16 Month Old Won't Eat ANYTHING

Hi.

My name is S. and I'm a single parent to a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. My first born was always a little underweight and my 2nd one is a bruiser! Here's my experience/advice:

1. Everything is going to be fine. Take a deep breath and know that you have all you need to take care of your son. You are a good mother.
2. The pediatritian is not going to punish you or think you're a bad mother because your son is a "little on the skinny side."
3. You are not alone in this problem!!!

Okay, my friend has a 1 1/2 year old and he's been loosing weight. She was worried but her doctor looked at her and her son who was almost climbing the walls and said "well, I can see that he's just very active and not very interested in stopping to eat." Could that be your son?

Toddlers don't like to stop to eat. They are very curioius. It is GOOD wisdom to have snack set out. I used to put snacks in a cupcake pan and leave it on the coffee table. I had healthy things (no sugar, no chips) like cut up grapes, apples, cucumbers, pretzles, goldfish, peanut butter crackers, etc. and they just graze. It's amazing how many calories they consume when you do that.

Toddlers won't likely sit down to eat even if they are denied food in between meals. We can't put adult demands on a toddler. It just doesn't work. We cannot expect a toddler to eat like an adult!!!

Formula and a bottle and juice will fill up your son and he won't be hungry. ASK YOUR DOCTORE BEFORE YOU FOLLOW THIS ADVICE. I suggest you stop the formula. Only give your son water except for some diluted *(1/2 juice, 1/2 water) juice once a day at breakfast and plain full fat milk at dinner. Have snacks available all during the day. Continue to sit him in his feeding chair for three meals a day and make meal time a fun bonding time with your son. Sing while you feed him, talk about the food, discuss how it feels, smells, tastes, etc. I used to "feed" my girls about every 2 hours AND I had the snack set out at all times. Breakfast by 8, snack by 10, lunch at noon, snack after nap, snack before dinner, dinner, bath and bed. This is the way we should eat as adults too! All the "experts" in diet/fitness say to have many small meals instead of a couple of really big ones.

You have the power to change your perception of this "problem." Just tackle it a little differently and relax. Your son knows when you're all keyed up and it may make him anxious too.

Good luck!!!

My 15 month olds are still on the bottle as well, only because they are underweight and the sippy cups are not going well, you do what you have to do in order to keep something in them. my son wouldnt eat anything until recently, and I dont give snacks only three meals so i make sure they arent full off of snacking. I also had to spread out the bottles and not give them anything for atleast two hours before meal time and that has helped alot. my daughter will eat alot if it is off of my plate, I know that is a bad habit, but I do whatever to get the food in them. hope this helps, good luck. I want to add, the big thing for us was that i kept them full off of milk and as soon as I slowed that down they picked up their eating and they still get the same amount of milk in, but now they actually eat their food.

My little girl is 21 months and she went trough the same thing. Just make sure he is not drinking to much during the day. Keep offering him foods and sooner or later he will start eating.

Hi A.. My 17 month old son is doing the same thing. He's getting full on his milk and not eating anything else. Maybe a bite or 2, but then he hands it back or spits it out. My doctor told me he'll eat when he gets hungry. Just be sure not to make every cup you give him milk. Make it juice or water too. That way, it won't fill him up and he's more likely to take a bite of something.

keep trying. they say you usually have to offer new foods at least a few times before they are accepted.

Hi -- I have a couple of comments/suggestions:

1) this is a normal age for them to start getting picky and frugal about eating; is he active, alert? Does he get enough hydration? then I would not worry excessively; it is a phase. Not every child will be average weight, some are over, some are under. Focus on his developmental progress -- if he is unhealthy, you will be able to tell.

2) suggestions for weight gain, if you think is necessary: use some pediasure in the bottle; or cut down on the bottle to see if he would eat more solids; also add some olive oil to the solids he does eat, to boost calorie content and the good fats.

Good luck!
O.

Hi I am a mother of 3 children and my oldest and youngest children went through this phase my pediatrician recommended Pediasure and while they still didn't have a big appetite right of the bat they did get some nutrients from the drink. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to see how much of it they recommend daily for your child! Hope this helps.

My ideas are a little different from everyone else's.
First, if he is filling up on the snacks he likes and/or snacking all day long he will not be hungry at mealtime. I would not leave food out all day for him to snack on whenever he wants. Instead, I would offer 3 meals and 2 healthy snacks a day. If he doesn't eat at breakfast, he doesn't get another chance until his scheduled snack time. Eventually, he will get hungry and eat something.
Second, make sure you give him nutrition-packed snacks. Try peanut butter and crackers, string cheese, smoothies made with milk and lots of fruit, apple slices, etc.
Third, don't let him fill up on liquids. You may need to give him his food first and then his milk or other liquids after he has eaten some food. Don't let him drink his milk all at once. When my kids were little, I would give them their milk at the end of the meal.
Fourth, ask your dr. about letting him have pediasure. It is like a milkshake but is packed with lots of nutrients. You also might want to try v-8 fusion juice. One 8 0z glass has a full serving EACH of fruits and veggies.
Finally, he may have oral sensory issues that he does not like certain textures. You might talk to your dr. about having an occupational or speech therapist (who specializes in dysphagia) evaluate him. Good luck!!

Try putting rice cereal in his bottle a little at a time. Keep it as thin as possible at first so it still taste like milk. Try to give it to him with a spoon. If he takes it off the spoon, slowly thicken the mixture up. Eventually you will be able to switch him to mashed potatoes and oatmeal. I hope this works for you.

D.

I had the same problem with my daughter and I don't know if it will help but after my daughter saw me eating something for a couple of days she would get curious and at least try it. Maybe if you munch on something your son might mimick what you do. If that doesn't work, granted that he can drink it, try giving him Pediasure. When my daughter went throught that I gave that to her and at least I had a little piece of mind that my little one wasn't going to starve. Good luck!

Well your child will certainly eat if he or she is hungry, children that young def arent out to lose a few pounds. Best thing to do is as the other mothers say. Sit out foods like small finger sandwithes with peanut butter or jelly or little peices of hotdogs. they may turn them down at first but if he or she gets hungry and is not getting the snacks he/she wants you will round the corner one day to your child nibbling on a peice of cheese or orange uve sat out. try things of different food groups each day...children are curious and love putting things in their mouth..curiosity always kills the cat!

Is the baby breastfed? My son didn't really start eating solids until he was maybe 18 months. Just keep offering them everyday many times a day. Keeping them available for him to snack on is a good idea since toddlers will eat when they get low on energy not at 8am noon and 5. It might be an oral sensory issue as well. Before you offer him foods try putting your finger in his mouth and moving it around over his gums and tounge.
As far as your doctor saying he needs to gain 3 lbs by Jan well that is nearly impossible at that age. You should just ignore him as long as your baby is happy and doesn't have any other problems.

My doctor told me when hes hungry he will eat.You can't force them. We did pedisure in his bottle also. My middle son is the one I had problems with. He also kept his bottle till he was 18 months old. He's 8 now and eats all day long if I will let him and still only weaighs 52 pounds.I'm planning to start pedisure again to see if we can get him to gain weight. He is adhd (currently taking meds)and is never still.

Don't worry when hes hungry he will eat.

Hey, im going through this at this very moment....my little girl wont eat much and she is still on a bottle, but not for those reasons, she is lactose intolerant and cant do anything dairy....but we keep pretzels laying around and cheerios and she will eat fries of all things.....but try doing that and they say a child knows what his body needs, all kids are different and trying to force your child to eat something is only going to make them rebel more....good luck

Well first he definately needs more protien, what does he take in his bottle.Try those pediasure shakes in a bottle for now. Also it is just going to have to be a battle. Put him in the highchair and just give him food, eventually he will try some of the stuff you are giving to him. Put peanut butter on his gold fish, or yet try ritz crackers. Try to get him involved with what you are making or eating, he might want to try what he has created, Like for instance rice krispy treats or just making lunch and dinner. Try rewards for everthing he might try new kind of show him he will get a reward, something that he really likes, I know he is only 16 months old, but if he is already understanding taste buds and dislikes he is understanding what is around him. I hope some of this helps.

C.

My granddaughter went thru this its common at that age,we just tried to keep little bits of food sitting around thru out the day,cut up grapes, little veinna hotdogs cut up,fruit loops etc.she would pick at itthru out the day, just make sure nothing sits out to long. good luck