15 Month Old Eating Habits

Here are two good articles:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp "Feeding Toddlers: 17 Tips for Pleasing the Picky Eater" It has good ideas for introducing new, healthy foods to toddlers.

and
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T040200.asp "ABC's of Teaching Nutrition to Kids" I thought this one was especially good because it teaches parents how to make learning about healthy food fun for kids. It talks about how to educate kids so that they make healthy choices on their own later on and so they know which kinds of food are healthy and why. The only thing I didn't agree with was that he suggested rewards, but everything else was pretty good advice. The article talks about referring to "grow" foods for kids.

my daughter was like that we just let her eat fruits and veggies(she still does this sometimes) she really doesn't like meat where she gets that from don't know try different things and if there's something special he likes try serving that with meals so he gets something. best of luck with this i know it can be VERY frustrating!

I have to say, I agree with your husband. Also, do not give your son any milk WITH dinner. Make him take a few bites of what he has in front of him before he gets rewarded with a drink of milk. This also means do not give him a glass of milk right BEFORE dinner either. Stick to your guns, or you will have a picky eater the rest of his life. If he doesn't eat what is in front of him, then he doesn't eat. Believe me, when he gets hungry, he WILL eat what is in front of him.

As a parent it is your job to provide your child with nutritious meals, whether he chooses to eat them or not is not the point. When he gets hungery enough he will eat. (Check with your local health department)Second of all you are running a home not a restaurant, so prepare the meal(s) hopefully you can fix at least two things he will eat, put it in front of him and let him be. Third I would cut down on the milk, the amount and number of times a day he receives it. If you allow this to continue you will have a picky eater for life not because he dislikes something but because he never tried it and/or gave it a chance. Maybe look for more variety, some extra seasonings, different presentations. Good Luck.

My 13 month old is the same way! She used to eat anything and everything I put in front of her and now she is very picky. She also eats a whole banana for breakfast and a toddler serving of malt-o-meal. Breakfast is her biggest meal of the day and it is downhill from there. But that is the way our bodies are designed, breakfast is a meal to break the fast from the night of not eating. So it only makes sense that it will be the biggest meal of the day. I just feed her what we eat and I won't make her anything special for dinner, however I do try and include at least one thing I know she likes and will eat (a fruit or a veggie). Check out this article that Baby Zone sent out on nutritious snacks for picky eaters. http://www.babyzone.com/toddler/nutrition_first_foods/pho...

Good luck! Just remember that as long as your baby is gaining weight and you offer nutritious meals and snacks, you are doing all you can and you little one will come around!

Kids that age don't eat three square meals a day. They "graze" throughout the day. Make his snacks count. Don't just give him crackers all the time (which will rot his teeth too, by the way) - give him substantial snacks and some WATER. If you offer a variety of foods that he's likely to accept and he does not want them, then he's probably not hungry. They don't need as much food as you might think. You're not trying to serve him liver and onions for dinner, I presume?

You could also try making fruit/yogurt smoothies. You can pack a lot of nutrition in a smoothie and kids love them.

You might try switching either lunch or dinner's milk cup with juice or water. Milk can be very filling and if he's full he's not going to eat. Also, he could just be asserting his independence. Little ones take control of the few things they can, which is usually eating, sleeping and going potty. He may just need to be "in charge" where he chooses between 2 meats or vegs. Good Luck!

I think he may be getting to much milk. Most of the research I've read suggest not letting them have too much milk or they will fill themselves up on up. Maybe try something like this:
Breakfast--Yogurt with Bananna and water to drink
Snack--4ozs Milk and Animal Crackers
Lunch--Mac and Cheese with boiled baby carrots and water
Snack--4 ozs Milk with No Sugar Applesauce
Dinner--I'd suggest feeding him whatever you are eating making sure to add a veggie to his plate if you are not having one in your meal.
Nighttime--I am not sure if you are still doing a nighttime bottle or not, but I would give him his last feeding of milk before going to bed.

He only needs 17 total of dairy.

Our grandson is 3 an he takes spurts with what he wants to eat or not eat. He loves cheese so can get him to eat macaroni an cheese. He will eat hotdogs, chicken nuggets. Try a variety of different foods. Xav does not eat 3 meals a day won't do it period. Have you thought of finding something he really likes for food. I know we get tired of same thing but they don't seem to. What you would think is weird would not be to them. Xav has to have catsup with everything he calls it dip it. Also have you ever thought of trying jello with him. Xav has just tasted this for first time an he calls it either jiggles or yogurt. Hope you find his special food that he likes.

At 15 months, it's pretty natural for a child's appetite to decrease. I agree with your husband that you should offer him a meal and if he doesn't eat, then he doesn't eat again until the next meal/snack time. He's not too young to start learning to eat what he is served. Just try to offer him small portions of 3 or 4 foods at each meal. It's also pretty common for a child's biggest meal to be breakfast or lunch and then to eat very lightly by dinnertime.

One other thing you might consider is reducing the amount of milk you are serving. If he is getting 4 6oz servings everyday, he might just be filling up on milk instead of eating. Our pediatrician recommends only 16 oz daily for young toddlers.

Remind your husband that forcing your son to eat now or have it taken away will only make the problem worse by creating a power strugle. As for snacks, let him have them. My Dr. said it is better for them to eat frequently. It is much harder to get a hungry toddler to submit to your demands when hungry. Think about the screaming toddler at the grocery store. Sometimes it is because they missed a snack or meal. Just offer many options & don't make a big deal out of what he does & doesn't eat. If he eats only a little, then fine. Let him out of the highchair & give him his milk & try it again later at snack time. Eventually he will get the picture that eating is not a stressful time.

Good luck, toddlers are tiring creatures!
J.

I think all children go through a dery picky eating stage. Some kids have it worse than others. My daughter also went though this stage and it lasted about six months, Her dr said to give her anything she was willing to eat, My nephew has been doing this same thing for three years. When they did the "eat what is front of you" thing he lost a lot of weight and only made things worse. His dr also said give him anything he is willing to eat.

Kids go through lots of these phases of not eating...check w your doc to make sure its not medical...they've seen this lots and may have some good advice as well. I would be careful in offering only things that he wants (my kids were stuck on macncheese and chicken), it turns into a bad habit. Continue to offer him a variety of healthy foods, and eventually he will start eating again...Is he filling up with milk? Can you hold off on giving him milk til after he has some food? Good luck.

Is it possible to put him back on formula? Or put liquid vitamins in his milk. I had a daughter like this, and the ped said to offer her whatever we were having, and then give her her formula. She was on it for 2 yrs. Now, she eats most anything, but she still eats slowly. I don't know if it is because she has a bad gag reflex. Maybe this is her problem. See what it is that he likes, and maybe switch him to pediasure. I know that is like formula but tastes like milk.

I wouldn't force him to eat, and I think that giving him snacks that are nutritous is a good alternative until he is 2yo and you can somewhat reason with him.

My son was also a very picky eater. I'd make two meals for him at a time it seemed! I think the thing to remember is that they know how much they need to eat, so offer a few different foods and if he's not interested then let it go. Even now (my son is almost 3 years old) my son seems to barely eat anything for a few days and then will eat normally again for a few, etc. He has stopped eating veges all together so I do have him on a vitamen a few times a week b/c of that, but otherwise I let him choose when he's hungry. He knows what makes him full and that if he doesn't eat he'll be hungry.

Try to hold off on give him his milk until he has eaten some of his lunch or dinner. He could be filling up on the milk and doesn't have enough room for the food. We had the same problem with our daughter and we give her the drink a few minutes after she has started eating. Try to get atleast one snack time in during the day or after dinner may be best since he has a big breakfast. Some good suggestions would be applesauce, couple of crackers or cheerios.

Children have a wonderful way of playing games with their parents. Get ready, you have lots of battles to go so choose them carefully. Hold off on the milk until after meals, he is filling his stomach with it and then doesn't feel hungry, my 5th child did this too. Give him variety so he has lots of things to experiment with but also give him the things he loves for comfort. My daughter only ate tuna, hot dogs, and cucumbers for years and is a healthy adult with a love of all kinds of food. Good luck!

K.,

Have you tried not giving him milk? At meals, give him water to drink, then you can give him a little milk when he's through eating. Don't give him milk except then.

Also, keep him active. Try to get him to a playgroup as often as possible. The more active he is, the more calories he burns, the more food he will eat.

Be patient with him. Don't turn this into a power-struggle.
If your husband demands, "All or nothing", it may just turn into that.

As long as he is getting something nutritious in him, that should be enough. If you're still concerned, please see his doctor.

Good luck, ls

sounds like he is probably filling up on the milk so try giving him the food first and not offer the milk until he eats at least half of his food. Give him 2 ounces at meals and maybe an hour later give him the other 4 ounces. Or you could give him water with his meals so he has something there to wash the food down if he needs to but give the milk later in-between meals or right after he eats enough.

I agree with the others about the milk, it's definitely too much and I don't see any water getting into his diet, which is critical!

Also, it sounds like you are giving him a lot of food! I can't imagine my kids eating oatmeal, which is very heavy and filling, plus an entire banana all in one sitting. It's much better for their tiny stomachs to give them small amounts spread out. If you check with any professionals (doctors, or child care facilities) you'll find that they give them small amounts every 1.5-2 hours.

Finally, I don't agree with the power struggle argument. There should be no struggle, while we all know toddlers are testing and trying to figure things out... they still need solid boundaries. If he doesn't want to eat, don't force him, but don't give into his whims by fixing him multiple meals... otherwise he will soon have the power and you'll have none! My children have almost always eaten whatever I fix for my husband and I and are both still very good eaters today and they are 8 and 3.5.

Best of all don't get frustrated or feel like it's your fault. Most of our kids go through these phases. It will all work itself out! :D

My son turned into a picky eater about the same time and we're still dealing with it. Frankly, I would cut back on the milk and see what happens. I suspect our problems arrose from undiagnosed fluid on the ears which could have caused pain when chewing (so he still sticks to soft foods probably from habit). I have also found texture to be a big deterrent for my kiddo.

I too was raised with you only eat whats in front of you...make nothing special...and maybe I'm a weak mother for caving in, but I have enough other stressers in my life (hubby deployed or unemployed, health issues, etc.) that taking an extra 3 minutes to heat a corn dog, hot dog or chicken nuggets in the microwave isn't a big deal in the grand skeem of my life. I've learned to pick my battles. My youngest loves all kinds of food so I'm hoping that through continual introduction he (the eldest) will eventually come around.