My 18 Month Old Does Not Want to Eat.

Hi.

It's hard not to be frustrated by his lack of eating. But one of my friends told me this one... Children are not machines and they don't always want to eat. She also shared that they eat what they need. He might be nervous about eating stuff since he was teething. Have you tried asking him what he wants to eat and then making that.

I have 3.5 year old twins... and I find that when they don't want to eat... I don't "make" them eat the whole serving... I just require them to eat three bites (one for each year they are - something I read in a book about kids getting enough nutients) other times I ask them to eat one for me... one for their father and a few of their favorite people and that works sometimes.

GOOD LUCK...KEEP THE FAITH... HE'LL EAT...

I'm with you on this. My son is 19 mths and his eating has dropped significantly in the last two months (which at this age is normal). I also have a 3 1/2 year old and found that if I put finger foods, fruit, craisins, granola, vegetables on a table in the den he will "graze" and eat what is there. HE still must sit at the table with us at meal times but at least he is getting something healthy throught the day. Don't forget to limit the amt of liquids which may be hindering his hunger. He will eat...just be patient.

Hi E., is he getting enough liquids? Is he drinking water? Most importantly - did he lose weight? If he did then it's the pediatrician's advice that you need right now. Does he have bowel movements regularly?
If his weight is stable (meaning he remained at the same percentile) then DO NOT WORRY. Apparently he is getting what he needs. He will not starve himself. There are some things you can try to work on though. - How much milk do you give him? At this age the max. amount of milk they should have is 18 oz since if they get more, their hunger is satisfied and they don't eat other foods that they need.
1. Not more than 18 oz of milk a day, or you can try to cut it even more if he is drinking water to make sure he is well hydrated. Then throughout the day try to give him cottage cheese, natural yoghurt, yellow cheese to give him enough calcium.
2. Don't give him any juices (if he won't drink plain water just add a few drops of juice to change the taste of water) remember juice has a lot of sugars - it might make him not hungry as well. Just make sure that he gets plenty of water to be well hydrated (especially when it;s warm outside).
3. Make sure you are giving him vitamins and iron.
4. You can switch back to the formula stage 2 (for toddlers) of simply add some powder formula to his milk.
5. Try giving him baby cereal (from the box) in a straw cup (Target and Pottery Barn have great straw mugs that have straws big enough for cereal to go through). That worked very well for me.
6. You didn't mention wheteher you are feeding him or whether he is feeding himself. Whichever the case - try the other one. My son (15 months) refuses to be fed. He needs to feed himself (since he is not good with a spoon - eveyrthing needs to be solid and cut into tiny pieces so that he can fingerfeed himself.
7. Try to eat with him and hopefully he will be interested in what you are having on your plate and then let him have it.
Hope some of it will be helpful. Good luck.

Hi E.,

I'm not sure if this will help, but I recently heard of a book called The Sneaky Chef in Parents magazine. I ordered it myself but I haven't used it yet. It will help you come up with things your son wants to eat while you make sure that he getst the right foods. The chef hides nutritious things in just about everything for those times when you're toddler gives you problems eating. I hope this helps!

hi E., my daughter is 16mns (weight 20lbs), we just came back from doctor's appointment, my daughter does not like to eat much at all. so he said that after the first year kids appetite drops significantly. but still try to give him as much food as you can (stuff good for him, even spoon or two), try different foods. what works for me - that i would give her food while we're walking outside, while she's playing- so she's busy and entertained , meanwhile opening her mouth.
I stopped giving her can foods at 10-11 months- she did not like them much anyway. Stage 3 foods - do u mean baby food/can food? your son is ready for all normal foods- just experiment and i'm sure he'll find something he'd like. I don't know about your son, but i discovered that my daughter loves TOFU, it nutritious, good, little taste and soft. just try different stuff, and if he seems happy, content and does bowl movement once per day or at least two das- then he's probably fine. but if you see other problems - then you must see a doctor. wish you luck, Y.

DO NOT STERSS!!! LOL ! my daughter was EXACTLY the same way - then when she turned 3 , all of a sudden she eats all the time and she eats ANYTHING!! Their bodies are really good gauges as to what they need - it will be ok....just as long as he is not under weight - dont freak out!

Good luck
Ali

I can understand your frustration, my son went throgh a time of not eating what i wanted him to, i wound up giving him apple sauce and yogurt since it was smooth on his sore gums but also really healthy for him. keep the fluids up and keep trying new tastes you should find one that he likes, and he may only eat that but it is a step in the right direction. Hope it helps.. Take care
J. G

My daughter is 28 months and is a very picky eater. She is extremely thin for her age as well. I decided to give her foods that i know she likes and she drinks alot of milk. Are u on table food yet? She has her days where she eats hardly nothing and some days where she eats alot. The doc says now with the hot weather they tend to eat less. Good Luck!

My daughter went through the same phase. She refused to eat but what I did was find one thing she liked and just kept giving her that. Even if it is cereal just give him that and maybe he will try other things. But like everyone kept telling me kids won't starve themselves. Just keep giving him liquids and if all else fails Pediasure so he can still get the nutrients he needs. Good luck.

hey my son is gonna be 13 months and we are going through the same thing...i still give him formula nad our doc said that if he doesnt want to eat reg. food then just giving him the formula is fine...idk if your son is willing to go back/drink all the time...formula...its a thought??....let me know...
A.

E.,

It is so hard when they are picky. My son is a picky eater so I can feel your pain. Offer little healthy snacks...grapes, apples...crackers...my son ate cheezits for dinner for like a week since that was all he would eat. Keep offering foods...it takes like 30 tries to "like" something. You are doing the best you can. They eat what they need...if you are really nervous see if your dr thinks he needs to drink pedisure. Good Luck. Keep us posted!

Hi E.:
My grand daughter is 17 months & she is just now starting that with me. I watch her during the day while my daughter works. The baby isn't interested in too much in one sitting all of a sudden.

I give her healthy foods and snacks. She loves Kashi cereal in the morning with blueberries. Most of the finger foods she enjoys very much. Loves fruit. I don't push her, I let her decide when she has enough. We have lots of outside time and after her nap, she wants to eat more than breakfast, which is nice.

Don't worry if he doesn't eat too much. He will eat when he is hungry. The Dr's will tell you the same thing. And don't forget, the do go thru growing spurts. When the spurts are in...they can't get enough food.

Good luck

Don't worry! I have a 28 month old who won't eat much either! Just keep trying. Give new things, and don't get frustrated when you will most likely end up throwing half of it out!
Babies/kids will eat when they are hungry, and they say as long as they eat at least one good meal a day, they'll be ok. Just make sure he drinks his milk.

Don't fight him. If he doesn't want to eat what you are offering then put it away and offer him something else an hour or two later. He will not starve himself. He just wants to know that he has control sometimes. Just keep on offering him a variety of foods and eventually he will eat something. But don't stress over it because he will sense that and also feel distressed. Just calm offer it and/ or put it away when/if he refuses it. You may also want to offer him a buffet of things at one time, so he can choose. Like blueberries, strawberries, squares of cheese, gold fish crackers, cheerios, beans, pieces of meat, pasta, peas, summer squash, avocado. I suggest these things because that what my son, who is 18 months enjoys. Best wishes.

My daughter did the same thing around that age too. She just turned 2 on April 28th. It's basically because at that age they aren't going thru as many growth spurts as they were, and they just don't require all that much food. My daughter used to eat anything I put in front of her. I literally could have put poopy on her plate and she would have eaten it! We would go out to a restaurant and she used to eat a whole grilled cheese and some fries or broccolli and now I'm lucky if I can get her to eat half her sandwich. Just try to keep stuff out for him all day. Little stuff like vegetable or fruit pieces, cereal, crackers. He'll end up picking at stuff all day and they always let you know when they're hungry. Good luck!

hi, my son was just going through the same thing a few months ago, he is now 20 months. he is unable to talk yet so it was difficult for me to try to figure out what he wanted. I understand your frustration! My son apparentley wanted to feed himself. he loved the gerber hot dogs, and anything else he could pick up and put in his own mouth. i even started giving him a spoon to eat whatever we eat, it's a little messy because he still doesn't have the eating from a spoon down yet, but at least he is back to eating and really enjoys meal time again.

good luck to you. let me know if this worked for you.

Hi, My son will be 2 in August. He is exactly the same way. He refuses to eat, but when he does want to eat, its only pretzels. But I am giving him alot of milk to supplement for the food. But they will definatly out grow it. They do it because they are becoming more independent now and they like to test you.

E.,

A few things that may explain what's going on:

1. A child's eating habits decrease naturally around this age, because growth slows down. Since they're not growing and gaining at as fast a rate, they don't require as much fuel.

2. Your son has figured out that you will feed him again and again throughout the day. A baby doesn't get this, and so approaches every meal as if it might be the last. The urgency isgone.

3. With newfound mobility and interests, eating just isn't as exciting as it used to be, when there wasn't a whole lot else to do.

4. Toddlerhood. Your son has figured out that what he eats is important to you. He's also figured out that he has ultimate control over that department. You can argue, beg, bribe, and nag, but you can't MAKE him eat. And he sure can get a rise out of you when he doesn't do what you want him to. This is one of very very few things in his life where he's got any kind of power, and he will wield it at nearly all times.

Your son will not starve himself to death. I swear it. He will eat enough to give him what he needs. Your job is to give him healthy and nutritious food options, and let him do with them what he will. Sit him for meals and snacks at appropriate times during the day. Give him what you want him to eat. And then back off. Either he will eat, or he won't. If he doesn't, then take it away with absolutely no response. Don't beg, don't yell, don't try the "one more bite" trick. All of that lets him know that he has control over you with his decisions on what to eat. When he's hungry, he'll eat. I promise.

Jess