https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 02 May 2026 19:05:21 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2371146 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 14:00:40 +0000 Foodnerd81 2371146@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For one meal I usually don't stress about it- but if it's a new food that I think she genuinely doesn't like, I might offer a boring alternative that she does like, like plain yogurt or crackers or something. And most meals end with fruit anyway so I will let her fill up in the fruit sometimes. If she's going through a phase where she is doing that a lot in more likely to make sure at least one meal is something I know she will eat, so I won't stress that she is too hungry. But generally she is a good eater so I'm lucky it doesn't come up too often. </p> <p>Yesterday I totally let her fill up on appetizers (cheese and hummus) before thanksgiving dinner. I know she isn't big on regular cooked meat and she would probably just eat rolls and cranberry sauce anyway, so I figured the cheese and hummus were better options. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2371125 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 13:36:15 +0000 mrsrain 2371125@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our pediatrician specifically tolls is that there will be days when she wont eat much, and that it's nothing to worry about. On those days we will sometimes give her an extra cup of milk, but mostly we just trust that she'll eat if she's hungry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2371122 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 13:31:07 +0000 Greentea 2371122@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't get it. I would give her things she would eat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2371083 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 12:14:29 +0000 gingerbebe 2371083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I know it's a stage or something is bothering him like teething, I just give him what I know he will eat so he will fill his belly. DS always eats plain sticky rice, banana, and puffs. He will almost always eat yogurt. From there I try to add on things to it - like I smash some avocado or scrambled egg into his rice, PB on his bananas, raisins with his puffs, and chopped fruit mixed into his yogurt, etc. If I know it's teething and chewing hurts I try to spoon feed him porridge or risotto, offer banana and applesauce, and may also make yogurt smoothies with PB or coconut oil mixed in with milk and fruit and bananas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370950 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 07:04:08 +0000 catomd00 2370950@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also remembering toddler portions are much smaller (think size of their fist), so a few bites is sufficient usually. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370949 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 07:01:38 +0000 catomd00 2370949@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nothing. If she asks for a snack later she has a choice of dinner or another healthy option of my choice. If she chooses neither of those she eats at the next meal. My kid is not a big dinner person, she eats a big breakfast and lunch and tends to graze throughout the day. I have heard that's pretty common for toddlers. I'm happy if we get 3 good dinners in a week. I know it's not a healthy food thing because she will refuse pizza and Mac n cheese, too which makes me feel a bit better about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370948 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 06:50:41 +0000 brownepiano 2370948@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sometimes I resort to condiments. Other times we just let him go hungry. But I try to keep him at the table long enough for him to maybe absent-mindedly eat some. I suspect DS is getting molars too but I don't know how long they will actually take to cut through. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370932 Fri, 27 Nov 2015 03:52:24 +0000 Purpledaisy 2370932@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I usually offer a simple snack like crackers instead but that's it. I honestly don't care. It's not like she's going to starve herself to death! (I feel like this sounds mean! But really, if she's hungry she will eat :silly: ) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370892 Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:44:08 +0000 pastemoo 2370892@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyBoecksMom: bed without dinner and remind when he wakes up that he chose not to eat... No midnight snacks! Also when he goes through a food refusal phase we eliminate all snacks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370891 Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:44:02 +0000 BabyTsMom 2370891@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I totally stress out! I try not to show it, but I often fail at that. I am guilty of trying to find something that he will eat, so I will provide 1 or 2 more options if the first one fails. I hate doing it and I hope to stop soon! Thankfully, LO is normally a pretty decent eater so these days are not too common. But when they happen.....ugh it gets to me more than I care to admit! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370890 Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:42:30 +0000 ALV91711 2370890@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't fight it. If he is hungry he will eat. If he doesn't eat a bit then I'll wrap it up and if he asks for food before bed that is what I offer. But it seems that if he doesn't want dinner then he doesn't want to eat again until breakfast. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370882 Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:25:47 +0000 Oxana 2370882@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd make sure she wasn't filling up on too much milk or snacks. 1 - 2 year olds should only have around 16 ounces of milk a day, and 3 year olds shouldn't have more than 12 ounces a day, from what I've read. A two year old only needs around 1,000 calories a day, so overfeeding calorie-dense whole milk can easily fill that quota. </p> <p>If she's grazing on snacks at will, she could easily fill up on those. Or if you have multiple scheduled snacks, you might want to cut it down to one (or even none). Juice has a ton of calories too, so be sure to take that into account.</p> <p>16 - 18 oz. WCM is about 200 calories, so if you have four meals a day (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner), each meal should have about 200 calories worth of food to fill out the 1k calories. You might want to start checking the labels of some of the food she's getting, just to have an idea of whether she's getting enough food. The problem is either that she's already full by dinnertime (which isn't that bad, though you may want to change things up) or that there's an underlying issue that is preventing her from getting the energy and vitamins she needs from a proper amount of food.</p> <p>This might sound like we micromanage our toddler's diet...we really don't, but I think staying mindful of the caloric content of a few key foods has helped ease our minds. Sometimes it can seem like she hasn't eaten very much, but then I remember that x has y amount of calories and it's more than you might think. For example, I know that roughly the following foods have these amount of calories...</p> <p>Banana 100 calories<br /> 1 TBSP Peanut Butter 100 calories<br /> Egg 80 calories<br /> 1 oz. Cheese 100 calories<br /> Toast with Butter 100 calories</p> <p>Or you could just wait and see if she changes her behavior on her own. Toddlers are apt to do that. :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370881 Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:21:27 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2370881@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It stresses me out when LO doesn't eat, but I try not to push it, and just figure she'll eat when she's hungry. I do try to give her a bit more milk before bed time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370874 Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:11:24 +0000 jhd 2370874@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I never try to feed him a bite because he is very independent and that just doesn't work. Honestly, I make a conscious effort not to stress about it and let him eat when he's hungry. Like today, he would not eat anything at thanksgiving dinner. I made him sit for a few minutes, but he was clearly too excited and tired. He ate a good breakfast and I figure he will make up for it tomorrow. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-do-when-your-lo-doesnt-want-to-eat#post-2370870 Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:02:22 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 2370870@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm getting so frustrated! DD2 won't try anything on her plate lately, especially if we try to feed it to her. She shut her mouth tight and slaps it away. She just cries through dinner. We don't make her anything special and she'll go to bed without eating more than a bite or two. I think (hope) she might be getting her 2 yr molars in, so that might be to blame for the fussing and not eating. I hope this is just a phase</p> <p>But, what do you do when your LO won't eat? </p>