Not eating at meals

I'm tired of cooking for the dog!!!

They eat breakfast ok, usually 2 french toast sticks/2 pancakes/1.5 waffles each plus half a fruit and some cheerios. That's around 8am.

At lunch (11.30am) they hardly eat anything anymore. Today DS just whined the whole time and didn't touch his food or his milk (he might have eaten a couple pieces of pear but that's about it). Lisa just ate the pear and threw the rest on the floor (I give fruit at the same time so at least they get some vitamins, plus otherwise I'm afraid they'll learn that if they don't eat they'll get fruit...). They typically have toast with some kind of topping and fruit.

At dinner, same deal, they hardly eat anything.

But they devour their snacks (as long as it's goldfish or graham crackers, otherwise they don't). They get something at 2.30pm after their nap, and Lisa has been asking for food at 11am so I've been trying to move lunch up a bit (if I give them anything between breakfast and lunch it's worse).

I'm really at a loss what to do... I guess the next step is giving them smaller snacks? In 24 hours all they ate is 2 french toast sticks, some goldfish, a bit of banana and pear and a bit of milk (he drank a lot of water though). If we eat something in front of them they will ask for some, but I can't do that for all their meals!

Any advice would be great...

 

At this age if they eat anything I'm glad. Mine are also good breakfast eaters but the rest of the meals are hit or miss. The amount of food that gets thrown out on a weekly basis is upsetting. It drives me crazy when I make something and they won't even touch it and I'll end up feeding them something else just so they have food in their stomachs esp. for dinner. The last thing I want is them waking in the middle of the night because they are hungry.

I no longer worry if they eat what I would consider a regular meal. Sometimes it's just fruit & cheese for lunch and I'm ok with that.

 

My older son was an terrible eater at that age. I found that he would fill himself up on milk or whatever he could get his hands on to drink and then he wouldn't eat anything. I started giving him less to drink or only giving him his drink after he had something to eat and he seems to be eating more. Sometimes they are just picky eaters and you might have to wait it out. Also if there was something I new he would eat I would just give it to him so that he had something in his belly. Now he still isn't a huge eater but he does eat a larger variety of foods than he used to. Best of luck

 

My boys are like this as well. They eat a good breakfast but then lunch is spotty. We have stopped giving a morning snack altogether and that seems to help with them eating slightly better at lunch. I have also started giving them whatever is left from lunch at dinner. So even if they think they are going to get something better....they just get whatever they didn't eat earlier in the day. They do love crackers though, goldfish, teddy grahams etc. I've started getting the veggie crackers so at least they aren't horrible in nutritional value.

 

I find my kids will eat almost all breakfast foods so our schedule has gotten re-arranged a bit.
We do a breakfast 'snack' immediately upon waking which is usually a plate of fruit with a nutri-grain bar.
Then I have time to make actual breakfast which can be (eggs & cheese, bagels, cinammon-sugar toast, french toast, pancakes, cereal with a hint of milk to make it soggy).

Since we started doing the little table in the kitchen as opposed to high chairs they eat way more. They kinda graze like cattle throughout the morning. As long as they stay in the kitchen with the food I dont mind.

Lunch is like everyone else hit or miss. We do mac'n cheese, hot dogs, ravioli, veggies, sandwiches, frozen foods etc.

We have an afternoon snack which is normally the dried variety (kix, gold fish, string cheese, graham cracker etc).

Dinner is always meat & veggies.

Bedtime snack yogurt.

Just keep trying. I give them lots through the day, small portions and large variety. If they dont finish something rather than throw it away repeatedly Ive started collecting it, putting it in the fridge and trying again at another meal time.

 

I would agree with keep trying as well. There are days that my kids will eat everything you put in front of them and other days when they want no parts of it. I just try to keep in mind that toddler stomachs are small and if they are hungry they will eat. It is frustrating to see them barely eat anything, especially when you want them to try to have some healthy eating habits. Mine, I think if they could, would attempt living off of Teddy Grahams and mini Nilla wafers.

 

Same here with my girls. They eat a pretty good amount for breakfast between 7:30-8am. Lunch is usually around 11am so I stopped the mid-morning snack and that seemed to help. I also give them their afternoon snack earlier than I used to and that seemed to also help with them eating more of dinner about 3 hours later. I also started saving what was left from the previous meal to the next. I'm really getting tired of wasted food too!

 

Yea eating is tough on this end too. Mine are good eater in general but it seems like they've developed more of an opinion on what they will and won't eat lately! Breakfast is usually a hit in our house (typically scrambled eggs, fruit and toast with cream cheese or butter and jam) but lunch and dinner are hit or miss. Today I gave them turkey hotdogs and diced cheese for lunch. DD loved the hotdog, ingnored the cheese, DS loved the cheese, ignored the hotdog Tonight I'm attempting mac 'n cheese with butternut squash puree in it -- we'll see how that goes. Their stomachs ARE tiny, I try to keep that in mind. You can only offer them a variety and hope they take to it. And remember, this phase too shall pass

 

another house here where breakfast is a hit & everything else depends on the day/mood/food/etc. i wouldn't worry about it though - our bodies are designed to take in lots in the morning & less & less throughout the day. i'm a firm believer that as long as you're offering a variety of healthy foods every day, toddlers will get what they need. it does suck when stuff ends up on the floor - although, true confession, i usually just pick it up & put it back on their tray. :blush: i also pack up leftovers & serve them at future meals.

 

Well glad to hear we are not alone in this issue. I have a question though - they will always eat yogurt. But DH wants them to learn to eat what we give them rather than becoming a short order cook. Is it too early to be that strict?

 

[quote name='Shelly's twins' date='05 October 2009 - 05:34 PM' timestamp='1254778446' post='1471392']
Well glad to hear we are not alone in this issue. I have a question though - they will always eat yogurt. But DH wants them to learn to eat what we give them rather than becoming a short order cook. Is it too early to be that strict?
[/quote]

At that age maybe... Now really I try to give them one thing they'll eat for sure and the rest is up to them...

 

My advice, take away the snacks. We've occasionally had this problem; it's so annoying. Mine start throwing food when we aren't looking.

I've also had good luck with this schedule:
7AM breakfast
9-10AM snack crackers and milk lately
1PM lunch
6PM dinner

I only give an afternoon snack if they ask for it. The before nap lunch was a disaster--they were tired and just not hungry enough.

Mine also know they won't get crackers; their drug of choice, if they don't eat.

 

[quote name='Shelly's twins' date='05 October 2009 - 03:34 PM' timestamp='1254778446' post='1471392']
Well glad to hear we are not alone in this issue. I have a question though - they will always eat yogurt. But DH wants them to learn to eat what we give them rather than becoming a short order cook. Is it too early to be that strict?
[/quote]

my current parenting mantra is "start as you mean to go on". it's a lot easier to establish the routines & habits you want from the get go rather than trying to change them down the road. the no-short-order-cook thing has been a rule in our house since we first started the girls on solids. like a PP mentioned though, i try to give one thing i know they like + the new thing or the thing they don't like as much. there certainly have been meals, however, where they haven't touched anything at all & i haven't offered anything else. so far they're still gaining weight beautifully & aren't suffering any drastic nutritional deficiencies so it seems to be working okay.

 

Do they eat all that each?!? Wow that´s a great breakfast! I expect that they are still full from breakfast hence not wanting lunch.

Could you try pushing lunch to a later time, say 12-12.30pm? Also, I agree with Rachel (Sullivanre) and would try taking away the snacks. They´ll soon be eating their dinner! GL!

 

Well the problem is that DD cries for snacks at 10.30-11am as it is, so if I pushed lunch it would be hellish for two hours. Plus they need to nap at 12pm max now or they're not tired at bedtime.

 

I was starting to second guess our breakfast portions when I saw this too. I usually only make one waffle and split it between the two of them (I figure I would be full on one). And then they get a half of a banana and something else like an egg or a bowl of co-co wheats or cream of wheat. And they still don't eat it all. Now I'm worried I'm not offering big enough portions!

Breakfast is the only meal mine will eat well. Lunch is hit or miss depending on what it is and dinner is a pleasant surprise if they eat more than a few bites of each item. But I've heard it's normal for most of their food intake to come earlier in the day, so I try not to stress over dinner too much. Lately I've been giving them a bedtime snack, so I know it's not interfering with meals and it's a way to squeeze something else in them for the day. Like A plate of cheese and crackers or a bowl of cereal or yogurt with fruit.

Or, if they have a really bad day you can give them some pedia sure to top them off. Then you'll know they're at least getting more nutrients and calories in for the day. Mine are teething right now, so I know that's part of the reason they're eating poorly. I thought I heard somewhere that instead of focusing on what they eat in a day, to focus more on what they eat in a week? (Like if they get 5 servings of veggies in in a week, they're doing well.) Chances are they'll make up for it another day.

 

If it makes anyone feel better my twins ate pumpkin muffins for lunch yesterday. So did mommy :spiteful: hee hee

 

Mine have good days & bad days. Some days they don't like anything & other days they eat everything in sight! I try not to stress about it because I figure if they are really hungry, they will eat. It sure is frustrating though!

 

Ok, so I'd use roughly the same schedule we use. Breakfast, morning snack before nap, lunch after nap, and then dinner. I think giving them a snack within an hour or less of lunch is probably a big meal killer. I know it's tough with that nap right in the middle of everything, but I bet they would eat a lot better later. Mine often eat at 1 and have even eaten at 2. DH always gives them a snack right before nap time although these boys go down for their nap around 10AM.

 

Yeah they wake up anytime between 1.30pm and 2.30pm, and if I gave lunch then it would kill dinner.

 

MMmmmmmm. Its a tough situation. I´d take away the morning snack and give her something to drink to hold her off? Of course I don´t mean to leave her crying if she´s hungry :blush: Or maybe you could give her the snack earlier, say 9.30-10am, but a small snack? If that isn´t possible, maybe you could just do lunch at 11am, with no snacks beforehand, and then they could have a snack when they get up after their nap? Would that work? Either that or re-work their naps but that would be a nightmare, I know!!! Here is my LOs´ schedule to give you an idea, though I know mine are a few months younger than yours:

8.30am breakfast (fruit, yogurt and cereal all mashed up together + large cup of milk which they drink throughout the morning)
12.15pm lunch (veg+meat/fish)
1-3pm nap
5pm - fruit puree + yogurt
8.20pm dinner
9pm bed

They go to daycare in the afternoons so I don´t know what quantities they´re eating. I don´t like the long break between lunch and fruit puree but they don´t want anything to eat when they get up at 3pm and then I don´t see them. They seem to be OK and cope fine with this routine. I used to offer a mid-morning snack but, like you, they wouldnt want lunch so I took it away without any problems. Hope you find a solution soon!

 

:silly: DD eats EVERYTHING, cheese cut up, fruit, veggies, no problem, when it is time to eat, she'll eat
DS AHHHGGGG!!! Lately he wants off the chair as soon as I put him there even if he ate breakfast at 8:30 am and
lunch at 12:30 pm. So if I take him off the chair he is cranky because he is hungry.. but will only
eat bread, fruit or yogourt! I cannot get him to eat cheese at all, cut up meats, etc. I think seeing how well and easy dd is
I loose my patient with ds... :crazy: I HOPE it is just a stage!

Is it a texture thing or just a picky eater????? :help:

 

My kids go through phases of favorite foods where I swear I feed them the same thing for a week! Hotdogs for example or mac n' cheese, or fruit. Its like everymeal thats all they want.
Then the next week comes and they are repulsed by last weeks favorite and they are onto something else. At this age, it has to all be a stage!

 

I still don't "trust" my guys to feed themselves enough to keep them gaining well so I spoon feed them a GINORMOUS bowl of yogurt after every meal. Yes, every meal, no matter how well they've eaten. :blush: I know this can't go on forever, but they can eat a good meal and still polish off all of the yogurt without a problem. ardon:

 

Yeah spoon feeding ends up in melt downs in this house, lol. DD is still ok with it if it's something she really likes, DS will melt down because he really wants it, but doesn't want us to feed him.