eating habits?

Question

my daughter recently turned one. she is also fighting with me when it comes to eating... she doesn't want to eat from a spoon, but when we give her finger foods she ends up throwing it on the floor. we've tried everything and anything that the doctor and everyone else has suggested but it all seems to fail, or maybe its that we fail.. never the less every time they take a blood sample she's coming back anemic, she's extremely hyper and skinny...and she doesn't seem to want to be bothered in her activities just so she can sit down to eat... we tried even letting her go about in her activities and just letting her come and get a bite in between but it still doesn't work that well... i'm afraid she starting off with bad eating habits...any suggestions?

Answer 1

I am a nutritionist

I am assuming the type of anemia we are talking about is iron deficiency (not b12 or folic acid anemia, Anemia on the screening blood test is not necessarily caused by iron deficiency. Children will often have a brief, borderline anemia immediately following a viral illness. This will resolve on its own. Mild anemia in an otherwise well child is probably caused by iron deficiency.)

the most common cause of anemia at her age is excessive milk (cow) intake. Most toddlers get sufficient calories and calcium from 16-24 ounces of milk daily. No child needs more than 32 ounces of cow's milk a day. Almost all cases of severe iron deficiency in young children are in those who drink too much milk.

I would recommend that you cut out some of her dairy (but without knowing how much she drinks I cant say how much she should stop)

try to replace her milk with plain water, also increase her fruits if you can because vitamin c helps iron absorption (so maybe some orange slices for breakfast or potatoes with dinner)

Foods that are high in iron include:

* breastmilk
* winter squash
* sweet potatoes
* prune juice
* meat & poultry (beef, beef & chicken liver, turkey, chicken)
* mushrooms
* sea vegetables (arame, dulse), algaes (spirulina), kelp
* greens (spinach, chard, dandelion, beet, nettle, parsley, watercress)
* yellow dock root
* grains (millet, brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, breads with these grains)
* blackstrap molasses (try adding a little to cereal or rice)
* brewer's yeast

High-iron foods to save until the end of the first year or later:

* dried beans (lima, lentils, kidney)
* chili con carne with beans
* tofu
* egg yolks
* grains (cooked cracked wheat, cornmeal, grits, farina, bran, breads with these grains)
* tomato
* dried fruit (figs, apricots, prunes, raisins)
* meat (pork)
* shellfish (clams, oysters, shrimp)
* tuna, sardines

Warning: Some of the foods listed above are not suitable for babies. Dried fruits should not be given to babies under a year old, due to the choking hazard. Also, pork, fish, shellfish, wheat, citrus fruits and eggs are highly allergenic and may not be suitable for babies under a year or who have a family history of allergies.


Another cause of anemia is lead poisoning - this should be ruled out if your child is anemic. Two of the most common sources of lead exposure in children include (1) paint dust from chipped or peeling lead paint and/or home renovation (may be present in any home built prior to 1978) and (2) lead contaminated drinking water from lead water pipes or lead solder.

Answer 2

I wouldn't worry to much. My son is the same way, he plays and plays and is as skinny as possible. He never wanted to eat when he was younger, but at some point he realized that after he ate he could play again and now we just cant feed him enough. I am anemic, odds are my son will be too. Kids that age will eat when they get hungry enough, one way or another. Eventually i stopped trying to make my son eat and let him tell me when he was hungry, and he would at some point come up to me and say "Mommy eat" since my whole family has different schedules this was OK, we only have a "family" meal at dinner, and luckily that normally lines up with him being hungry. Just make sure when she does eat she's getting healthy foods, if she rarely eats then no junk food at all and keep pushing the iron rich foods for the animea. Just relax, she'll grow out of this eventually and wont starve.

Answer 3

don't worry, your daughter sees you worrying and knows that she has you. my first son was the same way. the doctor, after everything else finally suggested no snacks. snacks are usually sweet so the child knows they can fall back on that. try going a week with no snacks only three meals and watch how much she drinks. i used to keep a cup full at all times for my son then i realized that's all he was taking in. your daughter won't let herself starve. also give a time limit to meals like 30 - 45 minutes and don't give her more than 2 different things at a time, like, 3 peanut butter crackers sandwiches(as long as she's not alergic if so try cheese wiz) and a quarter apple. then work from there. my son now eats a full meal, he even eats enchiladas, meat lovers pizza, etc. it takes time. also if she throws it on the floor it goes in the trash and if she ends up throwing her entire meal on the floor the meal is over let her know that she will have another meal soon. don't cave, if she is bugging you or crying for food make her wait until meal time, take her outside or distract by playing with her. it was at least 6 months before i could reintroduce snacks.

Answer 4

It is hard to accept as a parent when your child won't eat, but it is in their control really. We have control over what and how often we offer them food, but what and how much they choose to eat is there choice. Try not to make it to much of a struggle because you can become locked into power struggles over food for years to come. My oldest son was anemic to he was a very picky eater, he is fine now. Milk and dairy products interfer with the body absorbing the iron from food and also make children feel full. So if she is drinking lots of milk that may be causing part of the problem. Also vitamin c helps the body to absorb the iron from their food, so offering her orange juice, strawberries, etc may help. Also when you offer her finger foods try giving her small amounts at a time in front of her, some children when looking at alot of food in front of them will just be overwhelmed by it and play instead. Perhaps letting her begin the try to feed herself with a spoon. Give her a spoon to hold while you try to feed her and let her try as well. Yes it is messy, but if she eats abit more then it is worth the mess i think. Good Luck =)

Answer 5

Is she still with the bottle? Don't drop the bottle, try drinkable yogur.

But the most important is the bottle with the milk. Keep giving her bottle every 4 hours. Try baby food between bottles.

At this age they want to see action-reaction. So she knows that you get upset when she trows food. So she will continue to do it.

I think she is still a baby and she still needs the bottle.

Answer 6

One of my daughter's was the same. It got to the point where I was so worried that "I" used to follow her around with her dish of food. It was the only way I could get her to eat at the time.

Answer 7

my daughter used to love the mesh eatting bags..you can put like grapes in it and all she had to do is suck/chew on the bag and gets the meat out...u can also put carrots or other things in it...my daughter is the same way...she doesnt want to eat food she would rather have milk