My kid won't eat! HELP!

GreenEyedGal

It's been a very very frustrating few days, let me tell you. My son just plain won't eat! Well he'll eat snacks (Cheerios, blueberries, Goldfish, a cereal bar) but he won't eat actual food. Every.single.thing I put on his tray he pokes at and then throws it. What happened to my once good eater? This morning I made him french toast, something he's never had before and I hoped he would devour it but nope, all that work for him to just smush it and then throw it. He did eat an egg but he only seems to want to eat when playing on the floor, not on the highchair.

He is teething and has a cough to boot so I'm HOPING it's just because of that and that this will pass. Otherwise, I'm going to go crazy worrying about him having proper nutrition and a balanced diet!

ADVICE MUCH NEEDED!

LisaMarisa

He might just be too busy to eat.  I know you're worried about him getting hungry but if you want to avoid a grazer, try not to let him snack too much .  It's much more fun to eat while playing and you might have a hard time getting him back at the table - it becomes a habit so easily. 

So stay strong, keep offering him meals and try not to let him snack while playing.

krissyh21

Dillon is a picky eater to begin with, but when he is teething he eats less. Plus if he has a cough, his throat could be hurting. Have you tried things like soup that may soothe his throat?

RoxBride

Don't panic.  Their calorie intake goes way down around this time,  and add in teething and a cold and he probably just isn't feeling it.

Just keep offering interesting foods in the highchair (or maybe try sitting him at the table in a booster like a big boy with the family) and see what happens.  I wouldn't give him food on the floor anymore.

Our pedi says never to stress food that much, they'll do fine, it too shall pass, and if you worry, just give him a multivitamin until this passes.

dana316

I'm a mean Mama.  If she doesn't eat what I put on her tray, she doesn't eat.  I know that sounds horrible, but I refuse to cater to a picky kid.  I make a on of things she likes, and some things she doesn't.  I just keep giving them, and eventually, she'll eat them.

If he won't eat his meals, but will eat his snacks...then stop with the snacks until he starts eating his meals again.  If he will eat cheerios, but not anything else...he wouldn't get anymore cheerios at my house.  He will not starve, I promise you.

I don't make a big deal about eating...I put whatever it is we are having on her tray, and if she doesn't eat it, then she just doesn't eat it.  She'll eat at the next meal or snack time, I promise....because she's hungry ;-)

 

sasa625

This is DD... and I know the frustration!!

She is a picky eater and loves her snacks (which are all carbs except for cheese). She hardly eats any fruits and veggies unless I sneak them in. She is definitely easily distracted and when she decides it's time to play or watch tv (and she only gets 20-30 minutes of tv per day) she starts throwing her food.

We have realized that we need to time her milk/snacks during the day. Breakfast can't be too early or she won't eat it. We have to make sure to give her food before she gets milk around lunchtime. And she has to have her last snack 1.5-2 hours before dinner or she won't eat dinner. We have tried to cut down on her snacking because we weren't realizing how much she was eating between meals.

But the biggest thing we've had to realize is that she is still growing, despite her picky eating. Her pedi isn't concerned about her eating (and we've told him what she eats) and has said that it's very normal for toddlers to eat less. It's hard not to get stressed out about it, but we try! And we give her a multivitamin to make ourselves feel better

GreenEyedGal

Thank you to everyone for your advice.

I know stopping the snacks is the first step but it makes me nervous seeing as how this is his only form of food. He's going to more or likely not eat lunch (or pick at it) which is going to make me want to give him a cereal bar afterwards so that he doesn't starve until dinner time. I'll do my best though and keep a close eye on his mood.

Another question though, what type of multivitamin do you give them?

sasa625

I completely understand wanting to give snacks when your LO hasn't eaten, but this backfires on us. We do give her a snack 30-60 minutes after dinner along with her milk if she hasn't eaten a good dinner. If she doesn't eat a good lunch, I stop and try lunch again in 30-60 minutes. I don't want her to learn that she can get out of eating her meal only to get the snack she desires.

As for a vitamin, we give her an all natural chewable vitamin that we got from the Vitamin Shoppe. My pedi suggested any type of chewable vitamin, but I'm not a fan of artificial dyes so I went on the hunt for one without. DD also has borderline low iron levels, and while the pedi said it's not necessary to treat, we give her a vitamin with iron to make ourselves feel better (I have also heard that iron levels can impact sleep, and we'll take all the sleep help we can get!!)

LIAngel

dana316:

I'm a mean Mama.  If she doesn't eat what I put on her tray, she doesn't eat.  I know that sounds horrible, but I refuse to cater to a picky kid.  I make a on of things she likes, and some things she doesn't.  I just keep giving them, and eventually, she'll eat them.

If he won't eat his meals, but will eat his snacks...then stop with the snacks until he starts eating his meals again.  If he will eat cheerios, but not anything else...he wouldn't get anymore cheerios at my house.  He will not starve, I promise you.

I don't make a big deal about eating...I put whatever it is we are having on her tray, and if she doesn't eat it, then she just doesn't eat it.  She'll eat at the next meal or snack time, I promise....because she's hungry ;-)

 

I hear you on this.  But what if she truly doesn't like/want what you are serving, how many times do you offer it before you move on to something else?   Like if you had brussell sprouts for dinner and she didn't want them,  do you give them to her the next day for lunch?  Then if she doesnt want them then, offer them again for dinner and then again for lunch the next day?

GreenEyedGal

LIAngel:

dana316:

I'm a mean Mama.  If she doesn't eat what I put on her tray, she doesn't eat.  I know that sounds horrible, but I refuse to cater to a picky kid.  I make a on of things she likes, and some things she doesn't.  I just keep giving them, and eventually, she'll eat them.

If he won't eat his meals, but will eat his snacks...then stop with the snacks until he starts eating his meals again.  If he will eat cheerios, but not anything else...he wouldn't get anymore cheerios at my house.  He will not starve, I promise you.

I don't make a big deal about eating...I put whatever it is we are having on her tray, and if she doesn't eat it, then she just doesn't eat it.  She'll eat at the next meal or snack time, I promise....because she's hungry ;-)

 

I hear you on this.  But what if she truly doesn't like/want what you are serving, how many times do you offer it before you move on to something else?   Like if you had brussell sprouts for dinner and she didn't want them,  do you give them to her the next day for lunch?  Then if she doesnt want them then, offer them again for dinner and then again for lunch the next day?

Thanks for the help, dana. Luckily, today was much better. He didn't eat his chicken but he munched on the veggies, which isn't good enough for me but definitely a start. Thanks for the info on the vitamins too.

Llangel, I offer a new food about 4-5 times before I accept the fact he doesn't like it. Maybe I'm doing it wrong though.

JillRock96

dana316:

I'm a mean Mama.  If she doesn't eat what I put on her tray, she doesn't eat.  I know that sounds horrible, but I refuse to cater to a picky kid.  I make a on of things she likes, and some things she doesn't.  I just keep giving them, and eventually, she'll eat them.

If he won't eat his meals, but will eat his snacks...then stop with the snacks until he starts eating his meals again.  If he will eat cheerios, but not anything else...he wouldn't get anymore cheerios at my house.  He will not starve, I promise you.

I don't make a big deal about eating...I put whatever it is we are having on her tray, and if she doesn't eat it, then she just doesn't eat it.  She'll eat at the next meal or snack time, I promise....because she's hungry ;-)

 

I have just started adopting more of this philosophy, and I just wanted to share how it is going (in hopes that it can be helpful to you).  Ava looooves to snack, which she totally gets from me.  She wants to snack all day long, while playing, watching a show, etc. and does not want to stop to eat at mealtimes.  And, snack foods are just plain more desirable to her than meals (goldfish crackers versus broccoli?  no contest). 

This is what we've done this week.  1) We've really limited the snacks.  She can have fruit or veggies any time, but she can only have a very limited amount of things like goldfish, fruit snacks, etc., and only at certain times (like after her nap, which is pretty far from dinner time).  This has met with opposition, but since I am always able to offer a healthy choice (that she likes), it has been better than expected.

2) She has to sit in her high chair at least at the start of meal time (otherwise, she gets time-out -- and it is repeated every time she throws a tantrum.  We use 1-2-3 Magic).  If she sits in her chair, but is done after five minutes, we let her get down (even if she doesn't eat).  However...

3) We save her food from her meals.  If she asks for snacks but didn't eat her meal, we continuously offer whatever we had at the last meal.  Every meal has at least one choice that she loves (her favorite fruit, or some type of pasta, etc.) and offers a good deal of variety.

Last night Ava ate nothing at dinner whatsoever.  She kept asking for snacks before bed, and I kept offering dinner.  Finally, she said "ok."  I put her in her high chair and heated up her food.  She ate every single piece of food and asked for triple helpings of carrots and pineapple.  Major, major victory!!!

I hope that is a little bit helpful!