11 month old wont eat meat!

[Jodierin25]

Hey there..

My daughter has just turned 11 months and still refuses meat. I’ve tried chopping it up really small, leaving it in bigger chunks, minced meat and even shredded meat into strands - nothing seems to work!

Has anyone else experienced this with their children a similar age?

When I chop it up small and mix it into pasta, rice, noodles etc she’ll put a handful/spoonful into her mouth and eat it all, but will spit out the tiniest bit of meat if detected🤦🏻‍♀️ I’m not sure where I’m going wrong.

Any advice would be super helpful!

This really doesn't matter. If she is trying out a good range of other food, then that's just fine. Leave the meat alone for a while and she will get there at her own pace.

My child never liked the texture really. Not an issue really.
they would have a sausage for while but since went pescatarian.

That’s fine - babies have likes and dislikes just like adults.

Pulses, fish, green veg etc will give her plenty of iron.

No need for her to eat meat. Does she eat cheese, yoghurt, fish? Have you tried her on dal? There is loads of stuff to eat that isn't meat!

Does she have to eat/like meat? DD was similar at that age. She's adult now but has been Vegan since she was 14. Just try other food after all there's lots of other food besides meat

Does it matter? Just offer a balanced diet with plant-based iron and protein sources if that's what she prefers. Better for the planet anyway.

My DGD is the same she is 3.5 now never eaten meat, we tried all sorts just refuses. She is very healthy a normal weight & height, she does eat fruit & some vegetables cheese & drinks a lot of milk. It don’t think you are going wrong maybe just leave it for awhile & try & reintroduce gradually.

It's probably a good thing as a vege diet is usually better for you. I say that even though I'm not vege myself.

My son is quite fussy with food generally and has never liked the texture of meat - he’s a teenager now. He’ll eat pate quite happily but that’s probably a bit too salty for a little one!

No but just to say we are raising both our children vegetarian without issue. So I'd maybe just look to ensure she's getting what she needs nutritionally even without meat because it's perfectly possible to do so. At 11 months tho presumably they're still relying a fair bit on formula or breast milk too which is fine so try not to worry.

There’s no need for her to eat meat, she loves cheese, yogurt, eggs etc. She is rather petite but still a healthy weight so no issues there. If I have to make vegetarian meals for her that’s no problem, I was just seeking some advice on if this was common or not.

Have you tried plain chicken?
the texture of lamb/beef can take some getting used to. Especially as it doesn’t mash up like some veggies as you chew

Sensible child 😀

Mine hates most meat also. He’s 3. I think it’s the texture. The only things he will eat sometimes are sausage and plain white fish ( various types, won’t eat salmon)

Meant to add that my DP was one of those babies. Never liked it and when he realised what it actually was pretty much stopped completely. His mum just let him get on with it and he was fine. He always ate cheese and would eat eggs occasionally. He's vegan now.

Mine were all brought up as vegetarians and are now all healthy adults.
Not eating meat won’t starve her of anything.

Anecdotally, I believe it is reasonably common.

Mine both avoided meat at that age. One has avoided most meat his whole life and is now a vegetarian. The other is a committed carnivore.

That was me. I've been vegetarian all my life.

This is totally normal and a very common phase. I would stop offering for a little bit then start offering again.
Try following solid starts on Instagram and Facebook lots of very useful information and guidance there.

Mine (13 months) has gone off both meat and fish over the last few months which is a bit annoying as we like to eat fish especially and I do cook quite a few things with chicken. DH hates a lot of vegetarian protein sources (lentils, chickpeas etc) so it’s getting difficult to find meals that we can all enjoy but I keep offering DD what we are eating alongside a few things she likes. I also give her relatively high protein yoghurt (Greek yoghurt).

Don't know how common it is but my DSis was the same. She's in her 40s now and has never eaten it.