feeding a 20 month old?

Question

My 20 month old daughter has begun refusing to eat anything except pasta and bread and other high carb foods. (She will also eat cheese) Does anyone have any good ideas of how to prepare veggies in a way that a child this age will eat? She drinks diluted fruit juice and water but does not care for milk anymore. She will hardly touch meat products and will occassionally eat bannana or apple slices. Any new receipes would be helpful. Is the pretty much the norm for kids this age?

Answer 1

Mix veggies in with the pasta. Sneak in some tuna with some mac & cheese, and some peas. My son will inhale this when I make it. Cut up hotdogs super tiny and put it in the pasta once in a while (Not more than once a week, though) Get a bottle of chocolate syrup and put a couple of drops in her milk as a special treat...not enough to give her a lot of sugar, but just enough to flavor it. My son really loved the Gerber meat sticks. They are really soft and I would just cut them in little slices for him.

Answer 2

Both of my kids did the same things (now 7 & 4) - when I questioned my doctor she said that toddlers have the tendency to only eat what their bodies want. She says that as long as they are eating something that is healthy and drinking, that it will pass. There were days when all mine would want would be fruit and then there would be days where all they would want would be cheese. I think this is normal - they both eat very well now and balanced meals. My 7 year old LOVES vegetables!!!! So, don't worry unless you see significant weightloss or dehydration - as far as the milk - neither one of mine drink any!!! I just try to have some dairy products in every meal they eat - the doc says this is fine! Good Luck!

Answer 3

Some days my 23 month old will eat anything you put in front of her and other days - only bananas or cereal (and it better have milk in it). Our pediatrician said she'll eat what she needs to survive. I think this was her way of telling me not to worry. I do get her to eat veggies some days by giving her something in which to dip them. She also likes to mimic what I do so if she sees me eating them, she will typically eat them as well. I also found the afternoon snacks after about 2 or 3p lead to small appetites at dinner, which we have around 7p. As for the milk issue, we get her to drink milk by giving her chocolate milk occasionally. We buy organic chocolate milk and it is lower in sugar content than the regular kind. Basically - yes, your daughter seems completely normal considering my own daughter is very similar. I think she is asserting her independence by deciding what and when she eats. I don't fight with her because she'll eat if she is hungry. She is happy and well-adjusted. Good luck and don't worry. Her doctor will let you know if she is unhealthy or not gaining weight properly.

Answer 4

Your daughter is just going thur a phase where she is just being picky. The best thing to do is offer it to your child. Maybe after see the food she might want to try it. My daughter is the same way. With milk I have to add chocalate to it. That is the only way that I can get her to drink it. Then at dinner I make her the samething that we eat. Some days she will not eat then other days she will eat it. Good luck

Answer 5

Geez, at 20 months my son ate everything in sight. Ok, when you make breakfast - if she eats pancakes- make blueberry or pumpkin pancakes to get some fruit in the diet. Make little bite size muffins - shred up some carrots and throw in some raisins or apples.

Make bite size chicken fingers, but pan fry them with some Pam so they are healthier.

Our local grocery store is giving out sheets with Dora the explorer with a find the carrots type pictures, get some baby carrots, slice them into small pieces - your daughter finds a carrot in the picture and so she gets a bite of carrot.

My son loved forzen peas - he ate them frozen...try that.

Don't let eating be a power struggle. If you and your hubby sit down and eat dinner, eat your food, comment to each other how good it is. Don't even offer it to her. Let her ask for it. Don't let her use food to control you.

Remember also at 20 months, a few teaspoons is a serving.

Answer 6

my child stopped drinking milk the minute we took her bottle away. She just would not drink it out of her sippy cup. Our pediatrician said that it's not a problem as long as she's getting calcium other ways, cheese for example. Don't worry about eating habits. I bargain with my toddler, she can have pasta but she needs to eat her greenbeans first. I don't make her eat food she doesn't like. I give her brocolli and call it trees, SHE LOVES IT. She calls peas, balls...that works.

My child ate everything until recently. now her diet consists of hard boiled eggs (egg whites only), cheese, turkey dogs, chicken nuggets (which are easy to make), mashed potatoes, brocolli and tomatoes. Kids like carbs. It will pass.

but, I guess I am lucky that she loves fruit!

Answer 7

Totally normal. Don't worry, it's a phase.

Try yogurt. Offer them different flavors, maybe mixed with fruit, raisens, or granola.

Buy the veggie combo pasta sauce or pasta roni with broccoli. Just keep offering it, eventually it will be familiar to her and she'll develop a taste for it.

Also see if she'll like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it's okay at this age. Hot dogs too.

Just keep offering different things, eventually her palate will expand.

Answer 8

this is very common for toddlers to do. have you tried putting the veggies in with the food she likes, liking mixing it into the pasta, my daughter hates milk, has hated since about that age. i dont even worry about she is 3 now and doc says she is healthy. toddlers and picky and seem to eat only a few things and they may rotate, love it one week hate it the next. try "hiding" the veggies somehow into food she likes to eat.

Answer 9

Why is he in the style of a weight loss plan? and that i'm all approximately protein and culmination. My daughter is 22 months and he or she likes fowl and ham sandwiches. She likes string cheese and yougurt. For dinner she like scrambled eggs and toast, or pancakes no syrup or waffles. I shrink her juice, which in basic terms purchase Juicy Juice it quite is one hundred%, to approximately 4 oz.. an afternoon. She in simple terms isn't a huge milk drinker that why I supply her greater dairy for snacks. yet for dinners she commonly eats even if I restoration for dinner. Like spegetti or pork chops.

Answer 10

All the food and drinks she likes are sweet.
Stop giving her sweets - she will want more.
I tell my kids I am out of juice, apples, etc...
She will get hungry enough to appreciate good food again - be patient.