Should you let an unwell 1 year old eat what they want?

[Sammie1990]

Hi everyone,

looking for a bit of advice really as a FTM. My 13 month old has been unwell on and off for a few months now. First with conjunctivitis followed by 2 ear infections in quick succession. I took him to the GP last week as I was concerned that he was constantly full of green gunk coming out of his eyes and nose. She checked him and assured me that babies do get viral infections basically all through winter.

he is coping okay but is off his food, luckily he is still drinking milk. My question is should I just allow him to eat what he will as he is refusing most things. Namely the things he will eat are rice cakes, peanut butter and dark chocolate! So not much of a staple diet. Or should I stick to keep offering him the food I normally would and the milk.

thanks

Give him what he will it but keep offering other food too

Keep offering, but let him eat what he wants. Perhaps drop the chocolate though!

I agree with this. Keep offering a range of foods and let the child choose. So don’t think ‘oh he only eats rice cakes and chocolate that’s all I’ll give him’ but don’t be too concerned if that’s all he eats for a while from the range on offer. In a meal if include some things you’d like him to try as well as the items you know he’ll eat.

even with a well child you might have to offer the same unfamiliar food many times before the child will eat it. I found the ‘food division of responsibility’ a helpful way to approach children’s eating.