Stubborn little mule!

[pops79]

My ds is nearly 14 months old and is already flexing his toddler tantrum and 'no!' muscles. I have been feeding him ready made meals since he was small and he is very good, eating all of the different varieties. He also eats mashed up fruit, plus a sandwich, yogurt and snacks - rice cakes, crackers etc. The only problem I have is getting him to try new things and more specifically things that he already eats, but which LOOK different. For example he loves custard and he loves mashed up banana, but he absolutely refuses to try them together. As soon as he sees that it looks different, he turns away crying and protesting. He loves fresh pear puree, but won't eat small pieces of pear. I really feel that his resistance to new things means he is missing out and is not good for his attitude towards food. How can I encourage him to try more things and to wean him off everything being so mashed up? Any tips would be most welcome? Is his resistance normal?

hi pops - i have found the best way to get dd2 to eat stuff is if i am eating it too. if we have a meal together, the 3 of us and i have something different to eat than what she's got, she is reluctant to eat her food.

also i have found that things i don't eat, she refuses when offered. for example i don't often eat bananas so when i offer her them she tends to refuse, whereas she eats pineapple and melon diced up - but i eat that all the time.

when she was going through a difficult phase, i also used to sit some of her soft toys at the table and tell her 'lala is eating x' or whatever, and this sometimes helped.

know what you mean about things looking different. sometimes if she can't identify something she is reluctant to eat. so i put things in separate piles on her plate rather than mixing it in, so she then has a 'choice' what to pick up and eat first - where she doesn't if it is all mixed in. i think its to do with them becoming more independant.

i'd say this resistance was absolutely normal and it will pass xx

my dd eats things at nursery that she won't eat here cos she sees the other kids eating it. peer pressure works wonders sometimes !!