They Won't Eat Anymore

It is a phase they are going through. My 19 month old will eat anything you give her one day and nothing the next. Its all part of the joys of parenthood. If you can get them to eat anything, don't worry about it not being nutritionally balanced. The important thing is that they eat something. Also know that they will not starve themselves. They will eat when they are hungry.

don't worry kids will eat when then want to and not eat when they dont want to they will not starve themselves. and besides 20mo is about when taste bubs change. ALWAYS offer differnt foods often and repeatedly

Just keep offering the things that they used to eat. Our rule is that they may not say they do not like it. They have to take a bite of eveything, and if, after the bite, they do not care for it they can leave it on the plate. If asked if they want it, they are to say "no thank you". If they do not finish a meal, they do not get anything else till the next meal. I agree with the mom who said not to make food a huge issue. Unlike adults, children will not allow themselves to starve. When they are hungary they will eat. Enjoy your boys!

At about 16 months, my son started eating one or two foods exclusively for weeks at a time. He would change the foods, but never eat a balanced diet. The pediatrician said it was a phase and not to worry. It lasted until he was about 3-1/2!!!!

Good luck - just keep offering all kinds of food and see if you can change the favorite from time to time.

D. Kimbriel
Grandma to 2 beautiful boys

Oh my word, please stop yelling at them. That is not nearly important enough to yell about. Yelling will not work. They need to learn to like mealtime, it needs to be a pleasant experience for them or they will have terrible eating habits for life as a result. Stop yelling first off.

Children eat what their bodies need. Offer a well balanced meal at every meal and they will eat what they need. There is no reason to try to force them. I think I would offer more variety long term. For short term theough, it is a phase, it will pass. In the mean time, find a few staple foods that they love and offer them frequently. There is nothing wrong with milk. That toddlers growing body needs all of the calcium and vitamins in the milk. And the pears are healthy too. You didn't mess up by introducing crackers and cheerios. I think you could find the healthies crackers possible ant try to get them to eat those. The cheerios are good for them also. They have vitamins. If I were you I would go purchase some vitamins for them. That would ease the stress of trying to make sure they eat all of the vitamins they need, because they would be getting more in the way of vitamins. Another suggestion is Pediasure! It tastes great, and has all of the things they need, maybe you should substitute ont of their milks a day with pediasure. You can ask your doctor about that.

Whatever you do don't yell. This phase will pass. It is not worth getting worked up about. They aren't going to die from drinking too much milk or eating too many pears. Their little bodies will tell them when they need more. A good example is the cravings we get even as adults. I know I personally will crave meat sometimes and I know it is because my body needs the protein. All you can do is offer good foods at every meal they will eat what they need, don't stress. I think the vitamins would help you relax some. Also, it may help if you sit down to eat at the same time they do and eat the same foods that you are feeding them. It may not be such a struggle if they see you doing what you want them to do, they may just follow your lead!

I remember when my oldest son was about this age. All he wanted was beans. For about two weeks, he ate beans. One of my daughters ate every vegetable under the sun and then just after age two stopped. She told me that her brother was being mean to her so she didn't like them anymore. I guess her brother is nicer now, because she is eating vegetables again. This is just a phase. Don't let food be a big deal. Are they healthy? Are they growing? Are the happy? Those are your indicators, not how much variety they eat. Keep offering. If they refuse, no big deal. Offer healthy foods. They will eat when they are hungry.

I know you've gotten a lot of advice that they will eat when they are ready, and this may be the case. But I notice that your boys were born at 28 weeks, and that can be a whole different ballgame. My son was born at 31 weeks, and he is currently seeing a speech pathologist(for feeding therapy). Most of the kiddos in feeding therapy were preemies. The way it's been explained to me is, they had to be stubborn, be fighters, to survive as preemies. These same traits can lead to feeding issues later on. You might want to talk with your pediatrician to see what his/her thoughts are on it. Good luck, and hang in there!

Have they recently been sick with a virus or on anti-biotics? Have they recently been vaccinated? They may have some GI issues from any of these things. Milk is the most common allergen and even though this won't be a popular statement, it is not that great for our kids. Are they reaching all thier milestones? Are they speaking? Please watch them carefully for any type of bowel distress and unusual fussiness as this can be a reaction to what I previously mentioned.

Welcome to toddler-hood! They're asserting their independence and it's nothing you've done wrong. Yes it's extremely frustrating but know they won't be malnourished or underfed etc. Keep offering the fruits, veggies etc including as snacks. Cheerios and whole grain crackers aren't the most horrible thing in the world - there's organic out there and or whole grain more healthy alternatives if you're really worried. You can also try the Sneaky Chef type recipes - it'll add veggies and fruit. Just something as simple as adding grated or pureed carrot to spaghetti sauce gives more "boost" to something already pretty good for them. My goofy son won't really eat anything green without a battle- except guacamole so he eats that a lot it! It doesn't bother him that there are chunks of tomato and onion in it either ;-). As long as they're growing you have nothing to worry about, and I'm sure you've worried plenty with 28 weekers! They'll outgrow it eventually.

All kids will go through stages of what they like unless the parents ruin it for them. What do I mean by that? Kids in America are force fed and not allowed to let their hunger mechanism work properly. So they never know when they are really hungry or really full. We see that with the huge amount of overweight kids. Some days your child will love broccoli and other days they will hate it. Their taste buds are growing and changing. Their bodies are going through huge changes. There are ways to sneak in certain foods. At our house pizza always had broccoli in the sauce until my kids started eating veggies again. Getting in a fight over food only makes the food more and more important. Fighting over food causes emotionalization of food hence forth the child will be an emotional eater.

Just keep on offering them a variety of healthy foods as you are. This will continue... I have a two year old that used to live on green beans; now won't touch them! And she used live on bananas; now she prefers grapes! Anyway, you will be surprised. One day they will just eat something that they have turned down forever. That is why I would continue to offer and not worry so much about them eating everything on their plate. They are exploring everything right now and will go through food phases. I remember feeding my daughter salmon or some type of fish all of the time. She would never eat it. One day I offered it to her again thinking that it would be a no fish eat night. However, she surprised me. She ate everything on her plate and asked for more fish. Just don't get too frustrated. Remember their tummies are very tiny and can't hold a lot of food. They will eat when they are hungry.

they all go thru phases, and it is so hard for me too!! i get super frustrated when my kids won't eat...i know a girl who fed her son cereal bars and yogurt for several months straight cuz that's all he would eat! they are still pretty young to understand "if you don't eat your food, you will not get anything later"...my older boys understand that now, but are 3 & 5.... while i still get really frustrated, i try to remind myself that they are still young...and maybe figure out what they will eat, and stick to that to eliminate the meal-time struggle. sometimes, its just not worth it. continue to introduce and offer new foods/veggies/fruits, because i found that all of the sudden one day, they would try it, and eat it all. then they may not eat it again for a week, but i tried.
hang in there...its very normal for kids to get picky...even when they weren't before! keeping your cool at meal time will help too, because they will see that this is important to you, and will use it against you...kids are super smart! meal time and potty training are big vices that kids try and use to control.
keep with it....keep trying...but be ok if the lunch consists of pears and crackers. :) i would limit the milk some, as it will fill him up and he won't be hungry...:)
good luck! you are not alone! :)

Hi A.,

It sounds like everyone has covered everything, but I just wanted to say that, reading through the responses, a couple of moms have gotten on to you about yelling at the boys. Obviously, I don't condone yelling, but being a mom, particularly a twin mom of preemies, is a hard job. You already said you feel lousy for yelling, so don't listen to those ladies. Don't beat yourself up for being human. I've been in your shoes, and there were days when I had to apologize to my sweet babies for freaking out over whether or not they ate their carrots! But they aren't injured or neglected or damaged...in fact, they see that Mom is human and when she acts without respect for others feelings she asks forgiveness for it.

This is just a season, and like the others before this, once it's over you'll be stronger and more confident in what you're doing. I promise that someday you'll look back and laugh at how much thought you put into the impact of cheerios on your boys' diets!

Good luck with your boys! The life of a twin mom is such a great gig...I wish you the best!

G.

My son, who's 6 now, was always a picky eater. We had many dinnertime struggles but at age 4 he finally started to try more things and is a pretty good eater now. My daughter was a great eater until 15 months. Now she's 2 1/2 and almost never eats dinner. No matter if it's pizza or broccoli, she won't eat it. She does have healthy meals the rest of the day and drinks her milk so I don't worry. I'm sure she will outgrow it like her brother did. I always give them vitamins, too.

You are lucky that what they will eat is healthy. I work at a preschool and I'm amazed at what some of the kids bring for lunch. Chips, sweets and no fruit or anything else healthy! Good luck and don't stress yourself out.

My daughter went thru a phase when she would eat only green beans and scrambled eggs. Nothing else. I called her doctor because I was frantically worried she was going to get rickets or scurvy (something horrible!) and he said as long as she was eating, make sure I gave her a childrens multi-vitamins - she would outgrow the phase and would be ok. She wouldn't end up with some horrible disease or disfigurement. So, don't worry too much. This is a phase (it's part of asserting independence) and the culinary desires will begin to grow again.
Good Luck,
Frances

This is a normal stage. It is frustrating, but if they eat one good meal a day they are fine. I would put the veggies on my children's plates and at as if I hadn't finished the rest of the meal yet. Then in a few minutes I would add the rest of the meal. IF they don't eat, that is fine. "I will be happy to serve breakfast in the morning." I do not offer additional snacks, etc. I have three meals and two small snacks a day; that is it. No open kitchen here. They should come around, but it may not be for quite a few months. Just keep offering it, put them on a good vitamin and relax.

Praise God your lil' guys sound to be doing okay....I am so amazed with babies born so early....treasure these lil' guys and know that this is normal.

my twin girls did this. I made all of their baby food and gave them stuff like tofu for a snack and they loved it. Then around the same age as your's they all of a sudden didn't like anything. Now they are 4 and the last several monthes have been better. They are eating a lot more variety now. My advice is to keep putting the good stuff in front of them and casually see if they will try it for you. I wouldn't push the issue or make a big deal out of it.

My first suggestion is to not have milk in the house. The kids will not have anything to be upset about. Little ones also tend to go for anything sweet that is our nature. Also processed foods are made so that you will become in a way "addicted to them." Be careful of the amount of boxed and canned foods your family takes in. Prepare simple and tasty meals.

Normal! :)

I may indulge my children a bit more than some others will advise. I make sure there is something my girls will definitely eat & continue to offer the rest that they claim to not want. I say "all you have to do is try it. Don't finish it if you'd rather not." Sometimes they like it, sometimes they don't. I won't force them to eat, I won't say that they get nothing else if they don't eat what I made. I don't want mealtime to be a struggle & I don't want tears. I'm not about bending my children to my will or forcing them to accept what they really don't want or like.

It seems to me that if I make them eat something they really can't stand, when I want them to try something new they'll not trust me, since I made them eat all that yucky stuff before. Make sense?

So my advice is to feed them what they like (within reason; I'm not suggesting candy all day, ofcourse) & put other things on their plates for them to try, should they choose.

If you're really worried that your guys aren't getting healthy enough fare, check out the book The Sneaky Chef. It has loads of recipes for hiding veggies in things your kiddos will gobble up, none the wiser.

Take some food that you want them to eat and tell them lets taste this and see how good it is. You take a bite and say this is really good I want some more and when they see you eating it they will want to try it, it worked for me.

First of all don't get so upset with them. It is a phase. Don't offer a drink until they have eaten most of their meal. I would be so happy if my oldest would eat fruit for a few days. He is picky and he's 5 and he eats almost no fruits or veggies. Just offer them foods they like and some new ones along with it. That way you know they will eat something on their plate. I tell my son that if he tries a bite of something new then he gets dessert. I only do this on nights that we sit down as a family for dinner. Other nights he gets to choose what he wants to eat and gets dessert. The bigger issue you make out of not eating what you want them to eat, the more they're going to do it. They may come around and they may not. Some people just stick to a few foods all the time and some eat a variety. As long as they are healthy and growing, You shouldn't worry. Concentrate on making mealtime a pleasant experience instead of a struggle. Good luck!!