My 18 month old son has become a picky eater. Has anyone gone through this?

Question

What did you do? We give him some of the same thing we are having at every meal. He only wants to drink milk. He was a GREAT eater until about the same time he turned one and we switched to milk. Now I can only get him to eat goldfish, crackers, raisins, cinnamon french toast sticks, cheerios, apple juice, pbjs, peanuts, cashews and an occasional bite of bananna. At one point he would eat hot dogs, but now he won't. I'm not worried about him losing weight, but I am worried about his nutrition. It seems he only wants the bad carbs. When do kids start eating with the rest of the family?

If I am breaking the nuts up in small pieces, what's wrong with him having nuts??? It is one of his few sources of protein.
It is very easy for someone to say - "You are the adult". No one can make a child eat.

If you had read properly, you would have seen HE WILL NOT EAT HOTDOGS ANYMORE. The nuts are unsalted.

The goldfish are whole wheat.

The comment about the peanut and an allergic reaction doesn't make sense. ALL kids eat PBJs. Peanut butter is made from peanuts.
If you don't have anything contructive to say, answer another question.

Keep in mind, my son is 18 months old. He can't help with meals.

I can't just let him go all day without eating or just eating one bite of bananna. I'll do this if someone who tells me this is a great idea will let me call them repeated in the middle of the night when he wakes up SCREAMING because he is hungry, because I WILL NOT encourage the habit of eating in the middle of the night.

Maybe I wasn't clear. He gets a variety. He will not eat them.

I said he only wants to drink milk. I didn't say that's all I give him. I DO put food in front of him at meal times first. He just looks at it.

This is the last question I ever ask involving my son. People don't know how to read and answer the question asked.

Answer 1

My daughter did the same thing, she would eat anything I gave her until she turned 2, it was a complete 180 in her eating habits. She was so picky, the good thing is she still loved all fruit. There were nights fruit salad was all she had for dinner. And you're right, you can't make kids eat, we found that out the hard way when my daughter would make herself throw up because she didn't want to eat something. The good news is, it doesn't last forever with most kids. Granted we've spent the last 2 years dealing with our picky eater, but now she's 4 1/2 and I actually got her to try a piece of asparagus here recently and she didn't throw up!!! Hahahaa, so it does get better. My grandfather who was a doctor always said, let her eat the bread and potatoes, it's not gonna hurt her at this age and eventually she'll start eating other foods. Good luck and just keep trying to offer new foods along with the foods you know your son will eat. That's all you can do. Take care!

Answer 2

All toddlers go thru stages of being picky. What is their favorite food today, might be "icky" next week. It usually stops when they're close to 3 years old.

Just keep offering what you're eating at meals, especially if he sees you and everyone else in the house eating it and enjoying it! (Little kids don't like to be left out, especially if they think everyone else is having a better time than they are) Eventually he will get past this and eat like a normal person, but be prepared for these stages. Don't make it a big fight because then it will become a control issue and be worse than it needs to be.

Try "sneaking" in the good carbs - like whole grain crackers and make his PBJ on whole wheat bread (even half white and half wheat if you need to) offer him some carrot or celery sticks or apple slices cut like sticks with peanut butter so he can "fish" for the goldfish. (using the end of the veggie stick to dip into the peanut butter and then "catch" the goldfish on the end of it.)

Answer 3

The most common reason to be in a situation like this is because she knows that she will get sometimes to eat later. While she shouldn't be forced to eat, she should learn that her main meal in the evening will be served at dinner time.
Some other things that you might do to help deal with your picky eater include:make sure that she isn't eating a big snack after school or filling up on juice, soda, or even milk before dinner.
offer her smaller portions so that there isn't as much left over on her plate.
don't offer bribes or rewards for eating.
not talking about dieting, calories, and such, especially if she or other family members have problems with being overweight.
Instead, talk about eating healthy.
consider not offering her anything else to eat if she misses dinner or just offer a small, healthy snack.
don't let your concerns about her eating become a power struggle.
set a good example by eating a variety of foods.
encourage your child to get involved in planning and preparing meals. A visit to your Pediatrician to monitor her growth and development and eating habits would also be a good idea.

hope this helps

Answer 4

honey the nuts really are a bad choice, even unsalted and cut up, they are a choking hazard. pediatricians are now recomeending waiting til the child is 3 for any peanut butter products at all. so many children are developing an allergy. he may be eating it every day then all of a sudden he may have a reaction. its very dangerous and a big pain in the butt for him to not have it or anything cooked in peanut oil for the rest of his life.
beans are also a good source of protein and you are right, you cannot make him eat. but when its meal time, give him a variety of different foods, if he only eats the banana and not the oatmeal then fine, he is done, even if he just had 2 bites of banana for breakfast. It sounds cruel and yes, its very hard to do but if you give in and give him the french toast sticks he know he can cry next time and get them again. I honestly am trying to say something helpful. an 18 month old understand a lot more than you may think. give him his plate, with several healthy things on it, when he is done then fine he is done but dont give him pb&j an hour after lunch b/c he is hungry. maybe at dinner he will eat whats on his plate.
I would give him vitamins and pedia sure while he is in this stage
good luck to you

Answer 5

my son recently went though this you just have to stick with things he will eat also limit his milk give him juice instead some of the time so he isn't filling up on milk my son would always eat green beans cheese hotdogs sweet peas or regular peas sandwich meat and bread maybe you could try some of these thing my son loved the sandwich meat just torn into peices on a plate although it seems a little healthier then what you little guy will eat it just the age they grow soo much in the first yr that they eat like little piggies then when they slow down your used to feeding them alot so they can pick and choose because they are not hungry all the time and know there will be something new in a bit my son is almost 2 now and i never force him to eat if he doesn't want breakfast i put some out but don't make him eat it its much more likely he'll eat what we are eating later if he actually hungry also if i am eating salad or something that i think he won't want it if i offer it to him i just won't i will get myself a bowl go sit and i don't offer him any just eat it myself usually he gets curious and wants to try some once he sees me chowing down all you can do is try to find one thing he'll like from each food group

p.s. pizza buns are good they have some bread some sauce and some cheese and if my sons sick i will go get a frozen dinner with the chicken nuggets and french fries and corn it's a huge treat and he'll eat it even if hes sick or won't eat anything else if fact he told me a couple days ago that he wanted that for his birthday dinner lol kids are too funny

Answer 6

Be patient with him. I have went through this with all three of mine. My little boy is just now 18 onths and somedays he eats great and others he doesn't. If you are real concerned with his eating habits maybe tak to your doctor about putting him on the nutrition drinks like pedia sure and start giving him a multi vitamin. Sometimes if I make food in funny shapes or add food coloring to make it different then they try it even if they wouldn't eat it the day before. Best of luck to you and hope your little guy starts eating more soon.

Answer 7

Are you serious! Goldfish!!!! Cashew and peanuts, and hot dogs! And you are complaining about bad carbs!!! I hope this is a joke! What is pbjs???
I am seriously worried about you feeding a 18 month old nuts and hotdogs, god knows how much excess salt the kid has had! I would take him to the dr and get him checked and explain what dreadful food you have been feeding him! he would be better off stuffing his face with bad carbs! you need help!

Answer 8

only offer him healthy foods. according to what you are saying he is not getting what he needs at all. he needs a wide variety of veggies, fruits, meats etc. he is not eating healthy. also, please talk to your Dr about the peanut butter, nuts and cashews, the whole nuts are a major choking hazard for children under 3. your not supposed to give them peanut butter till they are 2 at the very youngest.
If he refuses to eat do not give in and give him the other things. just offer him a wide variety of healthy foods. in the meantime you may have to give him vitamins and pedia sure.

Answer 9

All children go through that stage - if he starts to lose weight your doc will let you know. But you really shouldn't be feeding your child peanuts until he is 4 years old - it could trigger a severe allergic reaction when he gets older. Be careful!

Answer 10

OMG...reading this sounded like It was me posting this question LOL!
My son became the same way about a week or so after turning 1...The only thing I can tell you is what my dr. told me...don't push them to eat differnet foods, but healthy foods..If he won't eat hotdogs, try grapes, or if he won't eat chicke try a grilled cheese sandwich (my 13 mo. old LOVES these BTW)
Sorry! I actually just went throught it so I understand!