15 Month Old Getting Picky with His Food

Your son is being a normal toddler - it's actually a normal and common developmental stage to go from "eating whatever mom or dad puts in front of me" to "refusing something I wolfed down just last week" (Nutritionist Ellyn Satter describes this phenomenon and how to address it much better than I could in her book "Child of mine, Feeding with Love and Good Sense" - basically she says to keep offering healthy foods, expect that it can take several tries for your child to even let you place an item in front of him and a few more tries for him to actually taste it -and he'll eventually come around. Good luck!

My daughter started getting picky around that age and actually went from eating quite a bit to hardly eating at all. I found some very cute plates at Target that had separate compartments in them for the different foods. I put different things in each compartment and she loves it! She gets a little upset if there isn't something in every one though. Sample lunch: blueberries, avocado, canned sliced carrots and deli turkey and cheese. She usually doesn't eat EVERYTHING but she likes the different options. I also find that she would prefer to eat what we're having for dinner even if it's spicy or unusual. Good luck!

My pediatrician said that this is normal for this age. My DD is 16 months, and doing the same thing. The pedi. suggested letting her eat as much of the meal as she wanted, then to offer her healthy snacks to 'graze' on between meals. I don't prepare her anything 'special' hoping that she will like it... she eats what I give her, and if she's hungry later she gets boring healthy snacks. lol.

He's going to go through stages where he just doesn't want to eat. Don't worry about it. Fix him what everyone else is eating (no special meals) and if he doesn' t eat it, don't force the issue. Do you eat when you're not hungry?

Usually these stages coincide with growth cycles. If he's eating a lot and sleeping more than usual...he's growing. Eating less and difficult to please, he's between growth cycles.

But the bottom line is, don't worry about it. Continue to offer him a variety of the same foods you eat. If he's not hungry, no big deal. He'll eat when his body wants it. He won't starve.