I have a 14 month old son, that is the pickiest eater ever!! he doesn't want me to feed him and he doesn't ...

Question

like the normal food kids eat, sandwhiches, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, can you please help me. i need ideas for things that i can try that he will like and eat.

Answer 1

I have a picky eater too who is 4. He loves yogurt, cereal, hot dogs, salami, chocolate milk and pepperoni. That's just a few of the things I can easily get him to eat. Veggies are a disaster he does like frozen peas. His eating habits have gradually gotten better as he's gotten older. Just keep putting the food in front of him and he may pick it up and eat it.

Answer 2

Just know that this is normal--he's realized that he can control what he puts into his body--one of the few things he has control over. Don't make a big deal out of it. If he were truly hungry, he'd eat what you put in front of him. Also know that it takes a person 60 times trying a new food to establish a true like or dislike (I know you're thinking that you can't even get him to try one bite, much less 60, but as he gets older, you can make him take a bite or he can't leave the table). Just keep offering him foods.

That's totally fine if he doesn't like the usual kid foods. My nephew never did, either. He finally ate a cheeseburger, a chicken nugget, and fish sticks around age 4 after much pleading and begging, only to find he loved them. He's 8 now and is better, but he is still SUPER picky and it's a fight to get him to try new things. As long as he eats some things, it's fine. Try some hummus, guacamole, homemade chicken nuggets, or even just baked chicken, steamed veggies, fruits, whatever you can get him to eat.

It doesn't matter if it's a "normal" kid food. Kids can eat some really strange things--one of my nephews puts fish sticks, chicken nuggets, meatballs, whatever we're having into a piece of salami with some ketchup and bananas or strawberries. Grosses the rest of us out, but as long as he's eating, we don't care. If you don't react to him not eating, then he won't be stubborn about it. He'll eat when he is hungry. The typical serving size of foods for a 18 month old is as follows:

meat--the size of the palm of his hand (aka 1 chicken nugget or its equivalent)
veggies-2-3 tablespoons
fruits-2-3 tablespoons
bread-half a piece
milk-16 oz per day

Obviously if your child wants more food, give him more, but this is what the guidelines are. If he's getting the recommended number of servings per day at this serving size, he's eating plenty. A lot of people overfeed their children, not realizing that they don't need nearly as much as older children or adults do. Babies are the best judge of when they're hungry and will let you know when they aren't. Good luck! I promise his eating will pick up between 2.5-3 yrs old.

Answer 3

Just pick something simple (my son's only veggie is cucumbers), and serve it with every single meal. Try to get him to smell it, then lick it, and eventually take a bite.

There's a book called "Just Take A Bite!" I forget the author, but it might be worth a try.

Don't make a big deal of it. Limit snacks. If you keep a food diary for a week, you'll see he's probably eating plenty. In your diary, write down every little thing he eats or drinks, even if he takes 1 bite of a cracker. Also, make a menu before you go food shopping, and be sure to include loads of fresh fruits and veggies. Always have a plate of them ready for him. Kids are more likely to try something when they're hungry. Have the veggies ready as soon as he gets up, or after a trip to the park.

To get my son to eat cucumbers, I refused all his favorite snacks during the day (he had healthier chioces), and only offered the cucumber. At first, the plate would get tossed across the room, then he tried using them to color on my walls, and finally he licked one (when he thought I wasn't looking), and took a bite. Now he has cucumbers with every meal, and he runs up to me asking for them. It's been about 2 weeks now, so I'm about to introduce/force a new veggie on him. I also have my snack cabinet up high, and a curtain in it, so when I open it, my kids can't see the snacks we do have. I have the fridge locked so they can only go in with supervision.

Mine have autism, which comes with severe sensory issues, so if mine are eating new foods every couple of weeks, I know you can get your son to eat too!

Answer 4

Make sure that you are cutting up the food small enough-tiny pieces.
Mine would only eat canned fruit and veggies for a long time because it was softer and easier to eat. Just get the one with the lowest sodium and sugar.
I would get a can of peas and give a tablespoon to mine for lunch and dinner until she decided that she liked them. I would also offer other things too.
try a hot dog/turkey dog and take it off the skin but cutting it in half and then scrape small pieces out. put a little ketsup on it.
I discovered mine will eat just about anything with ketsup on it. I have learned to pick my battles and if that is what it takes then so be it.

Answer 5

Try bite size veggies. Like cubed and streamed potatoes, corn, peas, green beans, anything. From that you can learn what he favors. Cube cheese, hot dog slices,baby meat balls. These should work if he likes to feed himself.

When my children were young I would make meat loaf (which they loved) and layer sliced veggies(potatoes) in between.
But in the mix I would totally chop in the food processor, onions, pepper, and carrot with the eggs, seasonings. I always used oatmeal as the binder. This way they got most of the things they balked at. Then I made some of it into little meat balls. The loaf I always covered with their favorite catsup. It always worked.

Answer 6

i am having the same problem.. i have a 14 month old daughter... she is so picky...she wont eat normal toddler food... but she does live ritz crackers.. ( low sodium ones of course) Gerber graduates make cheese crackers for toddlers.. the have veggie ones too... she loves those.. also Gerber makes fruit snakes which are really mushy.. she eats those.. she loves Yogurt.... Cheerios, those fruit cups from Del Monte... the likes those.. only if i give the fruit to her on a spoon though cause she doesnt like the feel of them. also the ones with Jello and fruit... she loves chicken nuggets... French fries ( which i know are probably bad for her) pancakes, scrambled eggs, french toast, Spaghettios,
Also i have seen dinner cups for people for their lunches.. Gerber aslo0 makes them but if you go in you grocery store in the soup aisle... they are there....they are microwavable dinners.. like chicken and pasta.. and others.. she loves those...i hope some of this has helped.. good luck!

Answer 7

they do only no longer prefer to put in any further paintings. i may be searching for a greater effective care provider. on a similar time as its surely real that the objective is to get a newborn to self-feed frequent kinfolk ingredients that isn't any longer consistently conceivable at 14 months extremely if the toddler starts on pureed ingredients.

Answer 8

Mine too! Peel a sweet potato and cut into slices or wedges. Toss in a few tablespoons of olive or corn oil, pinch of salt & pepper, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Voila, sweet potato french fries! My 15 month old LOVES them.

Answer 9

He may be a little young to go those things alone. How many teeth does he have? Does he have molars? Can he chew these foods? Kids at tis age like to start feeding thenselves. Make sure that what you give him is healthy.

Answer 10

Cut up (really small) hotdogs, Hamburger, Meatballs, fish sticks, toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs, garlic bread (I know, but my daughter loves it. We had gotten her a breadstick without realizing that it was garlic bread.), cut up chicken, green beans, etc. Give him things to try to feed himself. He will make a mess and you may have to let him try some foods several times before he decides that he likes them.