Need help really bad!

My boys have always been picky eaters - Caleb didn't even nurse well or take from a bottle.

Breakfast and lunch I always feed them something I know they'll like - Homemade waffles, pancakes, toast w/PB, apples, applesauce & other babyfood fruit, oatmeal, chicken nuggets, french fries, PB sandwhiches & crackers -- that sums up pretty much all Caleb will eat.

Connor used to be bad but has gotten better and will at least try food at dinner time. This is when I offer them a plate of what we're having, and nothing else. Caleb signs that he's all done the moment he sits down - refuses to even look at it. A few hours later he's screaming because he's hungry. I usually try to push it off for another hour thinking he may realize that if he eats dinner he wouldn't be like this. Then before bed(or when we just can't take the screaming anymore) we give him toast, applesauce or a PB sandwich.

Lately it's gotten so much worse. If he doesn't get what he wants at dinner he starts screaming then and his hunger later on in the evening has turned into full blown tantrums. I honestly don't know what to do with him. Earlier he wanted an applesauce so DH opened one, but because it wasn't the one Caleb had IN HIS HAND, he freaked out and wouldn't eat it. At nap time he had a tantrum because he wanted Connor's sippy cup.

SO, what do I do? Should I continue to feed him just before bed? Or should I re-offer him dinner before bed and just put up with the tantrums? I'm seriously losing it!

I should also add that my boys are tiny and I always worry about getting enough food in them too. Caleb was 23lbs at his 2 year appointment

 

Uggh- that is a tough one! My DD is 22 months and 20 lbs- so I understand the weight issue. Hmmm. I'll be interested in what other mommy's have to say. Do you give him snacks before dinner? How about juice or milk? Those tend to curb the appitite. I try to remember kids will eat when they are hungry. I'd say he is just testing you at this point. Maybe give him a protein shake like BOOST before bedtime... If you offer dinner again later- I think that may send him a bad mesage. Just a thought. I am not even close to an expert. I have read that the bigger deal you make out him not eating- the bigger power struggle it will become. The only things kids that age can actually control is eating!! Try not to give in and give him what he wants. As long as your offering him some kind of nutricious shake at night- you will be able to rest


LOL- you are not alone! I know it is just a phase if that helps!

Jenn

 

It's really hard when they are small for their age to not feed them. I can definately understand that. My girls are all peanuts. One of the things I would do is to offer something new with something he likes and do it often. Make food fun for them. It's messy at this age. Offer yogurt with graham cracker sticks and bits of apple so he can dip them. At dinner, give him a sampling of what you are having with something you know he will eat... Mac n cheese, steak, green beans and applesauce. If he likes ketchup, let him have it. My kids will eat anything covered in Ranch dressing or cheese. Just do what works. Keep offering a variety of foods and textures. Don't be offended when he refuses food. Two year olds are going to do that. It's a control thing. After dinner time, my kids have always gotten a cup of milk. We have to do it to get the extra calories in them. Good luck.

 

from what i've read on the subject, i think you're teaching him to hold out - if he knows he'll get a snack of something he wants later, of course he won't eat his dinner. my approach has always been to offer at least one think i know they'll eat along with the other food i want them to try. so that would mean making sure there is rice or bread or fruit or something like that available for him at dinner. give him the familiar food along with the other dinner food.

imo - you can't force them to try new things - just keep offering and the rest is up to them. for what it's worth, i had a good friend growing up who ate nothing but cheerios and spaghetti with plain red sauce for YEARS, literally. her mom never made a big deal of it and now she is a very healthy adult with great eating habits - i suspect that if her mom had made a big deal of it she could easily have developed eating disorders or an unhealthy relationship with food.

good luck!

 

I hear ya! My guys are small, especially one of them (21 lbs at 2 year) so i always get freaked if they don't want to eat and i tend to cave in too. I want them to eat what i make for dinner.. like Kate said (Jon and kate plus eight) "I'm not a short order cook! You eat what we have or you don't eat." I TRY to do that, but i also want them to have a full tummy so they will SLEEP! i always offer the plate of food/meat/veggies at dinner, but if i am getting alot of resistence and "all done", i usually try and get them to eat some bread or oatmeal or a banana to fill them up. I always continue to encourage them to take at least a bite of the other food. It's not consistent with mine.. some days they eat like pigs and others they just pick at it and ask me for cookies and freak out if they dont get what they want. One thing i have tried doing that is pretty effective is the Deceptively Delicious Cookbook.. the one that hides veggies into foods. That way i know they are getting SOMETHING good on their picky days. Be careful with the boost drinks/protein shakes mentioned earlier.. i know not every kid is the same, but i know that the sugar content is pretty high in some of those drinks, and if mine have that much sugar before bedtime, there will BE no bedtime! lol.. good luck! hang in there, i'm sure at some point they will start eating normal!!