Hellobee Boards

My LO is also 13 months old and we do have some of these moments. Fortunately/unfortunately, she doesn't have meals with us yet since our schedules don't really allow it (and she goes to bed on the early side). But when she refuses to eat, yes, I usually do exactly what you do and try to find something I know she will like. Luckily, we have a freezer stash of little things so it's not too difficult. I'm interested in hearing from some of the experienced moms, too, though, since I agree with you that being a "short order cook" is not appealing.

I do what you did, especially when this happens at dinner. I don't like the idea of my lo going to bed with an empty stomach.

I offer about 5 different items on LO's plate. I don't expect him to eat it all, but the variety helps him when he is in a picky mood. Lately he has not been a fan of protein but will eat the veggies on his plate. Once he tells me he is finished his meal, I try not to stress and listen to him. I know that if he eats less at one meal, he will eat more next time. I would only start to worry if his eating habits were poor for a few days in a row. I also don't make him any additional food if he doesn't like it. We eat our meals together, and I don't want him to think he can get a special order of food if he doesn't like his dinner.

I always make sure i make something she'll like. She is not feeling well these days and not really wanting food. This one night she had NO dinner. Refused everything! I gave her a pouch, which she had half of.

I feel like they're still too young to send to bed with no dinner! Maybe i'll feel differently once she reaches 2.

@brownie: how old is your LO? I definitely picture myself doing this with my LO. I'm super lucky that we haven't hit the picky stage yet...she definitely has her preferences but she will eat a bite or two at least. Sometimes she won't touch the protein but she will eat her fruit and veggies and that's fine for me. If I ever enter the stage where she refuses her entire meal, I feel I will just take her food away and save it for later too.

we offer 3-5 things on her plate. she typically only eats what she prefers that meal. sometimes it's everything, sometimes it's just 1-2 things. we just go with it, and if she asks for more of something after she finishes it, we'll give her some more. i figure that i don't feel like eating some things (even though i technically "like" them) every day, so why would she? we just save whatever she didn't eat and offer it again at a later meal.

we've also found that sometimes it will seem like she's not going to touch something, but if we leave the room or don't pay attention, she'll eventually get to it.

for breakfast/lunch, i don't worry much about how much she eats because she can easily make up for it later. if she has a really light dinner, we'll offer something like a banana or yogurt with fruit at the end, as a kind of "dessert"...something she'll almost always want, but still healthy. but we try not to prepare her something totally different.