what do to about picky eating

Hmmm... DD is on a MAJOR fruit strike (does well with veggies tho) she refuses to eat sandwhiches of any kind, dinner leftovers of any kind, etc.... so I have been giving her a kids cliff bar for lunch with fruit and yogurt or cotage cheese and she's been refusing everything BUT the granola bar and I don't know if I should be just being ok with that or forcing her to at least eat some fruit (we're talking one or two pieces and one or two bites of yogurt/cottage cheese) or just letting it go.

Today she got a few pices of granola bar, asked for more and I told her she had to eat ONE blueberry or ONE piece of banana and she all out refused so she went down for her nap with out eating anything but a few bites of granola bar-- Just not sure how much of a stickler I should be about making her at least TRY something or eat ONE BITE of something ....

suggestions?? what do you all do?

ps. their 18 months

 

Mine aren't 18 months yet, but when they go on food strikes, I don't force them to eat. I figure a food battle is not worth it. I would keep offering it and eventually she will take it or not. If you are concerned about her just eating a granola bar, I would ask your pedi for some suggestions. You might also want to add Pedisure or Carnation Instant Breakfast to her milk if you are worried about her not getting enough calories and vitamins.

 

I do not make my kids try anything. I will offer up the suggestion and if they turn their noses up, then that is it.

 

It's nearly impossible to *make* an 18-month-old take a bite of anything, short of holding her down and prying her mouth open! So, I would just keep offering a variety, and hope she eats something. I'd often make a smoothie with protein powder and fruit that I knew would go down, if nothing else worked...

That said, I do make Nadia take two bites of everything on her plate, even things that she claims to hate, like spinach. Two bites isn't going to kill her, and we've just made it a house rule. She often discovers that she likes something that she thought she didn't.

But, it's easier to reason with a 5-year-old. It doesn't work on my 21-month-olds.

 

I would offer it to her and if she doesn't want it I wouldn't force her. But I also wouldn't give her another food option.

 

Yeah-I too would offer it to her and if she doesn't eat-then she doesn't eat it. My boys sometimes won't eat what I make-and I don't make them anything else. They don't understand the "one more bite" rule yet. Now-if she was in preschool or so-then yes-I would say one, two..whatever bites and then they can be done. I taught preschool and we had a rule-one bite-and if you don't like it-so be it. That's fine.

They won't starve! Mine haven't yet!

 

honestly, it's a phase: They eat what they want when they want. True, you are establishing lifetime tastes, patterns, etc. Just be consistent in introducing new foods, and allowing them one thing per day like a granola bar that you know they will eat.... It seems that "all of a sudden one day" mine were eating like little adults-- weird stuff that other kids don't eat.

What I did: I "made" them eat one bite of everything on the plate. But I did find that they went through these times of hardly eating. Then 2 wks later, they are making up for it, and eating all day long.

Best advice I got on this subject: No child will refuse food if truly hungry. They won't die of starvation. don't nag them to eat the one bite. The one bite probably isn't going to make that much difference.

Good luck, and try not to pull your hair out. think of it as -- I don't have to sweep as often.

 

I read this book (recommended on here) Child of mine: feeding with love and good sense. Great book that covers a vast age range. She talks about the struggles at each age stage. It really puts things into perspective.

Mine are 16 months and have always been fussy eaters. I just put a variety of food on their trays and they eat some, and not others. Then I finish off with baby food jars, yogurt, custard etc. Some days there is less food on the floor than others. The more often they see the food the more familar they are with it.

I know there is a difference between 16 months and your 18 month olds so I hope this helps.

Heather