It’s still fresh in my mind when I was always on the phone with the health visitor telling her that my kid barely eats anything! It was about a year and a half ago when it all started, and I didn’t know what hit me. When did he become this fussy, picky eater? Surely it didn’t happen overnight, but it slowly merged and became one.
As a baby, he was a healthy eater, even when we introduced solids he took quite good on them at six months. He would eat all that bland food without sugar or salt and be happy. We did the baby led weaning as well as feeling him with the spoon the purees that I was doing at home, then something changed, he was not enjoying it anymore.
That was alright for me as I was expecting him to grow up and to start to introduce salt and sugar and more tasty foods, but he was becoming more and more picky about what he would eat that it slowly resulted in pasta and potatoes mainly.
That started to get me concerned, and from there it only went worst.
I just want to highlight that if you are going through once of these phases with your little one, and it’s not illness related, it’s ok, he’ll be fine!
The worst thing you can do is worry and let bad thought take over.
The more you will get concerned and start offering them choices of different foods, rewarming it and giving it a lot of attention the more of a problem will become.
For us, there were days when he would barely eat anything and days when he would eat ok….ish. He dropped in weight from being in the 50% to being in the 25% without losing massive amounts of weight but just not putting enough weight on. And that’s ok! I learned that is ok and he is the same energetic, wild little boy and shows no signs of slowing down, looking pale or sick or anything.
He dropped in the weight percentile from being in the 50% to 25% without losing weight, just not putting enough on.
And that’s ok!
He is the same energetic, wild little boy and shows no signs of slowing down, looking pale, sick or lethargic.
I always thought that I am not a fussy eater myself, but that is because I would buy only that foods that I like and I would cook whatever sounds good to me.
A couple of things that worked for us were:
Sending him to the nursery where he can have meals with other children. This really introduced him to a new environment; he saw that other all the kids would just eat the food that is offered motivated him.
I was expecting him to eat more than he wants or needs. If he wasn’t eating enough for lunch I would compensate it with snacks, but that would fill him up and he wouldn’t be hungry for the next meal.
I asked him to help me in the kitchen. I have him the opportunity to chop soft vegetables with his toy knife and serve them in his plate. This really was a game changer as he felt in control that he could choose what he will eat.
I allowed him to choose when he want to eat rather than impose it on him. For example he would always eat a good amount of porridge in the morning and I thought that he should be hungry by 12 before he goes to sleep for his nap but he wasn’t. Now I know that when he wakes up at 2pm he would be hungry for lunch and that’s when he can have it.
I stopped giving him snacks at random times. I also made sure that he gets a good stretch without food between main meals and it did pay off! He would be hungry and enjoying the food more without carrying so much what is on his plate.
Check out some of the meals and snacks that he enjoys here.
I really hope that some of these suggestions will come in handy when dealing with your picky eater, but don’t forget the most important thing is that you remain calm and don’t take it as a personal attack or that he doesn’t actually like your food. This phases are very common in toddler years and can be quite draining, but most of the times, these problems sort out by themselves. Lower your expectations and adapt them to your circumstances and don’t compare your kid with other kids.
I would love to know about your journey and if you have any good tips that worked for you and your little one. Share them in the comments below so we can all learn.
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One more thing
I find this post very similar to my kids – started off eating so well, then somewhere along the line, it turned into pasta and one or two other favs. I too have had to remind myself that I am not picky because of course, I cook what I like. So I understand that there may be some foods that the kids just do not enjoy. But when it comes down to being picky about almost every food, then we to correct that (well at least try). I still have some picky ones but I have had to cut out the random snacking and enforcing some rules around here to get them eating. Still struggling in many ways but I can say one thing, they are trying (at least tasting) and they are vege eaters (raw veges)!
That is so true. I found a massive improvement when I stopped giving so much attention and getting relaxed about it. Maybe they feel tension around meal times and they do it even more on purpose.
I find this post very similar to my kids – started off eating so well, then somewhere along the line, it turned into pasta and one or two other favs. I too have had to remind myself that I am not picky because of course, I cook what I like. So I understand that there may be some foods that the kids just do not enjoy. But when it comes down to being picky about almost every food, then we to correct that (well at least try). I still have some picky ones but I have had to cut out the random snacking and enforcing some rules around here to get them eating. Still struggling in many ways but I can say one thing, they are trying (at least tasting) and they are vege eaters (raw veges)!
That is so true. I found a massive improvement when I stopped giving so much attention and getting relaxed about it. Maybe they feel tension around meal times and they do it even more on purpose.
My boys are 9 and 5 years old now and they definitely have gone though various phases with eating. One day they love broccoli, the next they hate it! The snacking thing is a constant battle for me. They get home from school or a days activities and they are always starving and crabby. I want to let them eat to help them feel a bit better, but then they are not hungry for dinner! It’s never ending! We’ve also noticed that their eating patterns are really dependant upon if they are in a growing spurt or not. It’s an ever evolving process!
Thanks for sharing! I feel too that I need to constantly addapt, any change in routine and everythin needs to be adjusted again.
My boys are 9 and 5 years old now and they definitely have gone though various phases with eating. One day they love broccoli, the next they hate it! The snacking thing is a constant battle for me. They get home from school or a days activities and they are always starving and crabby. I want to let them eat to help them feel a bit better, but then they are not hungry for dinner! It’s never ending! We’ve also noticed that their eating patterns are really dependant upon if they are in a growing spurt or not. It’s an ever evolving process!
Thanks for sharing! I feel too that I need to constantly addapt, any change in routine and everythin needs to be adjusted again.
Ahhh I feel like I could write the same post haha!! My kids are very picky, but it’s hard to not be worried about them not eating enough, not gaining enough weight, not developing properly, etc. I LOVE having my oldest help me in the kitchen. HE’s all about measuring stuff and helping mix. Not stressing about it as much has helped the kids relax at mealtime. Great post!
Ahhh I feel like I could write the same post haha!! My kids are very picky, but it’s hard to not be worried about them not eating enough, not gaining enough weight, not developing properly, etc. I LOVE having my oldest help me in the kitchen. HE’s all about measuring stuff and helping mix. Not stressing about it as much has helped the kids relax at mealtime. Great post!
I haven’t struggled with picky eating too much but they have learned that if they are going to get down from the table, they are done eating until the next meal/snack time. This usually motivates them to eat a little bit more before they get down.
You are really lucky!
I haven’t struggled with picky eating too much but they have learned that if they are going to get down from the table, they are done eating until the next meal/snack time. This usually motivates them to eat a little bit more before they get down.
You are really lucky!
My son was never picky. He still isn’t! He’ll try anything and chooses to eat most items. It’s been such a blessing — however, I don’t think my daughter will be the same. At 18 months she’s already so much pickier than he ever was about food. On top of that, she’s super small, so I feel like she really needs to eat, even when she doesn’t want to.
It really hit at 2 years everything changed, i guess it’s toddler behaviour.
My son was never picky. He still isn’t! He’ll try anything and chooses to eat most items. It’s been such a blessing — however, I don’t think my daughter will be the same. At 18 months she’s already so much pickier than he ever was about food. On top of that, she’s super small, so I feel like she really needs to eat, even when she doesn’t want to.
It really hit at 2 years everything changed, i guess it’s toddler behaviour.
My 10 year old son hated being weaned onto solids and it’s been a struggle since then. We’ve cajoled, praised, reward stickered and finally,(took expert advice) ignored. He eats porridge and honey, occasionally smoked bacon, sometimes frankfurters and he drinks pints of milk! He has a physical reaction to foods he doesn’t like (pretty much all of them) and will retch at the sight of things like yogurt, gravy etc. I’ve never come across anything like it (and I’ve taught Special Ed for nearly 20 years!). I loved your article, it takes the pressure off your and your kids if you can just ‘ignore’ the issue. I wish I’d done that in the first instance with our son.
I do put a (tasteless) multivitamin in his porridge first thing in the morning as he doesn’t eat fruit or veg. He’s not wasting away though ; he’s 5’1″ and still growing! Thank you for writing so sensitively on a subject that lots of us mums worry about.
Thank you for your lovely comment. It is indeed very difficult because you really want to help them and worrying onky makes it worst. Im very glad you shated your story so other mums can read ot and npt feel like they are the only ones struggling with this, it can really be a lonely place. Xx
My 10 year old son hated being weaned onto solids and it’s been a struggle since then. We’ve cajoled, praised, reward stickered and finally,(took expert advice) ignored. He eats porridge and honey, occasionally smoked bacon, sometimes frankfurters and he drinks pints of milk! He has a physical reaction to foods he doesn’t like (pretty much all of them) and will retch at the sight of things like yogurt, gravy etc. I’ve never come across anything like it (and I’ve taught Special Ed for nearly 20 years!). I loved your article, it takes the pressure off your and your kids if you can just ‘ignore’ the issue. I wish I’d done that in the first instance with our son.
I do put a (tasteless) multivitamin in his porridge first thing in the morning as he doesn’t eat fruit or veg. He’s not wasting away though ; he’s 5’1″ and still growing! Thank you for writing so sensitively on a subject that lots of us mums worry about.
Thank you for your lovely comment. It is indeed very difficult because you really want to help them and worrying onky makes it worst. Im very glad you shated your story so other mums can read ot and npt feel like they are the only ones struggling with this, it can really be a lonely place. Xx