my daughter is 16 months old... and refuses to eat?

Question

She has no problem drinking milk... she gets a milk in the morning and 1 in the afternoon and 1 at night before she goes to bed.. in between that she wont eat! I have offered her everything under the sun.... and this morning she didnt eat any of her french toast.... and she normally likes french toast.... She has always been a little picky.. but it has gradually became worse... should i bring her to the doctors, or maybe get some pediasure? I am very worried... she hasnt eaten very little in the past 2 days... I am afraid she isnt getting enough nutrients. I am wondering if this is just a phase???? She hasnt been acting sick or anything... just not interested in eating. I'll be making a special trip to the grocery store so if anyone has suggestions on what i should do, or what i should try let me know... i offer her everyday everything from the major food groups and even the yummy stuff like peanut butter and jelly...

Answer 1

This is a completely normal stage for your daughter. She is developing her independence with her food. She will not let herself starve, don't worry about that! If you feed her try letting her feed herself. Also, change up her routine and allow her to try different foods, even ones you think that she may not like. (We noticed this with my daughter and spicy food) When my little girl did this it was around the same time and we always knew how independent she was, the problem was the high chair. She wanted to be at the table with all of us doing what we did. Also, she likes to eat what we are eating and not something different many times.
Another thing that we take for granted as adults is the concept of cleaning our plates which is instilled in us at a very young age. Infants and toddlers eat until full and then stop. Which is probably why they have such a better bmi then us! Best of luck to you, just be patient and let her explore this new concept. She'll be ok!

Answer 2

My friend is going through the same thing with her 18 month old. Most of it is probably a phase, she is discovering that she can make choices. She is also discover the power that she holds over you (Special trips to the grocer store!) Children at this age will not starve themselves. Do not offer her everything under the sun. Offer what she usually eats, and what the family eats. Also, give her really small portions, then if the eats offer her more. The more attention you (your spouse and siblings) give her during meal the time the more control and power she has, and the less likely to eat.

I would rule out the medical stuff too. Call her doctor, sometimes the nurse or doctor will be able to answer questions over the phone and rule out the medical stuff.

Also, it doens't sound like she's getting to much milk, but if the no eating continues, you may want to talk to her doctor about cutting down to 8-16 oz a day of milk, that way she's getting the nutrients from food, not just calories from milk.

Hang in there!

Answer 3

It's THAT age!! She really is just going through a stage. Kids her age will eat when they're hungry and usually as long as a good variety of nutritious foods are made available their total intake is more balanced then you think. ( My grandmother taught me this when I worried about the same thing with my oldest son. She had me write down everything he ate for a week and by Friday I was amazed at how much food he was really eating when it didn't seem like he was eating at all.)
If I were to make a suggestion on anything your doing now it would be to maybe cut back on the milk just a little. You say your giving her milk three times a day, well if thats eight onces or more at a time it could be filling her up and she just isn't getting hungry. I used a four once sippy cup at this age and the first milk was always served with breakfast, not before.
One almost sure fire way to get any kid to eat is to take them shopping with you and let them pick from a selection of choices. You think she needs more veggies, give her two or three to choose from and when its time to fix dinner get her to "help" prepare them. Even if its just handing her the potato to put in the pot after you've peeled it she'll feel important and then when you present it at the table as HER potatos she'll want to eat them.
I'd stay away from the ensure drinks unless shes been sick or something. You want her to develope good eating habits not learn to think theres something wrong with her that has to be "treated". It'll be easier on you too if you remember to not let this turn into a test of wills, give her a chance to eat and if she's not hungry try again at the next meal. Begging, threats and bribes will only make this last longer.
All that said , If she becomes lethargic, stops having her normal bowel movements or you see a decrease in urination or starts loosing weight make an appointment with her pediatrician to have her checked out.
Your doing a great job! Love and concern are the two most important things to make sure your daugther gets enough of and your proving to be agreat mom by worryng about this and asking for help.

Answer 4

I'm not there yet with my little one but my cousin who is an organic, breast feeding, no eating out, no msg, everything by the book mother, told me that when her toddler started doing that, she started feeding her whatever and whenever she would eat! She was just thankful that she would eat and if it was french fries from McD's, then so be it! She said we should be thankful that we have those options and we're not in a famine like so many countries. So I shall take her advice, we all want what's best for our babies, so try your hardest to go healthy and au natural, but if your baby will only eat chicken nuggets and french fries, they need to eat! Just keep trying to reintroduce the good foods and they'll come along. I read up on it and it is indeed a toddler thing to do to refuse to eat but the books say, they'll eat when they're hungry. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

I also had a problem with my son when he was a toddler. We had some real battles over it, but I finally had to do what the doctor and all of the other experienced mom's said - try to let it go!!!

It was very hard. As a mom part of what you do to nurture your child is feed them. But, as difficult as it is, try to realize that your daughter will not starve to death. Children at this age get very oppositional. It's part of their natural development, and really, it's a very good sign that she is developing normally! I know it's hard to accept that, but it's true.

She is just beginning to realize that she is separate from you, that she is her own person and can control her little world to a certain extent. And food is one of the ways that she can try out this behavior.

Just keep offering her the normal things that you would expect her to eat and if she doesn't eat them, just take it away. I know that it seems as if you're letting her "win", but she is already winning! You keep trying everything under the sun and begging her to eat - she is getting so much attention for her behavior! Just offer it, wait and see, and then remove it. No snacks right after meal time, just wait until the next appropriate time to offer more food.

My son is now 22 and is a perfectly normal college student. Oddly enough my daughter who would eat anything up until she was a pre-teen, became the real picky eater in the family. Now my son eats everything, and he will try new and strange foods very readily - where she will not. But both are very healthy and capable individuals.

So, hang in there. Don't personalize her eating habits as a rejection of you. She is just on her way to being a normal little toddler with her own mind! Good luck - and enjoy her!

Answer 6

this is a normal stage. She'll eat something before she starves! Just make sure that you always offer her healthy, nutritious food so that when she DOES choose to eat, she gets something healthy!
My step-mom's kids are such picky eaters because she worried so much about them eating that she would give them a million things until they ate something. Now, all they'll eat is mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, and spaghetti O's.
When my daughter doesn't eat what I put in front of her, she doesn't eat. She is 2 1/2 now and eats everything we eat! She is the least picky eater i've ever seen and i think it is a result of not over-fussing about what she wouldn't eat early on.

Answer 7

So frustrating, I know. I've been there. My 3 year old has gone through this many times. It usually lasts a few days to a few months. Here's what's worked during those times when he won't eat: Balance Bars (have tons of vitamins and protein); smoothies made with milk or yogurt, fruit and vanilla soy protein powder; fruit and yogurt parfaits from McDonalds; trail mix; muffins; pancakes or waffles; fruit snack gummies; french toast sticks made by Eggo. It will pass. I wouldn't worry unless she is acting sick and losing weight.

Answer 8

I would get her some pediasure just incase. Its probable that she's getting some molars in, and thats why she's just not eating as much.

Picky eaters are a disaster. I dont really know the situation, but if it were my son refusing to eat (he's an excellent eater at 9 months) I'd probably not give him anything until he decided he wanted to eat his food.

Toddlers arent big eaters anyway, so I understand the struggle.

Have you tried going back to babyfood? Maybe she likes a mooshier food...

Answer 9

I wouldn't worry about it, as long as she is drinking whole milk, that is doing her body just fine, till she gets out of this stage, just get some vitamin drops, and add it to her milk so that she gets the other vitamins, and minerals she needs

Answer 10

Maybe she is constipated? A blocked bowel is like a stopped plumbing pipe and nothing will go in until something goes out. Has she been having regular BM's? In any case she needs to go to the doctor ASAP or the ER, esp since she is a baby and can go downhill fast from illness.