positive stories about toddlers who were fussy eaters

[krisskross]

my DD is 16 months and a fairly fussy eater.

I've posted a few threads before and had lots of advice about what to do/ not do- but sometimes (tonight for example) it gets me down and feels really disheartening!

If your older child was a fussy eater as a toddler, i would love to hear your positive stories of how you managed to turn things round.

anyone?

My niece only ate 2 flavours of baby jars until 3.5. Now (at 8) she eats a lot of different things - fish, spag bol, ham, cheese etc. She is still a very slow eater, but actually more willing to try stuff than her brother who used to try anything.

Hers was turned around by a very helpful HV on here i know, a helpful nursery worker and a lot of persuasion. Chocolate buttons may have featured

Sorry I can't help you, my non-fussy eater (at 15mo) is now very set in her ways at 3yo. Am hoping she grows out of it so marking my place for some inspirational stories!

BTW, what do you consider 'fussy'? Does she eat a balanced diet in terms of nutrition (rather than just an interesting variety of foods as an adult might, IYSWIM)

My DD1 was a horrendously fussy toddler - all of my own making as I pandered to all her demands! Hindsight is a wonderful thing...

She went through the usual fussy stage (as most toddlers do IMO) and for about 2 months from the age of 14 months literally ate nothing except yoghurt and breadsticks. I was despairing. I offered 2 or 3 meal choices per mealtime, all of which ended up in the bin. She was only dinky so the less she would eat the more stressed I got and the more ridiculous it became.

After a few months of this I wised up to myself and realised she wasn't actually wasting away, and 90% of her fussiness was about control and a normal developmental stage. I started offering one option at mealtimes (nothing new or inventive, just things I knew she generally liked) and took it away after 30 minutes if she didn't eat it, with no fuss or drama or cajoling. And that was it until next mealtime.

Things got better over the next few months and whilst she was never an adventurous eater she got much better, so that she would eat pasta, chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots etc. She always preferred quite bland food. I introduced new foods with the rule that she had to at least taste them even if she didn't eat them. As I took the pressure off she became a bit more adventurous and would eat more and more.

Anyway she's now nearly 12 and eats everything except pizza!

dont make a fuss

give them the food they like

keep offering new foods without stressing if they eat it or not

my DS was very very fussy

but is now 10 and will ask me to make new things, sometimes he likes them, sometimes not but dinnertime is not a battleground

he never gets ill and can still have excellent manners on play dates

its not the worst thing in the world to be a fussy eater

DS1 was fussy as hell (plus allergies) and at one point fish fingers was the only hot meal he would eat.

Now at 3.8 he is much better, it's a lot easier to get him to try new things and sometimes he even asks to try stuff! He doesn't like much mixed-up food and has v bland taste but will now eat enough to give him a different meal every night of the week, and eats tons of fruit and veg, and that'll do me for now.

i know dryeyes, its just really tiring after a bit.

DS would eat most things, and now aged 3 will eat almost anything- guess i just got spoiled.

crispy- if your helpful HV reads this, all help welcomed!!

Thanks for your stories!

I think we expect too much from toddlers sometimes. If it is stressful for us to provide lots of new food, it's probably stressful for them too.

My dc ate cheese on tomato puree on toast for lunch every day for 6 months. It was the only thing he would eat.

Given he had had a good lunch I then let him eat as much/little as he wanted for tea. Today he is so much better, it will improve for you too, honest!

When I was growing up, my friend next door ate spaghetti hoops on toast everyday until he was 10. He is now 6'8"

Apparently until I was 3 I would only have semolina, pasta with bolognese sauce, yogurt and grated apple/pear/banana.
30-odd years down the line I eat everything bar black pudding and liver- and have been doing so for the past 25 years or so... So I would not worry...

Our food nadir was when dd1, at about 20 months, decided to eat only round food so peas, sweetcorn, chick peas and blueberries. Literally nothing else.

She's 6 now and while not exactly adventurous she can be relied on to eat most bog standard kiddy food - cottage pie, spaghetti and meatballs, roast dinner, sausage and mash etc etc

I agree with DryYourEyes advice. Also bear in mind that some dc just have small appetites, get full really quickly and then lose interest in food.