Picky, picky, picky

My 14 month old is such a picky eater now, she's driving me nuts. Her diet for the past few weeks had consisted of mainly milk, cheerios, banana, and bits of bagel. Also, she refuses to eat in the high chair or take anything from a spoon now. Probably my fault, from trying to push her so much. So now I'm chasing her around the house with bits of food. She'll eat a few bites, then gets distracted with her toys. Anyone else experiencing this? Any tricks anyone knows about? I know they say that babies will eat what they need but her pediatrician said she'd like to see her gain a bit more. So I think I went into panic mode and tried to push her too hard and made it even worse. How do I fix this now?

I haven't any experience first hand, but my mum went through the same with both me and my sister. My mum used to make sure we had a bit of cheese in one hand and a piece of apple in the other, as thats all we'd eat... Also I guess i'd reccommend putting her in her high chair when you and your partner eat, so she becomes part of the family meal time thing... and offering her food if she'll take it, but not if she won't.

And don't worry you haven't done anything wrong, some kids are fussy sometimes (Emote: smile)


Azi

Hi Shawa (Emote: smile)

I'm probably not the right person to offer advice because it's all a bit hit and miss as far as my son is concerned, but here's my two penneths worth anyway!

If you are chasing your little girl around the house with bit's of food then it sounds like she has bags of energy. And I would guess, that an energetic little girl, equals a very healthy little girl, who is getting all the nutrients she needs from the foods she's taking. As Doctor Green says in my Toddler Taming Book "If our children are growing well and are healthy, there cannot be too much wrong with their food intake. Some children are fat, some are thin, some are fussy and some are walking garbage bins. Don't force, remember no child has ever starved to death through stubbornness".

I would guess that, unless your little girl was drastically underweight, then there's really nothing at all to worry about, (easier said than done!). Okay, her fussiness with food may drive you nut's, but from what you describe, she sounds like the typical 14 month old who is starting to have a mind of her own and simply can't be bothered sitting down and tucking into hearty meals (Emote: smile)

You've no doubt heard, that once children turn a year old it's very common for them to undergo a dramatic change of attitude to food, halving their intake and becoming extremely fussy. At this time, too, the childs weight gain may slow up, stop, or even go down, while activity burns up the puppy fat and and stubbornness restricts food intake. From this age, onwards, the negative streak is just around the corner, so with most children, forcing them to eat becomes unproductive. At 15 months, independent children are keen on holding a spoon, although few can keep it level between plate and mouth - the contents usually slip off as the arm tries to negotiate the bends.

Thanks for the above information, Doctor Green, btw (Emote: wink)

Just a thought, but is your daughter filling up on a lot of milk? Sometimes just slightly reducing the milk intake produces hunger and a renewed interest in food. Or perhaps she wants to be independent and hold the spoon herself? I know that it's around this age too that they often prefer to pick up the food on their own rather than take it from a spoon.

As you can see, I don't really have a clue what I'm talking about here. I'm just repeating what I've read!

Luckily, my son isn't too picky an eater (he will even devour a brussel sprout, believe it or not!) but he is often an absolute pain to feed because he just gets SO bored with the whole business. When you could be turning out mummy's cupboards or climbing over the sofa, who wants to be strapped into a highchair eating yummy carrots and broccoli! I usually have to distract my son with all sorts of things that I wouldn't usually allow him to have (my car keys, the pepper grinder, etc, etc) just to get him to take a mouthful of food. To be honest, I always breathe a big sigh of relief when mealtimes are over. Of course, if I produce a chocolate button I have his full attention and nothing else matters!

Arrgh, just when we think we have sorted out the meal time problems then a long comes the toilet training one!

You've probably visited the BabyCentre website a million times before, but just incase you haven't, here's their address: http://www.babycentre.co.uk
Also, why not leave a message on the November 2002 forum (I think that's your little girl's birthdate?!) http://www.babycentre.co.uk/bbs/5366...uestid=1407527 The parents there will be going through just the same things as you and will no doubt be able to give you much better support and advice than I have (Emote: smile)


L

I don't have any children but I'm very broody (most of the bloody time! grrr) and so I read with interest the posts on this board for tips in the future.

I must say it sounds like hard work and the more I read the more I wonder if motherhood is my ball game, still the hormones tell me otherwise.

sorry, no really help there,

Laura

Hi, thanks for the replies.

Azi, she enjoys sitting with daddy and me at the table but would rather play with toys, throw food on the floor or try to grab everything out of her reach than eat something. Part of the problem may be that for all my adult life, and even before, I didn't eat meals at regular times, just ate when I felt like it. My husband and I never sat at the table together for a meal unless we went to a restaurant. We eat in front of the TV. I know, bad, bad, bad, but it's a hard habit for me to break.


Scotti, I've read things similar to your Dr. Green and I know intellectually my daughter isn't going to starve to death, but I worry anyhow, maybe it's a Jewish mother thing ("eat, eat, you'll waste away....") (Emote: lol)

I have been trying to reduce her milk intake, she does drink a lot. I think she just might want to quickly drink her fill-maybe eating takes too long. And she used to like to try to feed herself with a spoon but now wants nothing to do with it.

I do go to babycenter.com, the American version. I find their message board format annoying though so I usually just read the articles.

I have devised a plan to give less milk, only feed her in the highchair and make meals at more regular times. Hopefully in a few days she'll get the picture and start eating more.

Laura, it certainly is hard work, but it's definitely worth it and I can't imagine life without my daugher now. We write about the things that are worrying us and don't mention all the good things. We should start a thread about the great, cute things our kids do. I don't have time now, but anyone else feel free (Emote: smile)

Hi,

I did want to leave some tips but my three year old son is still a royal pain in the ass when it comes to eating (Emote: laughing)

I think your plan is good, and thats what I started doing when my son was about that age, and it did help a little. And a thread about the good things our kids do is a great idea (Emote: smile)