Experienced Moms please help, I don't know what to feed my 17 month toddler.?

Question

What do you feed your toddler for breakfast, lunch, dinner? any suggessted menu, please...! My toddler just like to eat some certain food, and she doesn't want to try new food, like vegies, is there period that she won't eat much? and how much food a day you think is enough for a toddler? I always worry that she doesn't eat enough. Also I stil can't swicht her into ordinary milk. I still have to give her warm milk (powder milk) in a bottle, it's so hard to give her normal milk in a sippy cup...she is a healthy little girl, but i just worry that she won't get enough nutrition as she doesn't eat much of real food. I just don't know what to cook for her, and even if i try to cook something for her she won't eat...what can I do?

Answer 1

Dear T.T.H.,

This is a common problem with 1-2 year olds so you are not alone. My son is 16 months and is similarly picky. Two recommendations from my experience and that I have received from various doctors:

1. Although it's difficult, try to remain calm and not show your frustration. Forcing a child to eat usually results in more problems over the long run. That's easier said then done, especially after you've worked hard to prepare appetizing food, or when your child suddenly refuses a food that yesterday was her favorite. I struggle over this with my son, but he has been eating far better since I've forced myself to be more relaxed about his eating.

2. Look at the nutrition your child is getting over the course of a week rather than during a single day. There are days when my son hardly eats anything and days when he eats a lot so it will average out.

Do you give your daughter her own spoon? My son eats so much better now since we began giving him his own spoon. I still feed him, but he has so much fun with his own spoon and occasionally gets a few bites into his mouth!

Do you give your daughter snacks during the day? Snacks are a hard balance - you don't want to give too many and ruin a meal, but snacks are also a great way to get in some extra nutrients. My son is a good chewer and loves raisins or dried cranberries (be careful as they can be choking hazards if too large or if a child isn't a good chewer), crackers or cheese as a snack.

In terms of actual foods/menus, my son changes his "favorite" frequently so I know it's tough to figure out what to offer. I generally feed my son 4 meals a day along the lines of the following:
-Breakfast (not much variety - he gets either Cheerios or homemade oatmeal. Have you made homemade oatmeal before? It's very easy and there are so many combinations - my son loves oatmeal. Try it with a little brown sugar, cut up apples or try some small dried fruit if your child is good at chewing them)
-Light snack/lunch prior to nap (muffins, cheese, cheese melted on toast with a piece of turkey on top, yogurt with pureed fruit, cottage cheese (try the Hood country style full fat version - my son won't eat any others)
-Light snack/lunch following nap (same as above)
-Dinner (Have you tried hummus? My son likes that it's an easy texture and it's great protein. Try a flavor without as much garlic like Artichoke spinach or Red pepper. Can add a little yogurt to it to make it easier to swallow. Also spaghetti with meat sauce, various casseroles, sweet potatoes, cut up red grapes, soup is great. I have a recipe for butternut squash with apple soup that my son likes, as well as a cauliflower with celery soup. Surprisingly my husband likes those even though they sound boring and he normally dislikes soup. You can add some of the baby cereal to soup to both thicken the broth a little and to add some iron to her diet) Try finding recipes that the whole family can enjoy for dinner together.

As for the bottle, keep offering the sippy cup but allow the bottle if necessary. I've heard various advice on this. Maybe try offering exclusively the sippy cup at certain meals, and allow the bottle at other times to try to break her of it gradually.

Regarding the milk, my son didn't like regular cold cow's milk, but he got used to it by having breakfast in the morning (cheerios with milk). Maybe that would help if you don't do that already.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I totally understand! Feeding a toddler at that age can be frustrating!

Keep in mind that her stomach is about the size of her fist. Sometimes it doesn't seem that she is getting enough nutrition but she probably is. You can feed her several "mini meals" throughout the day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and morning & afternoon snacks. Sometimes even a nighttime snack. Toddlers usually will go through a phase and not eat much in the way of vegetables.

You can try oatmeal, dry cereal, applesauce, sliced apples, split grapes, bananas, can peaches, soft cheese, muffins, waffles, chicken (mine always had a harder time with most beef), pasta, beans, bagels, yogurt, etc. You might try grilled cheese, fish sticks, chicken nuggets and such. Finger foods usually work best. Try introducing new foods alongside her favorites. Offer the save thing several times. Sometimes they will try it eventually. :o)

As for the milk... try mixing a little milk with her formula, gradually increasing the milk. Will she drink water and juice in a sippy cup? Try offering the sippy more during the day and hide the bottle. Sometimes just out of sight helps. You can also not warm the milk up as much and gradually give it colder. Continue giving her the bedtime bottle warm and cut it out last.

Good luck and don't worry too much!

Mom of 4

Answer 3

For my toddler (17 months old) she eats everything we do. I switched her to 2% milk awhile ago she still has it in her bottle or in her sippy cup (without the stopper most of the time so she will get use to a sippy cup because with the stopper in it she has a hard time getting the liquid out). She will eat something for breakfast even if she just snacks on something, a snack during the day, something for lunch, and whatever we are eating for dinner. she will usually eat the following:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast, juice (either in a cup or a juice box) or 2% milk, or water.
Pancakes, or French Toast. or Fruit or cereal sometimes with milk and sometimes without ( cherrios, fruit loops, rice krispies, special K, lucky charms)
For Snacks she would have one of the following: Fruit (cut up strawberries, cut up grapes, kiwi, raspberries, blue berries, cantelope, cut up apples, banana's (her favorite)) or I'll make a little fruit salad and leave it on a plate for her to pick at or I buy those fruit cups that are already made, crackers and cheese, cherrios, gold fish crackers (her favorite), yoguart either the tube kind or in the cup, cheese slices, popscile, rice krispies squares, popcorn (under close supervison), cookies, chips (under close supervison)
For Lunch she will have either a: grilled cheese sandwich, ham sandwich, soup, alpha getti, spagetti, ravioli, fries & nuggets, macaroni & cheese, hot dog with either fries or chips.
For Dinner she will have whatever we are eating but the meat cut up in bite size pieces: pork chops either fried with mushroom soup on top or baked, baked chicken, baked garlic spare ribs, fish, she loves eating pasta even if it gets all over the place when she wants to feed herself, she is really independent and doesn't like me feeding her anymore so I leave her food out on her plate while she is eating in her high chair and let her feed herself sometimes it gets really messy but it's not like it can't be cleaned, when she eats pasta I just take off her shirt and put her in her high chair.

I also have a four year old that use to eat really good up until she was 1 1/2 then turned into a grazer would eat here and there and have snacks and juice and pick at her food then somedays she will go all out and eat a full lunch and dinner then some days eat only a bit of everything. I was concerned she wasn't getting enough food so I went to ask the doctor and she checked her over and said she was totally healthy and not to force her to eat she will eat when she is hungry, and some toddlers are just grazers.

Answer 4

Don't worry so much she sounds healthy. toddlers don't really eat much remember their stomach is only as big as their fist.
If she is still drinking formula, she is getting a lot of nutrition from that.

I have always found with my kids finger foods work best at meal times. for breakfast I would give them dry cheerios and a glass of milk, chopped up bananas, and chopped up toast with jelly on it. They ate what they wanted and tossed the rest.

lunch they would get a vegetable of some sort, chicken or some kind of meat, juice and a pudding for desert.

dinner about the same as lunch but I gave them milk to drink

If you are worried about her nutrition just pick up some pediasure and give it to her.

Answer 5

My son is almost 15 mths and I too, feel as though he doesn't eat enough. Just keep offering healthy foods to her and realize that sometimes she'll eat and sometimes she'll throw it at you!!! A couple of tips during meal time is to give her a spoon and show her how to use it, offer her food she can feed herself for example eggs for breakfast, vegetables for lunch and cut up chicken for dinner. I have also found that if I give him smaller portions of just one thing, he'll eat more. If I have two or three different choices I think he gets overwhelmed. As far as the milk and started by mixing half formula and half cow's milk. Don't stress as long as she is growing and learning she'll be fine.

Answer 6

My 17 month old will only eat certain things even though we offer him lots of things, including veggies. I try to give him what he likes with a little bit of something new thrown on his tray w/it. He seldom eats the new thing but it makes me feel better:) Also, if I don't think he's getting enough at a meal I 'll chase it with something at least semi-healthy that he does like. For him its Rice Chex. Don't ask me why but for the last few months he eats 'em like they're manna. Things like Fig Newtons can sneak in some fiber and pureeing a little broccoli and adding it to his soup can add nutrition and he doesn't USUALLY notice. Yes, she may go through a period where she doesn't eat much. I know its hard (my son's thin for his age which freaks me out) but if the dr. says she's healthy,then try not to be anxious and never force her to eat or she may pick up on some of your anxiety.

Answer 7

Have you tried regular fruity pebbles cereal? My son is very picky and will only eat a few things but every morning he wants the cereal. It really doesn't have that much more sugar than the toddler cereals do and you can make the powdered milk for it. If you check the side of the box, the amount of vitamins is wonderful for breakfast. I was very surprised.

Answer 8

don't worry if she is not getting enough to eat as long as she stops eating her self ,that you don't lose patience and stop. If she is hungry she will cry to let you know she is hungry. As for what to feed her . just give her for one meal a new food and if ahe won;t eat it. stop and don't give her anything else when she cries because she is hungry feed her that food and when she does eat the food reward her with a dessert such as pudding things she can eat. I raised 6 kids this way and now grown up they are all good eaters and do eat just about everything. BUT if there is one food she just refuses no matter how much you try that food . Don't give that particular food to her

Answer 9

Umm well i am not a mother, but i have 13 brothers and sisters nine of which are younger than me. I have had my share of raising children. I am 18 and have pretty much raised my little brother (now 3) and am in the process of raising baby #2. She is going to turn a year old here in March. She is soo amazing. As far as feedings go, she's pretty easy. But every child is different. I know when my baby brother was about 18-23 months old, he went through the same thing. He was very picky. I gave him foods like cheerios, applesauce, bread. He liked grapes and spagetti. I remember once all i had to give him was pizza and he wouldn't take it. so i pulled out the applesaue, but instead of giving him apple sauce in his mouth when he opened up, i gave him the pizza. He was suprised at first but he loved it. To this day Pizza is still his favorite food.

Like i said, every child is different. You may not listen to me because of my age, but i am aspiring to go into the medical area of study as soon as i graduate.

I hope this was helpful to you!

Answer 10

Hi. Try making it fun! If she likes meat, get chicken pattise and use cookie cutters to make fun shapes for her. My little girl is 2 now but I went through the same thing. They will sometimes eat and other times seem like they are on a hunger strike. Its ok. Kids know when they are full and when they are hungery. Their stomach is only as big as their fist. Offer her some familar liked foods and some new and see what takes. As far as nutrition, look into getting vitamin drops from your doc. You are doing fine and it sounds like she is too. Relax and focus on what she likes for now. She will try new stuff when she is ready.