Struggling to get toddler to eat

Same problem here! 20months and 10kg
She eats bits of cheese and bread and carrots etc. But loses interest very quickly.
Every day is different.
Glad to know its normal

My daughter is a little older, but for her - anything on a stick works. She won't eat a rolled up piece of ham, but stick a chopstick through it, and she will!!

Same here with my 1 year and 2 year old, they have their days where feeding is a pleasure and others where they just refuse, i think its more frustrating for the parents after you have put all your effort into making a nice meal and they throw it back into your face (altleast it feels like it).

I realised that with my kids, giving them a variety of foods made them loose interest as food became a toy, I dish up a piece of meat and a veggie, then there are not so many choices, if he has finished it, i will give him something else.

If he refuses food, I give him water melon or a banana which he can hold and eat on the go.

Our sweeties in the house are coco pops, atleast they are better than the real deal and are packed with vitamins.

I think we all panic just to often and want our kids to get jam packed with all the vitamins and good stuff for them to grow and be healthy but its also okay if they just nibble on a piece of cheese or a provita.

Alix refuses point blank to feed and I give her worsies, cheese, and anything she can hold herself, I was never sure how much she gets in but it must be sufficient if she is on her weight target.

Wow I am so glad we all go through the same thing! My LB is 16 months and has been the same from around a year if not younger. He has never been demanding when it comes to milk or food and seriously couldnt be bothered (though the mention on yogurt gets him shrieking with excitement!!!! - I think this is a token of how clever they are already).

J eats very little but is finally taken to cubes of fruit and still eats mostly purity purees as he turns mine down( I cooked for months when he started solids-no problem). I realised each baby is different and as long as they are content and eating healthily its no point stressing. He also weighs just over 10kg now and he has just had tonsilitis for the very first time and this being the first time he has been sick.

***Glad to see we arent the only ones that wonder about these things***

Vidaylin is good but I found it tastes disgusting. We had lots more success with the vital chewable vitamins (they have iron).

What does your paed say about her weight? If he's not worried I really wouldn't worry. They are at an age where they want to assert their independence so if they're not eating your food and the paed is not worried about their health, let them skip it. try to look at what they are eating per week rather than per day. Most toddlers will eat well for a day then terribly for 2-3 I find.

By 1y your child should be using a spoon and fork (even of it's unsuccessfully!)and feeding themself according to my paed. And I find James eats much better if I let him at it himself.

So for example today he was given the following (most of which was thrown on the floor)

7.30 Breakfast: a cheese omelette cut into strips and a piece of buttered toast cut into 16ths
10am shack: just be honest he had a chocolate marshmallow egg! His reward for swimming so well at class. Normally it's fruit or dried fruit.
12 lunch: 2 mini rice cakes, 4 mini tomatoes cut in half, 1 small stick cucumber, 4 sticks cheese, 1 slice of ham
2.30 afternoon shack: usually mini digestives or mini cheddars or dried fruit. I also give him some yogisip in a juice bottle since he is off his yoghurt atm which he loves
5.00 usually finger food - eg strips of chicken, small corn on the cob, carrots whatever.

Most of it lands on the floor and then every few data we have a day where he eats like a champ.

But honestly. If your paed is not worried don't stress about it. They WILL grow out of it!

It is very common for toddlers to loose interest in food around age 2. There is just so much to explore, who has time to eat!!!

This is what I have experienced with my LG who is now almost 3:

1. If there is a serious decline in her appetite, to the level where she is only drinking milk, it is often tonsilitis or a cold. If there are any other symptoms like sleeping longer than usual, bad breath and iritability or fever get them checked out by your doctor. Loss of appetite is sometimes an indication of a sickness.

2. The last molars normally come out around age 2 - 2,5 years. It could be that as well.

3. Giving too much fluids during the day can spoil their appetite. Lots of water is always good, but too much coldrink/juice/milk can spoil their appetite.

4. Children who get frequent unhealthy snax like chips/flings/cookies and sweets do have less of an appetite. Every time my child had snax/sweets I was garanteed that the rest of the day she will eat less than usual.

5. I make "picnic platters" for her everyday. She loves the idea of "picnic food"!
I make a smorgasboard of healthy finger foods like: provitas, fresh fruit cut up in pieces (sometimes on a sosatie stick), cheese, red kidney beans, chick peas, celery, carrot sticks, cucumber, tomatoe, peanuts, raisins, cranberries, biltong, ham or other cold meat, pasta shapes, dry cereal like "nutrigrain". She would munch on this for a few hours.

6. I give her vidaylin with iron to make sure she gets an extra boost.

7. Never force them to eat. Don't turn food into a batlle. If they don't want to eat, don't make a scene, just take the food away and don't offer anything else untill the next meal. They won't starve themselves! Toddlers can go without food for a long time!

hi Ronel,

sounds like my lg: 21 months, 10kg, doesnt eat......

She jus drinks rooibod tea and juice in teh day. doesnt want porridge anymore and if she does it she wants to feed herslef and ends up eating a little and then playing with it.

The paed prescribed ViDaylin with iron- havent started giving it to her yet. apparently it will give her the vitamins shes not getting as well as appetite.

Guess i have to start soon