Sudden Eating Issues

Updated on December 23, 2007
T.M. asks from Perrysville, IN
9 answers

My 15 month old has always been a very good eater but suddenly just about every bite of food I give him, he takes it back out of his mouth. Sometimes he will go ahead and eat it after that but sometimes he tries to give it back to me. It makes me wonder how much he is really getting in him when he feeds himself. Anybody gone through something similar. Why would he do this all of a sudden? Any ideas? Shannon

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So What Happened?

Thank you for your responses. I had to take my little one to the doc today cause he's sick. She seemed to think it could just be a phase too. He does however have a sore throat so I suppose that could be some of the reason. He's gaining weight and looks fine so the doctor isn't worried at all. Thanks again. Shannon

He's been on the antibiotics for a couple of days now and his eating is back to normal. I guess his throat must have hurt. He shovels it in by the handfuls again. Thanks for all your help.

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L.R.

answers from Chicago on

Shannon,
Hi...well i used this with my children as well with now my grandaughter...I just put small portions, Veggie's first, then white rice or noddles,fruit, I try to eat the first few minutes with her then gradually move around in the same room ...and keep asking MMM--taste yummy?if she spits it out I remove it ...let her continue eating the rest ...their taste buds are very sensitive so try not to season anything.later that week I'll repeat that food type.also I limit the liquid intake before meals becuase sometimes they fill up with milk or juices.I hope it helps.its worked for me.good luck
Lilly

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S.R.

answers from Chicago on

I think that children go through stages. If it's new food try reintroducing. If it's the same food prepared a different way, it could be texture.

About children getting enough food - is he growing and gaining weight, he's fine. It took me a long time to figure out that you can't force too much food into babies/toddlers. They'll just get rid of it (in mysterious ways located later) or refuse it.

We also only get drinks as snacks.

Hope this is helpful.

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D.G.

answers from Chicago on

Hi Shannon-

My 20 month old recently has had the same exact problem. Everything I gave her she spit back out. It seemed like she was interested in the food but then spit it out immediately or chewed a few times and gave it back to me. I don't have a definitive answer, but shortly after we did have her to the doc and she had strep throat as well as her incisors are coming in. I think it might have been a mixture. A week after the worst of it, it seems to be getting better.

Good luck!
D.

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T.G.

answers from Evansville on

Hi Shannon, my 15 month old is doing exactly that! If I can't get him to eat at meals, I try to give him snacks throughout the day so he's getting enough in him. I talked to the dr about it and he said as long as he seems ok and seems to be "thriving" then not to worry, he will eat when he gets hungry enough. The past few days he has been eating better, so I would say its just a phase.

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L.C.

answers from Chicago on

This may sound strange, but has he recently started walking or improved his walking? Babies tend to get much pickier and more careful about what they put into their mouths when they start becoming more mobile as a defense mechanism (more mobile plus things in mouth equals choking hazard!). Just make sure you offer him a wide variety of things for him to eat and I'm sure he's getting enough in him as long as he's not hungry the rest of the day! Good luck.

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H.L.

answers from Terre Haute on

Are you feeding the food directly to him or putting it down for him to pick up and eat? My 15 month old won't usually eat food that I try to directly put in their mouth. If it's a finger food I have to put it down and let her pick it up and eat it and if it's a jarred food then I have to hold out the spoon for her to take from me (and with my guidance) put into her mouth. She's got a lot of independence going on and maybe your son does too.

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C.D.

answers from Omaha on

Hi Shannon,

I completely agree with Deb. I have a 22 month old and she still isn't eating all that great (at least that's what I think). Every time I am at the Pede's office I am asking about it and they keep telling me it's normal. She is not a meat eater so I have to come up with different things for her to try. Last night we had tacos and she had a tortilla with some shredded cheese and tomoatoes on the side. It is hard for me to remember that her portions are so small. Something else she really likes is a tortilla with hummus on it (good protein).
Also, make sure he isn't drinking too much liquid or drinking it before he is supposed to eat. They do not need more than 24ounces of milk a day.
Hang in there! He will eat when he is hungry!

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D.T.

answers from Indianapolis on

Take him to a doc to rule out any sickness you may not be seeing signs of. Then just sit back and try to relax. Your job is to prepare and offer food and it's the child's job to actually eat it. Toddlers undergo a facinating transformation and sometimes it's literally overnight. They simply do not need as much food/calories as they did just a few weeks earlier because they aren't growing as fast. The serving size for a 1 year old is tiny -- a couple teaspoons. He should still be getting/offered the adult version of the food pyramid, but the portion sizes are much smaller. Think about it.... 5-6 bites of a fruit and he's had the daily recomendation. They also tend to spread their meals out over a week instead of a day (no veggies for 4 days and then eat a bunch of them). Toddlers are also infamous for 'food jags' -- like only red food for 3 days then nothing but yellow for a week. This is one area kids have control over (and they know it!) so at all costs avoid a power struggle. Kids will eat when they need to, no healthy child will starve themselves to death. Just continue to put a healthy balanced meal in front of him and walk away -- your job is over. His job is to decide what and how much of that healthy meal to put in his mouth. Just make sure the between-meal snacks are healthy, too.

You also said 'every bite you give him'. Are you still feeding him? All my pediatricians have told me that a child should be 100% self-feeding by the first birthday (my kids hit it at 8 months). Just cut up the food for him and put it on his plate so he can feed himself. Pretty much anything is 'finger food' (although messy but kids are washable). He just might be sick of puree'd food.... all my kids (well, except my newborn, of course) refused to be spoon-fed by the time they were 7-8 months. It was them feeding themselves or nothing.

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T.H.

answers from Terre Haute on

My 14 month is doing the same thing. Chewing things up and then spitting them back out. Maybe it is the flavor of different foods. I don't know. But I just let her snack during the day. Fruits are her big thing right now. She loves pears, bannans & peaches. Messy when she feeds herself but she is getting to the age of she wants to do things on her own. Cereal is another thing she loves to snack on during the day. Kids will eat when they get hungery. They are just testing new things out. No child came with a instruction manual. Even though we sometime wished that they did. My daughter likes to eat her dinner almost an hour before I Have the family dinner on the table. She still sit in her high chair with us at the dinner table with her sippy cup and maybe her fruit. But she is on her time right now, and that is okay that little ones have their own schedule. They will end up on the same schedule as the family sooner or later.

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