Fussy Eater - 16 month old! Any Advice?

Question

I am getting so tired of meal times - they are such hard work. My daughter is great at breakfast time, she has about 5oz of milk and then some porridge or\weetabix etc...no problem, just eats it up. Dinner/Evening meal times are another storey. I sit her in her high chair and she refuses to be spoon fed now, thats fine, I give her the spoon/fork so she can help herself but she ends up throwing her food on the floor and shaking her head sideways over and over again. It can take 40 mins sometimes for her to just a one mouthful! She doesn't really snack that much through the day and I try to give her fruit but she has found out about biscuits now! She stands near where the biscuits are and points and says more, me, more repeating over and over again. I have moved the tin out of sight and never eat biscuits in front of her. She is just so fussy and seems not to enjoy eating food anymore. This has been going on for about 7 weeks now, any advice?

Answer 1

My little girl went through a phase very similar. They are just asserting their own independance. I found that giving finger food and just leaving her to get on with it really helped. It seemed the more fuss I made trying to make her eat, the less she would. Another good suggestion, which I got from my health visitor, was to leave a little dich of finger food on the floor when she is playing. That way she will just pick at it while she is busy playing and wont go to bed with an empty stomach if she didnt eat at teatime.

Im sure your daughter will grow out of it, but if you have any concerns speak to your doctor or health visitor. They will keep a check on her weight and let you know if there is any cause to worry. Im sure she will be fine in time though. Good luck!

Answer 2

oh so normal.You are doing good by taking away the biscuits though.Seems like she may be testing you there,lol...don't give in, use those biscuits as a reward if you can.
As far as her not eating at lunch or dinner.Try finger foods like carrots,peas,bananas,apple slices,Cheerios,shredded cheese.... ext. All of my little ones loved the above mentions and i also would toast bread with a hint of Cinnamon on it,slice it into sticks and serve.Mine loved that.
Your little one may be drinking allot of juice or milk and that may be why she holds back at 2 of her meal times.
Its no big deal,most of them go through this phase.They are up and down about their eating habits.Sometimes you cant get them full enough and others you cant get the food in them.Don't worry I have been told that children will eat what they need.Just don't give in on those biscuits though.
If you are too worried, try setting a small plate..with in her reach....during the day...of something that is not going to spoil.And leave it there through out the day.You will see her sneak up once and a while and take a bite or two.And feel better that she is eating.:)

Answer 3

I have a 2 year old and this is what worked for me. Frist stop buying the biscuits just dont have any in the house for a week or two, and tell her all gone. For the fussy eating try to give her finger foods so that she can feed them to herself, forget the spoon it will just end up on the floor anyways. If that doesn't work try feeding her later then what you normally do, so that way she is sure to be hungry.

Answer 4

I'm going throught the same with my 2 year old, breakfast isn't a problem but anything after that is a nightmare. I got advise from my health visitor and basically was told that if she refused what was placed in front of her take it away and make her wait until the next meal without snacks in between. You will feel like a monster and think that she's going to starve, but she won't, she'll be getting all she needs for the day from her breakfast. It may take time but stick with it, you have to be in control not the other way round.....wishing you all the very best.

Answer 5

The more attention you give her when she plays up the more she will do it, try spending more time reading with her and ignore her bad behaviour. If dinner goes on the floor clean it up and take her out of her high chair.
Sounds harsh I know but she cant live on biscuits and she needs to know boundarys, if you dont do it now you are only saving up problems for the future.

Answer 6

My little girl was very similar. My biggest concern was the amount of nutrition that she was getting. As your little one does, she was eating well at breakfast, and drinking her milk throughout the day. I had taken her to the Dr. I was so worried. He told me that as long as she was in the right percentages on her growth chart, there was no need to be concerned. One thing I used to do which was really effective was playing little games with her. Kids really want to mimic you. I would take some grapes and get up close to her ear and make a loud crunch, and start laughing. One she saw me do this a few times, she started to do it. My motto is whatever works.

Answer 7

Hi there,
I wouldnt worrie too much about this, I think by this age children start to discover that they have their own will and start experimenting with saying no, and seeing how far they can take it.
But I guess it will also depend on what sort of food you are feeding her for dinner? Does she act the same if you give her milk and porridge/wheatabix for dinner?
Has she ever said/gestured that she doesnt like the food you give her for dinner? you say she shakes her head do you think this is more of her not wanting to eat it or not liking it?

Answer 8

I don;t have kids, but I use to get my little sister to eat things by changing the color. She use to refuse to drink milk...then I put blue food coloring in it. Might try just giving her what she has for breakfast for lunch/dinner. Are biscuits the same as cookies? If so you could get really bad cookies in the tin and give one to her...that might deter her... like I said, I don;t have kids, just the experience I had with my little sister (10 years younger then me). Good Luck!

Answer 9

I find that sometimes my son will eat better if you just ignore him and let him get on with it. Give her a bowl or plate of easy to eat food, a spoon and/or fork and sit down with her and eat your own food (ideally the same as she is eating). She may be doing this simply for the attention!

Answer 10

Does she have alot of juice, I know that can fill them up. Try lots of finger foods. If they see something interesting they will be more likely to eat it. Try some peas, my little girl loves them because they are colourful and she can pick them up. There are veggie fingers too, they have breadcrumbs on them with lots of colourful bits inside. Milk will probably also fill her up. I don't think she needs milk in a bottle anymore at 16 months. But some kids are fussy, I wouldn't worry too much because no child will starve it's self. If she ends up losing weight then take her to a dietician.