Help- He Only Wants Toast

I agree with Debi 100%! I'm a parenting coach, and I've counseled many moms through food battles such as this. Debi hit it 'spot on.'

hang in there. It is a learning process for you both.

My mother (of 9) taught me (mother of 2 boys) that somehow for boys their eating is a cummulative thing. Pay close attention to what they eat over a weeks time. Daily boys will eat well or not eat much at all. But they will eat when hungry. My boys have thrived by offering them well balanced meals every time. They don't eat everything every time, but they are offered it. So over a weeks time--they get plenty of what they need.

And if they have something they favor (crackers/toast) I will offer it as a reward/treat for eating the protein or veggies or what they least like. Also make sure you are not overfilling the plate. I was serving portions too large for my younger son and he was getting discouraged.
You are doing a great job!!!! You'll be fine, and he'll be fine. SSH

Hi C., you have gotten alot of good advise. One thing I didn't see was advise to eat with him during meal times if you aren't already. Also, I know with my boys (now age 3 and 24 months) is they will want to eat whatever I have on my plate. So if I sit down to eat regular meals with them, they would eat. If I sat down to eat a snack without fixing a plate for them, they will eat off my plate (that's how I introduced tuna & crackers). We put our kids in a booster seat around 15 months, no highchair. So he feels like a big boys. One more thing...my boys still get picky at times, but homemade spaghetti with meatballs and rice-a-roni with ground beef (with ketch up) are two meals I know they eat everytime. I end up fixing both 2-3 times a months. Good luck.

He's not picky, he's just exercising his control!
Rule of thumb: He will eat when he's hungry.
If he won't eat at one meal, fine, put him down from the table and don't offer him anything else until your next regularly scheduled snack or meal time.
Be strong! If you give in to his whims now, you certainly will have to worry about nutrition, because he'll never learn to eat a balanced diet.

I just heard that a major reason toddlers fight these battles over food is because eating is one thing that they have total control over. Since they don't get much control over what goes on in their toddler lives, they latch on to the one thing they do have control over.

Have you tried giving him pediasure? How about yoghurt (yobaby)...you can sneak cereal, silken tofu, fruit in it if he'll drink it. Good luck & don't worry too much, they all end up strong & healthy teenagers who won't stop eating. I like askdrsears.com for all kinds of advice, he should have helpful info on any vitamins/supplements etc. you can use. Really Cool article at http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp

This mom of a 15mo old had exact same problem, read response at http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/fit1.asp

First of all, I think your best bet is to wait it out. Don't give in to his request. He will feel hungry...so he'll realize that he has to eat what is put in front of him.
In the meantime, you should give him Carnation Instant Breakfast to supplement until he comes around. If you can give him that (what kid doesn't want yummy chocolate milk right? As long as they don't know it's really good for them), then he'll be getting some good nutrients...you could also find a liquid multivitamin. That should be fine.
You may want to give him breaded things...give him chicken strips that are breaded...and tell him he has toast on his chicken...and other creative ways to "trick" him if it will work. Perhaps you've already tried these.
I wish I had some better advice...but the Carnation will be good for him in the meantime.

C.,
I too have a 16 mo old boy (almost 17) and I just said to my husband at lunch today how he always makes the crackers/cookies sign at meals. I am glad he knows it, but I can't reward him for saying it, because when I offer healthy foods, he just does it over and over, throws fruit or something else healthy I give him, and points to the pantry (for pb ritz minis)! Ugh! But, I am trying to just say okay, it's over if you throw things that are given because you want something else. It's so hard to do though.

As far as veggies, I give him half a Flintstone vitamin, and I use a food processor to blend up a mixed veggie frozen bag and mix it into mac and cheese or something else. Another HUGE discovery last week was letting my son feed himself with the fork. He was much more willing to eat his regular foods then. It's a mess though, so be prepared... : )

I hope you get other ideas. I am going to check back on this post! Kim's ideas were great, a lot of which I use now!

R.

I am a mean mean mom, and RN. Kiddos will battle you over food all day long. They will NOT starve themselves. If he tosses his food the meal or snack is over. Period. He gets what you cook. period. Again, I promise they will NOT starve themselves. They will use this as a HUGE battle ground. It is a battle you can't win, so don't even fight it.
I would give him a small scrambled egg and toast for breakfast on some mornings. I'd also give some pancakes, cereal, etc... There is nothing wrong w/ toast and yogurt and fruit (especially Iron Kids bread!) Then at snack time it can be some crackers, or cheese or grapes... lunch, you pick toasted cheese? turkey on toast? another small afternoon snack and dinner- whatever you hand hubby are eating. Dinner should last a set time (no arguing or cajoling or whining!)When it is over it is over and the kitchen is closed.
There is an awesome book by the American Academy of Pediatrics called Nutrition and your Child. It covers serving portions, requirements, food battles etc... and it spans birth to 18. It is available at the web sites book store www.aap.org.

Be tough :-)

He is trying to see what he can get away with. It is OK to let him go without eating and he will eat when he gets hungry. We let our 2 YO do this when he decides he does not want to eat what we give him. If he does not eat, then to drink, we dump out the juice and only let him have water.

Here is what I have had luck with for my little one:

Cream of Wheat with a little dab of sugar
Cinnamon and Apples Oatmeal
***fix both with milk to get the dairy serving in ther***
Waffles
Frozen Ego pancakes (really easy with a dab of butter and syrup)
Toast with applesauce instead of jelly
Applesauce and Jello (sugar free) cups
Manderine Oranges and Canned Peaches
Grapes and Bananas
Speghetti O's with meatballs (I mix in the Gerber green beans or carrots to get him to eat his veggies)
Tyson honey battered chicken nuggets
Crackers with cheese cubes for the dairy

These are all things that I can get really quick, can do small portions where I know he will eat them and I don't have to throw them out, can be put in the fridge to give him later. He likes to dip things into sauces. So with his chicken nuggets or tater tots, I give him the Gerber 1st foods in a small bowl with carrotts or any other veggies and let him dip them in "veggie sauce". At least I know he is getting his veggies from that.

Hope some of this helps.