What do you do when you kid...

[Sonya]

refuses to eat? Sam is almost 13 months and has decided he is a picky eater. Not a problem. We can usually get him to eat a back up meal like mac and cheese or toasted cheese. But he won't eat any leftovers at all, so DH can't cook up some chicken and me feed him this for lunch. (I don't cook, trust me!) Then for some meals he just won't eat anything at all, just cheerios. If we give it to him he throws it on the floor or spits it out. And then there are the tears........ I just don't know what to do. He is too young to try and reason with him. I hate to think he's starving and just getting himself too worked up to eat. I don't know what is going on, but meal time is becoming too stressful!

 

[onecoolmama]

Are you sure he is hungry? Do you wait until he lets you knwo that he is hungry? My DD did this so I just stopped feeding her until she told me (usually crying and signing eat) but then I would feed her and she would eat a lot more.

All I can tell you is try waffles, cheese, crakers, applesuace, and oatmeal..flavored! My kids are extremely picky, but these are things they will eat! Good luck!

 

[Microcell]

They say you have to try something ten times before they are even willing to try foods! Goldfish crackers and french fries were fairly early favorites for my picky DS.

 

[canwegosoon]

I think at 13 mons I was still feeding my children stage 3 baby food...or the toddler meals. I remember they really liked the beechnut pasta/sauce. I remember making Hotdogs, pieces of chicken, plain pasta, some times cheerios for 3 meals, and always tried fruit. Cutting up the grapes was always a pain. They also liked blueberries/strawberries/ and they loved green beans, peas, and corn. I always found it easy to have some things pre cooked like the chicken, and then just heat up everything in the microwave. Good luck...don't worry I just went through a 5yo who didn't eat more than 1 meal a day and then threw it up fora year. Babies will eat if they are hungry. But they do hit these flustrating parts...it does get a lot easier11

 

[padams]

Our younger DS wouldn't eat much at all (mac & cheese, applesauce, cheerios) when he was that age, and when he did eat, he often spit the food out. Our ped said at the time that DS was just a picky kid and he wouldn't starve himself. The ped also told us that DS was going to be thin like his parents, and that's why his weight percentiles fell during his 2nd year. I believed the ped, and didn't investigate any further.

DS is now 6. He was tested by a speech therapist for articulation issues this year. In doing the testing, the ST asked me lots of questions about DS' eating history. The ST says DS has weak oral motor skills (weak mouth and tongue muscles), and that weakness was probably why he was spitting out his food and only eating soft foods as a baby.

I am not suggesting that your ds has the same feeding issue but just for you to consider it as a possibility. I wish I had known 5 years ago about the oral motor issue, and had not just assumed DS was a picky eater.

 

[Sonya]

Well it's stuff that he has been eating and loves. For instance, last night we were making dinner (I say that like I was actually cooking!) and DS was fussing around us wanting something to eat. It had been over 4 hours since he had had anything. He doesn't snack. We heated up some mac and cheese and chicken and he wouldn't touch it. So we tried what we were eating, he still was fussing for food. Didn't want it. (curry rice, can't blame him) We finally got him to eat a toasted cheese.

Tonight DH was making dinner again, chicken cordon bleu which DS has had before and loved. DS was fussing for food and being loud about it. He had taken a long nap and was overdue of a meal. So DH gave him a few cheerios to tide him over until dinner was done. But DS wouldn't touch the chicken! Just thew it on the floor. Didn't want any corn, which he has eaten a lot of in his life. I finally got him to take some applesauce and milk. That was it.

He will eat anything bread-like: waffles, cheerios, toast, and dairy, and fruit, I just want him to get a balanced meal.

 

[buzzlady]

Originally posted by Sonya
He will eat anything bread-like: waffles, cheerios, toast, and dairy, and fruit, I just want him to get a balanced meal.

Could he be teething? Maybe the hard waffles, hard cheerios, hard toast feels good on his gums. Also maybe the cold dairy products and if the fruit is cold it also feels good on his gums.

 

[Sonya]

He has been drooling lately and cranky, but his gums aren't swollen. I kids of wish this was it so I could have a cause!

 

[KimRaye]

I don't know how else to say this but, stop stressing, really, seriously. They will eat when they want, when they're hungry and, if he eats toasted cheese everyday, so be it. DS wasn't too bad but one week I remember he ate hot dogs 7 times in 6 days. That's all he wanted. DD on the other hand, has NEVER been a good eater. Small portions, not very often, NEVER hungry, rarely snacks even. She's almost 6-1/2yo and, she's still this way. Unless a Dr. tells you there's something wrong with his growth, then just keep offering what you can until he finds something to eat. Of course I would suggest starting with the things you are already offering. And, even IF a Dr. tells you something (at one visit), let it go maybe until the next visit. The Dr. once diagnosed my DD with 'failure to thrive' and, it devastated me. For 6 weeks they basically told me to force-feed her and, for 3 weeks she threw up. The next 3 weeks I went back to normal and, she was fine again at that 6 week re-check. To this day, I swear it was a faulty reading of the scale.

Sorry so long....did I say stop stressing?

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I bet he is teething with all the drooling and crankiness.

I would just offer him different foods and try not to stress about it. It will pass and he isn't going to starve.

 

[MosMom]

Hey Sonya,

Have you tried chicken nuggets or fish sticks? Elliot still is a picky kid but will ALWAYS eat those two things. He is a clockwork kid. Waffle in the morning, chicken nuggets or a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and dinner....well dinner for awhile there was chicken nuggets too!

He is getting better and REALLY likes those new Gerber pasta pickups/stuffers. He always always liked the Gerber wagon wheels and veggie crackers.

Moira would eat ANYTHING so it was a real change when E decided to stop eating. He is growing and as you can see from the picture, he is a big boy.

He will be 2 next month and like I said getting better about eating a variety of foods. So what if he survived on peanut butter, waffles, and chicken nuggets for a few months?

 

[Sonya]

Thanks for the reassurance. I think I needed that! I know he will be fine, I just feel bad for feeding him cheerios all the time!

 

[slo]

I have a horrible picky 5yr old DD who has been this way since about 18 months old. I have been stressing about this for years and my Pediatrician told me that she will eat when she is hungry. She also told me as long as I am providing her w/ nutritious meals than I am doing okay as a mother - and for me to have patience.

The patience is very difficult I know because you want so desperatly for your child to eat and when they don't you just feel terrible because you think you are doing something terribly wrong. I really is hard!!!!

At 13 months I was giving my DD those Gerber microwave meals and certain soft items on the side. I gave her Gerber whole veggies & fruits in the jar, Gerber meat sticks in the jar, sliced deli turkey, cheese, & bread broken up to little pieces (my version of a sandwich), scrambled eggs w/melted cheese mixed in, mostacholi noodles (plain), Eggo waffles (plain) and still the Gerber rice/oatmeal cereals (mixed w/ juice to give it some different flavors).

Try not to loose to much sleep over this - he is not abnormal, I assure you. All kids go through spurts where they eat like they are starving to death or like they have no appetite at all. Good luck with this, I hope it all works out.

 

[CamColt]

Everyone told me it was just a phase, but my 4 yo still doesnt eat. In fact we are working on breakfast now and a small bowl of cereal and half a banana will probably take about 1 hour.
Hope you have better luck than I do.