I'm getting anxiety because my child won't eat!

limetango

My DD will be 21 months next week, and used to be a good eater.  Now she will only eat waffles, applesauce pouches, yogurt, and string cheese.  Occasionally she will eat chicken nuggets and veggie pasta.  It has been like that for almost 3 months and I am still giving her the pouches of baby food because it is the only way to get any nutrition in her.  My pediatrician said to just keep offering her different foods and not to give her anything else if she won't eat what is in front of her, that she will finally eat it if she is hungry, but she will sit in her high chair and shake her head at the things she doesn't want.  I have let her sit there for almost an hour several times and she just screams "EAT!" at me b/c she is hungry but really will not eat anything except a few foods.  Anyone else have the same issue?  When do they grow out of this phase?  

Erinvp120

My ds is 19 months old and doing the exact same thing-my ped says the same thing-and I just don't have the heart to refuse him food! I give him healthy thins as much as I can. I also have him on a multi vitamin to ensure he gets nutrients even if he doesn't eat every food group every day. Maybe ask the pediatrician if you could do the same. It's a relief knowing he has the multi in him everyday.

MTipler22

I feel the same way with my twins.  They used to be great eaters and now we have troubles feeding them at every single meal time.  It truly stinks.  In the morning, my daughter will only eat scrambled eggs OR just graham crackers.  Literally, that is it.  And now my son is starting to get super picky too.  It has been rough.  Hoping they grow out of this phase - I have really bad anxiety over it!

blushingbride_08

Those aren't bad choices of food. If she had a veggie that would cover all of the food groups. I would just offer what she wants and make it the healthiest option. For the waffles, make them homemade and blend in some spinach in the batter. You can't even taste it. Yogurt you can add in fresh fruit. Applesauce can be unsweetened and already healthy. Cheese, get the bordens brand that has extra calcium.

PregsterDD

All my 18 month old child will eat is Toast-chee crackers. He talks about them all day. He wakes up saying "eat eat, crackers, crackers." So feel blessed that your child is eating more than one thing. I really don't know how he survives on crackers and morsels of our food at meal times. We just keep introducing him to what we are eating as the ped suggests and I try not to worry. This is very normal for toddlers. 

michelle7482

MY 18mo old is extremely picky as well. She doesn't eat meat and will only eat fruits and veggies in pouch form or in foods (blueberry pancakes or chopped broccoli in pastina for example). She eats the same ten or so foods. I refuse to let her starve.

blu-eyedwife

I wouldn't worry too much about "getting nutrition in her"  I rarely hear about toddlers developing scurvy or the like.


I do think that your pediatrician is right - keep offering food and don't worry about whether she eats it or not.  Mealtimes shouldn't be a battle.  And I say that in a concern for you way.  There's no need for you to get anxiety, that has got to be rough, so try to tell yourself this is no big deal.  To add to that, toddlers can read our anxiety, but they don't know what causes it.  So if you're getting anxious at mealtime, she reads it as mealtimes = anxiety and that makes mealtimes unpleasant for her.  Which makes her less willing to eat.  When it becomes "eh whatever" there's less pressure on both of you, making it a more pleasant experience.

She may miss a meal or two.  That may make her unhappy and cranky.  But she is not going to go for days/months/years without eating.  And in the vast scheme of things, she's picky, but she does eat.  And the fact that she doesn't eat a huge variety isn't the worst thing in the world.

khanley1980

My doctor gave me a good tip, offer them whatever you are eating for dinner plus one side that you know they like. For example, my daughter loves brown rice and fruit so if the dinner is new to her I will include a side of brown rice and/or fruit. That way even if she only eats a little of what we eat, she gets other foods in her.

If you can get your little one to eat rice, then you can "hide" other foods in there like meats or veggies. Some people say not the do this, I say do what works!

JENandJEH

khanley1980 said:

My doctor gave me a good tip, offer them whatever you are eating for dinner plus one side that you know they like. For example, my daughter loves brown rice and fruit so if the dinner is new to her I will include a side of brown rice and/or fruit. That way even if she only eats a little of what we eat, she gets other foods in her.

If you can get your little one to eat rice, then you can "hide" other foods in there like meats or veggies. Some people say not the do this, I say do what works!

Exactly this.  I always offer one thing (sometimes 2) that I KNOW he likes and will eat.  Then if he doesn't eat the other stuff, that's fine but I'm not making him another dinner just to make sure he gets full.  My husband is INCREDIBLY picky and I am determined not to give in to them and make them as picky as he is.  I don't make multiple meals and they won't starve themselves.  

Our doc also told us that looking at their food intake over the course of a week is more accurate than over the course of a day.  Sometimes they're just not hungry and you can't force them to eat.  Mix fruit/veggie purees into yogurt or waffle batter.  My son LOVES to dip things into sauces so make some veggie puree sauces and let her go to town.  Make smoothies with yogurt and spinach.  Try mashed potatoes with stuff mixed in.  Just don't turn it into a battle or keep giving in and letting her figure out that she can eat the few favorites she has just by refusing everything else.  Keep offering and if she doesn't eat/try it, offer it again another day.  

MNmama7112

blu-eyedwife said:

I wouldn't worry too much about "getting nutrition in her"  I rarely hear about toddlers developing scurvy or the like.


I do think that your pediatrician is right - keep offering food and don't worry about whether she eats it or not.  Mealtimes shouldn't be a battle.  And I say that in a concern for you way.  There's no need for you to get anxiety, that has got to be rough, so try to tell yourself this is no big deal.  To add to that, toddlers can read our anxiety, but they don't know what causes it.  So if you're getting anxious at mealtime, she reads it as mealtimes = anxiety and that makes mealtimes unpleasant for her.  Which makes her less willing to eat.  When it becomes "eh whatever" there's less pressure on both of you, making it a more pleasant experience.

She may miss a meal or two.  That may make her unhappy and cranky.  But she is not going to go for days/months/years without eating.  And in the vast scheme of things, she's picky, but she does eat.  And the fact that she doesn't eat a huge variety isn't the worst thing in the world.

I totally agree with this. Our anxiety is felt by our LO's and the more calm we can be about eating, the better (for everyone!). Our pedi told me at my son's 12 mo. appt to expect that at some point in the next 6 months or so, he'll go through periods of difficulty with eating. She said it may seem like he barely eats anything for several days even. She said he won't starve and not to let eating be a battle, because we won't win! Also she said don't just offer junk so that he's eating something (which it sounds like you're not doing anyway- the applesauce, yogurt, string cheese, etc. are great options). Instead, her advice was to just offer him what we normally would and eventually he'll eat. I like the idea of offering 1-2 things he likes along with things that are new/not his favorite. Good luck and try not to stress!

agibby

Try not to worry too much. Kids seem to take tis route with food becuase that's about the only thing they can really exert any control over. My 11 yr old is still like this lol, so we don't sweat it. Just try not to let it cause you anxiety, those babes won't starve   What works for me is that I will make what I want for meals but will try to incorporate a little bit of what my kids like too. Thankfully my LO likes anything still.

 

AlmostMrsI

Nicb13 said:

michelle7482 said:

MY 18mo old is extremely picky as well. She doesn't eat meat and will only eat fruits and veggies in pouch form or in foods (blueberry pancakes or chopped broccoli in pastina for example). She eats the same ten or so foods. I refuse to let her starve.

Kids absolutely will not starve themselves. It might seem like they will, but they won't.

I used to agree with that before I had my son.  He is what they call a resistant eater.  He will refuse anything but his preferred foods to the point that his weight dropped down to the 1.5 percentile.  We have been to OTs and Behaviorists and tried every trick in the book, but he will go hungry rather than eat most foods.  His pedi said that unfortunately it will probably get worse before it gets better because of his age--she said around 2 most kids become picky eaters to some extent.  I keep hoping he's going to grow out of it, but only time will tell.