11 1/2 Month Eating Habits

Pick your battles.....my 2 year old (AND 4 yr old) became "picky" too. Keep offering him meats, veggies and fruits. Just try not to make a big deal about it. I fell in to that trap. And so many people said the bigger the deal you make, the more stubborn they will become.

My 2 year old will not sit for long eriods of time to eat. He "grazes" so I leave his plate so that he can come back and forth and snag some bites and go on his way. Toddlers are so "busy" exploring, being independent...they dont have time to sit and eat a meal LOL

It sounds like you are aware of trying to offer healthy foods, keep on that track and dont force the issue of eating. My Dr. told me if a kid is hungry he/she will eat. Just make it available and let his taste buds work themselves out.

normal. my son is 21 months and started the picky eating at about the same time. it has just gotten worse since then :) I agree, pick your battles. It's totally normal for them to become picky at this age. I just keep offering a variety of foods: most get spit back out, but I figure at some point he'll eat more again. Toddlers don't eat as much - I am always concerned about this and our pediatrician has told me not to look at what he eats in a day, but in a week. Some days he'll hardly eat anything, then the next he eats like a horse. It just varies. I wouldn't stress.

Toddlers stomachs are not big. If he's snacking and drinking alot during the day, then at dinner time he's probably not hungry. A few bites will do it for him. I had the same problem with my youngest. They also told me to give him a multivitamin. At that age I gave him the Enfamil vitamin drops in his juice.

He is starting to realize that he can control some things in his life. He might be like one of my kids who wanted to control everything. Too bad she was born into a home where we thought the parents were in control. She didn't wait until she was 2 either...

If you give in to snacks, sweet cereal, breastfeeding, or whatever, when you really don't think it is the right thing to do deep down, you are handing the control over. Everything I remember reading says that children will not starve themselves. If he doesn't want what you give him or he throws it on the floor, then remove him from the table calmly and say, "Oh, I guess you are done eating." No drama, just very matter-of-factly. I would not give in to the tantrums. I would just look at her and say, "I am going over here. When you are done, you can join me." The trick is to stay calm.

You need to give him lots of tastes and textures as he needs to learn to eat a lot of different things instead of demanding only certain foods. It may take 7 times before he will eat it something new. The hungrier he is, the more likely he will eat it or at least try it. But serve it again another time if he dislikes it.