the responsibility to eat on to a toddler, but it really doesn't work if they are truly a poor eater. My DD wouldn't eat for days unless it was something that she wanted from her very limited list.

As an adult she still has issues with some things, but is at least now willing to try new things. Her food intake didn't really start improving until she was around 8/9.

She's eating well at nursery so you know she can eat if inclined to do so. Don't focus on the individual meal, you've got to look at this as a much bigger picture and a much longer game.

Don't get angry with her, don't bribe her. Just be consistent. Present her with 3 meals a day and a morning/afternoon snack. I would be careful with the snacks to make sure they're a)not too big and b) not too sweet/exciting etc. mix up the snacks so she doesn't get into the habit of knowing she'll always get a biscuit in the afternoon for example.

You can give her some control/choice especially at breakfast and lunch e.g. what filling do you want in your sandwich? But don't give too many choices. If she declines both options then choose for her. Take the food away after she has had enough time to eat it. I also never throw it away and hold onto it when inevitably they ask for a snack and hour later. Their lunch/dinner they refused is put back in front of them. It's amazing how all of a sudden they'll eat it then.

Thank you so much for your comments.

Today has been a better day.

After speaking to other mum friends, they just echo what each of you have said.

We never tell her off or pressure her to eat more. That's not how we want to be as parents.

I guess every day is going to be different.

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