Is My Picky Eater 15 Month Old Getting Enough Nutrition?

My son is 17 months. He went through the same phase you are describing at around 15 months. I, too was worried because he was always on the smallish side. But a few weeks ago his appetite came back with a vengeance. He is now eating like a garbage disposal. vegetables, chicken, fruit, you name it. The trick, i think, is to let your son eat whatever he enjoys. His phase will be over soon.

Dear M. My daughter is 18 months old and she loved everything . She quit eating a lot of foods and she only eats when she wants too the dr told me not to worry about her not eating she will eat when she is hungary alot of times she will eat a good breakfast and then not eat lunch. Sometimes she won't eat breakfast but will eat a good lunch... Hope this helps you .... C.

I have 5 children, all are grown, the youngest is 14,and the oldest is 32. I went thru the no eating stage with all 5. When my first did it, I took her to doctors, i was petrified, even when I had my last, she was a picky eater, and it all started befor they were two. Believe me they do outgrow it. Give your son what he likes to eat, children will eat. Now that my children are older, they eat constantly. My one son who is now 29, used to make himself throw up, I tried everything, bribing, being pleasant, etc, etc, etc,. I remember one time my daughter was about 17 months old and she wasnt eating, and then she started eating her veggies on her plate, I told my husband don't eat your veggies, Noelle is eating, just in case she wanted more. lol. It does take time, but by the time they are in middle school they eat you out of house and home. Don't worry, L.

The best way to insure that he is getting the daily nutrition he NEEDS is to supplement his diet with QUALITY vitamins. I couldn't BELIEVE when I compared the ones my doctor had prescribed for my kids (Poly-Vi-Flor) to the ones by this top nutrition company, where everything is scientfically based and proven. All 23 known nutrients are provided...if that's what our body needs, why would my doctor give my children a supplement with only HALF of the nutrients??!!! I was furious and changed immediately, and my kids health improved greatly! No more constant earaches and bronchitis every winter, etc. Here is where to find them: http://superiorhealth.myshaklee.com/us/en/category.php?ma...

My son is 13.5 months old and starting to do the same thing. We made a decision that we didn't want meal times to turn into a battle of wills. If one food doesn't work, we'll try another - sometimes a third - but if he doesn't seem to want any of it, mealtime is over.

If you are really concerned, you can speak to your doctor about giving him vitamin supplements (they have them in liguid forms for younger kids) if you think that would make you feel more comfortable about his nutrition.

I think the best thing to do is just keep offering him healthy options!

Hi M.,

You will have this come & go for the next few years. I swear that each time my daughter (now 5 1/2) is going through a growth spurt she eats everything & then a few days/weeks later I have the picky eater back. It is fustrating since you can not force them to eat. Offer the good foods & that is what will be eaten, even if it is just a few bites. My daughter has always been a milk drinker so I lucked out. If she didn't really eat too much she was getting something good with all the milk she had. If you are getting nervous, call your dr. & get him checked out. The more you stress about it, the worse it will be for everyone. Try smaller portions since sometimes they get overwhelmed by seeing so much on a plate. It sounds silly but what is there to loose. Try new foods too & keep trying them since it will take most kids between 10 -15 times before they really like something.

Good luck,
H.

We've had a similar issue with our 16 month old daughter. Around about a year, she started getting picky. I was concerned, naturally. I talked to some friends, and our doctor and everyone told me the same thing. 1) This is very classic toddler behavior. They are way more interested in exploring than eating. 2) Just keep offering nutritious choices and he will eat enough.
I think a really important thing to remember is do not make a big deal of how much he eats, don't play games, don't coerce him into eating, and don't try to shove one more bite in. Don't fight about it with your husband in front of him or get stressed in front of him. I say that because if you do, what you will get is an older toddler who withholds eating to assert his independence. What we did is put the food out, offer it to her, and we ate with her. When she started to loose interest, which we knew by a) she'd throw the food on the floor, or b) use her arm like a windshield wiper and toss food everywhere by doing so, I'd say "Are you done? Are you all done?" and put my arms up on the air. she quickly caught on, and now when she's done eating she will throw her arms up in the air and say "daahhh!" Which is done. I say, okay, you're done with dinner. That is that. Now, here is something else. I have tried a virtual smorgasbord of foods, and there are only a handful of things she consistently eats. I've been told it can take up to 15 tries of the same thing to really determine if they like a food or not because their tastebuds need to get used to it. Her new sitter, however, has tried every food I have, and my daughter eats every bite. Go figure! Just keep trying, and try not to stress. If he is hydrated, alert, happy...he's fine. Oh, and toddlers will tend to slow down their weight gain and thin out a bit around now. Don't let that worry you either. If you really become concerned, take him to the doc for peace of mind. Hope this helps!