Wants puddings and not dinner - What would you do?

[Abbicob]

My 16 month old DD has always been a great eater, however recently she has started to refuse to eat her savoury dinners and will only eat pudding. I am sure that this is just a phase however nursery asked me if I wanted them to persist with her dinners and not let her have a pudding until she had eaten her dinner.

I asked them to carry on with the dinners and as long as she had a couple of spoonfuls then I was happy for the desert to appear.

Not sure if I am doing the right thing, but I don't want to make food an issue - however do you think she will feel that she is getting away with it by saying "No" to dinner and then get her pudding anyway?

Should I stop puddings altogether for a while? I really don't know what to do.

It was funny though because nursery said she got that excited when pudding arrived that she was screaming "Yeahhhhhh" and waving her arms madly around :D

yes this is just an annoying phase. I would give her dinner, then if she's not eating say gently, 'you're obviously not hungry' and then give nothing else until next snack/meal time.

If she was hungry she would eat it and as long as she's having healthy snacks and fruit inbetween why worry?

Agree with moogalicious but then I've always been mean quite firm that pudding is only to fill remaining gaps and there clearly aren't any if the main course wasn't finished! Having said that, what pudding is on offer and is there are any possibility that she's teething? Mine did occasionally go through yoghurt / chilled fruit only phases for a day or two at a time which seemed to be teeth related.