Help with fussy eater

lisasimpson

Totally stressed out with our little one. Weaning went great for a while would eat most things except egg. We have gone backwards since May. Eats a good breakfast but that is getting iffy. Was eating well in creche but in recent months that's hit and miss.

Any recommendations for helping Mid West. Went to public health nurse and they weren't much help. I'm getting sick if hearing its a phase. Our saving grace of mixing stuff through mash is starting to fail now. I don't have to end up with a little one that' will only eat yogurts bannan and toast

Mo Ghile Mear

https://www.myfussyeater.com/

You might find some inspiration here although I think every parent goes through exactly what you’re describing, at some stage. And the more you coax them the worse they get 😬. It’s like little ones begin to assert their independence by controlling the only thing they have power over, i.e. mealtime.

It does pass though, honestly. Eventually.

lisasimpson

He knows all his fruit and veg but to eat is a disaster. He will actually fed the fruits to us esp grapes He only raspberries and bannana

Pasta is a nono, beans a nono eggs a nono. He doesn't even eat icecream

shesty

How old is he?If he just about 2ish it is genuinely just a phase.

There's a Temple St book written by dieticians that has good advice, if you google it - Feed your Child Well.But from my own experience, I can tell you the bigger deal you make out of food, the more he will resist because - oh look this is an interesting reaction and something I can control.Keep offering him food.Keep serving up plates and just roll with whatever goes in.Note that in the evenings if he has been in creche all day, they are often tired and overdone - eating is not high on the agenda.Change up the breakfast food a bit.

I would suggest to keep giving him the toast, bananas (try to limit to 1 a day, 2 max), and yoghurt.But don't let him fill up on it, stop him at 1 - 2 a day and then no, we've had 2 of those now today so we are going to try something else.Let him get a bit hungry.I will say though, food can take a few years - their diet can be a bit restricted up to 4.5 to 5ish I have found.Once mine headed into school and got a little older (5-6) they became more adventurous.They are 9, 7 and 5 now, and the 5 year old has only just begun to be more open about tasting new things, so this is a marathon, not a sprint!

SmallgirlBigcity

That sounds tough. It can be so worrying and frustrating when our little ones just stop eating most foods. Here's my advice:

The most important thing you can do is try not to react. Bring the food to them and if they don't want it, that's fine. They don't have to eat it, but that's the food. Of course, some people and children may not like certain foods (like curry or mushrooms) but if you're presenting something 'normal' like pasta or mash to the child and they don't like it, I'd stay firm that that's the food and they can eat it if they want or not. No big deal.

Try not to worry and even if you are worried, try to act as if it doesn't bother you. We're all animals at the end of the day and children will eat. They won't let themselves starve. Be sure to present a wide variety of foods and it helps if you include something they do like on the plate. For example, if the child loves bananas, you could give him some mash, meat and veg with a half a banana on the plate too.

My child initially ate everything when he started eating at 6 months but then went through various phases of not liking or eating a lot of foods. I just kept making them and presenting them to him and he eventually ate them again. He's 4 now and still says he doesn't like some foods that I give him. If it's something bland like pasta or mash, I'll say that that's fine but that's the dinner we have today and he can eat it if he wants. He'll often come back to it an hour later when he realises he's not getting anything else. At first he threw almighty tantrums but I remained calm and these did pass.

I know it can be hard but my biggest advice is not to react or show that it bothers you at all. That takes away the power struggle. There's the food, eat it if you want. Once you're providing a variety of food that tastes nice, there's no reason why they shouldn't eventually eat it.

It also really helps to eat all meals together at the table with no screens to distract. That's a big rule in our house. No phones or TV at table. I think it really helps for the little ones to see us eating the exact same food as them. I always serve the same food on my plate as my son's plate, with vegetables etc. He sees me eating and enjoying the vegetables which does encourage him to eat them. He can leave the table whenever he wants, there's no pressure to sit there if he's not hungry. If he wants his dinner later, I keep it aside and heat it up for him. I think the nonchalance about the whole thing really helps.

Hope this helps!