Feeding a 16 Mo Old - He Throws Everything!

Cut down on milk during his day a child should only have water in their cups if they aren't eating..Keep all meals at the same time everyday.Instead of dry cereal,crackers offer fresh fruit,is he eating more snack foods than regular foods cut them out of his diet & give him his breakfast,lunch & dinner.I don't see where he could be picky you didn't mentioned his dislikes.Rotate his choices daily & get new foods in his diet that are nutritional.For the food that ends up on the floor your probably giving him to much on his plate only give him a few pieces of cut up meat a few veggies at a time less waste & less cleaning the floor.Most kids aren't big eaters they eat when they are hungry but make it a meal time when you feed them if it has to be a snack make it a good choice not empty calories.

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I like what Dawn B. has suggested, in addition; my little one throws fits during meals as well, which i rarely experience with my other two. I find that if i give him several bites or pieces of food on his tray at a time and rotate what I give him, he eats better for me over all and has a more well rounded meal. For example: 10 cheerios- 3 or 4 pieces of fruit- bit of eggs&ham- drink. It seems he realizes that he'll still get the cheerios he wants, right after he finishes up his bit of eggs&ham. I keep everything coming at him in the same order so he knows what to expect. This'll take some fine tuning on your part to find what works with him. Sometimes I can only get my little one to take a bit of something I want him to if I give him a couple of cheerios (or whatever he's favoring) every other turn.

as for the milk thing, you could try watering down his milk if you're concerned about how much he's drinking. Start with a ratio leaning towards mostly milk and gradually increase water and decrease milk amount till he's use to drinking it at a ratio you'd prefer. I did that with my kids juice and it worked great, they had no idea :)

Chell~

Sounds pretty normal. Sounds like he's a grazer which is a healthy way to eat. If he's growing don't worry. And take pictures of him in his mess to tease him in his teen years!

I have a 14 month old and I am having feeding issues as well. First off she was breastfed for 12 1/2 months and then we slowly switched her to whole milk without a problem and she has been breastfeeding and taking a bottle since she was 6 weeks old (bottles of breastmilk). Because BM is so precious you really dont want to waste the stuff and my daughter never seemed interested enough to want to hold her own bottle so we just did it for her. Now that she is 14 months old she still refuses and if we leave her with the bottle and say here if you want it you will have to do it yorself she will just play with it and make a huge mess of milk everywhere and yes this is even with the dripless/ spillless bottles (she pushes the nipple into the floor and milk spills out EVERYWHERE =) When it comes to the food thing she has always pretty much been a good eater but again we have been spoon feeding her since she was about 6 months old when we introduced solids. She will eat small amounts of finger foods like toast pieces and cereal puffs, pieces of cheese and small pieces of chicken, etc but when she isnt in the mood to eat, all of it ends up on the floor. For a while I was really concerned that she would never eat food that needs to be eaten with a spoon or a fork on her own (she does amazing if we feed her) but then I realized that even if she isnt doing it now (if we try to let her self feed with a spoon she throws wet, sticky staining food all over the diningroom) that she will for sure understand or at least be old enough to reason with by the age of two or so that if she doesnt want to eat what we feed her or if she throws her food around that she will have to try again in a bit with the meal and if she still acts out by throwing or doesnt eat then we as her parents are going to have to accept the fact that maybe she just isnt hungry at that time. I was told by my ped. that apparently their appetites drop in the second and third years so I guess we will just have to keep trying and see what comes of it. For now I will continue to feed my baby and hold her bottle for her because she is eating well and I love the cuddle time with the bottle feeding that I know will be over before I know it.
Good luck to you

We never made the kids eat, but we disciplined throwing and fussing at he table so the habits didn't form. He's not to old to be disciplined for throwing food, and tantrums. He'll learn right away if you are calm, clear and firm connected to the action. Once his behavior is fine, I wouldn't sweat the amount he eats. Kids tend to eat what they need and it goes in spurts and phases.