LO (19 months) driving me crazy with his increasing food refusals. I realize some of this is normal but what kills me more is there is hardly anything on his so-called favorites or foods he is guaranteed to eat. He hardly eats fruits or vegetables, as well as chicken or meat. I've been doing some reading and am convinced there's not much I can do except continue offering and not to force him to eat, and try to be a good role model in the meantime.
SO, for moms that have been there, done that: did this so-called division of responsibility (a la Ellyn Satter) actually work at some point? Did offering a food 10-20 times result in your toddler one day accepting those new foods?
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My LO is 17 months, and I spent the past 2 months in the hell you currently describe. He ate his fruits and some carbs fine, but none of his previous favorites. All veggies, meats, cheese, rice were no longer touched. I just kept offering them. Sometimes he ate nothing for dinner because I didn't want to get in the habit of offering something else if he didn't eat what was given to him. Miracle of miracle, about 10 days ago a switch flipped and he's back to happily eating a decent meal. I didn't do anything that I know of to flip the switch - it just happened. So, I guess I offer commiseration and hope that it might just work out for you too...
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Yes, sort of. I mean, of course it's an ongoing process and we have good days and bad days. And also, my husband doesn't really believe in the "division of responsibility" and he definitely tries to distract her while she's eating to get her to eat more, so we don't have a consistent approach in our house.
But yes, offering many many many times does eventually mean she will try and usually like things. I feel like I offered sweet potatoes 100 different way/forms from year 1 to year 2 and she didn't seem to like any of them. And just recently at 2.5, she is allllll about sweet potatoes! So I think it's kind of just mental for the parent--just because your kid refuses a food 10 times, don't let it stop you from putting it on their plate the 11th time.
The other thing that helps is really making sure your kiddo is genuinely hungry at meal times. Cut down or eliminate snacking, and cut down on milk if you have to--but I find that LO is pickier when she's not very hungry because she had a large snack between meals. But when she's really hungry, she will devour just about anything.
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It has worked to some extent in that he will try new foods sometimes. But the bigger advantage is that it has helped me decrease my stress level by not making it my responsibility whether or not he chooses to eat. That has been enormously helpful for m.
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@JennyPenny: I'm glad you're out of the woods! There is hope for us too!! (So- in the meantime, did you just let him fill up on his carbs and fruit, then? )
@Anagram: Encouraging to hear, about the sweet potatoes! i guess repetition is key... and that's the thing, I've eliminated most snacks nowadays! Still not much progress.....Guess I have to wait it out and see.
@hilsy85: Agreed about the stress levels! I am slowwwwly starting to accept that too. Like, "allowing" myself not to feel bad or guilty, because really I can't force anything down his throat. Do you allow your LO to fill up on whatever is on the table, then? (i.e. bread, rice, or other carbs? or whatever he is that he likes?) -
i decided early on that i couldn't take the stress of watching too closely what LO eats--i put it on his plate and if he eats it, he eats it, if he doesn't, he doesn't. apparently he eats a ton at daycare so know he can eat, but with us for whatever reason he chooses to put his foot down. i figure at some point he'll be more "normal".
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My LO is going through this at two years. Refuses most things he normally loves except for raisins and blueberries! Literally all he eats! But I discovered today he will eat his porridge again but only if it's from a grown up spoon and bowl - go figure! I don't sweat it though, he did have phases like this around 18 months and eventually evened out. Just need to hold strong when he asks for chocolate cake at breakfast!
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@BabyTsMom: nope I don't. He can have one serving of that stuff, if it's part of the dinner, but that's it. If he won't eat the other food, then he's not really that hungry.
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