Toodler Who Won't Eat

Hi, My son is now 23 months and has pretty much never eaten well. I know how you feel. My Dr. advised me to keep him in the chair for 40 min. When the time is up he is done. I tried that a few times but for the most part I let him down when he says "all done" and after I try a couple more times he's done & out.

I have been told that it is normal for toddlers to do this sort of thing...for the longest time my daughter only ate mac and cheese and hotdogs, and now she won't even touch it if i serve her either...its just your little ones way of showing you they are becoming more independent and have the ability to make choices, even if you don't feel they are exactly right! so don't worry, it will pass!

My daughter did the same thing. But all she would eat was oatmeal. According to advice from her doctor, this is completely normal. A toddler only has control over a very few things in her life. Eating being a big one. You can't force her to eat and she realizes that. Don't make a big deal out of it. Serve her a normal breakfast (cereal, eggs, oatmeal) and lunch and dinner. Don't offer corn for every meal. She will eat when she is hungry. My daughter ate 3 bowls of oatmeal for breakfast on Monday and she didn't eat anything until Wednesday. I was freaking out a little, but I also didn't want to fall into the serving her a different meal than the rest of the family. I had her sit at the table and gave her the meal I prepared. Sometimes she ate sometimes she didn't. If you are really worried, keep track of what she eats for 2 weeks, and report it to your doctor if you think she is not getting enough nutrition. This is just a phase, and she will have a new favorite food next week. (My daughter also went through a little gerber meat stick phase! YUCK!) Now, she is three and because I offer her a variety of foods she tries almost everything. Somethings she likes some she doesnt. She just started eating veggies again after a 4 month strike. The best advise I can give is don't battle with her. She'll come around to eating more things sooner, if you just let her be and give over the control of eating to her.

Hi D.,
Did you used to work at the Advocate Health Center in Lincoln Park in the float pool? I was the Specialty Nurse there for a while-I don't know if this is you or not-or if you would even remember me. But Felicia Jackson had told me that you had a little one now. You had just been married for a little while when I met you and I had just gotten engaged (if this helps you remember me). Let me know if I have the right D..
N.

My daughter did that with apples. Applesauce, applejacks, Apples, Apple butter. Turned out she was allergic to apples. Dr. said that the thing they crave, many times is something they may be allergic to. I started her on Shaklee vitamins, watched labels (she couldn't have beet sugar either.) The vitamins started building the immune system, because Allergies are a sign of a weak immune system.

I am telling you this strictly from personal experience. When I changed the diet and removed the allergens, her appetite increased and she had less tummy aches and ear infections.

Look at all the things that contain corn, corn syrup,.....wait till you start reading the labels, you will be shocked.

If you have anymore questions, or want to contact me, please do.

Hi D.,
There are three pieces of advice that my mother gave me when my son was a toddler (he is now five) and wouldn't eat. The first and most important thing to remember is that a child will not willingly starve himself. Secondly, don't get upset if your child doesn't eat or refuses food - he may be doing it for attention (toddlers are very fascinated by the whole cause-and-effect thing). The third piece of advice is fight fire with fire. If he only eats corn, refuse to give him any. I did this with my son who would only eat Maceroni and Cheese. When I quit giving him what he wanted, he was very hungry, and finally ate the food I gave him. It took a couple of days and some temper tantrums, but he finally did come around. After a few weeks I reintroduced his beloved Mac & Cheese -- but only on occasion and if he refused to eat the other foods, I did not give him a second helping of the mac and cheese. I figured if he was hungry enough to eat more Mac & Cheese, then he was hungry enough to eat the other things I gave him, too. You may also want to try spacing his meals further apart or offering a smaller snack.

Good luck!

Hi D.,

My son loves 'co' (corn) too. :-) Maybe you could mix it with mashed potatoes and/or ground beef (making the corn enough so that it is visible) or corn with other vegetables.

Maybe he is too finicky because of teething. You might try cornflakes and/or Chex corn cereal with a little milk. Maybe talk to your pediatrician or nutritionist for advice.

Best wishes!

D. - Don't worry about it. My son didn't eat 'table food' until he was 19 month old! Then, all he ate was grilled cheese and mashed potatoes. He JUST NOW at 2 years old asked for some of our pizza we were eating and he ate it like he's eaten it all along. My mom told me I was her 'snake' I ate decently for one day and didn't eat ANYTHING for three. I came out fine! Every kid goes thru something with eating. My cousin only ate beanie wiennies at every meal! They live in Texas and don't have it there so my aunt had to keep shippng it down there. Now, he's eating a lot more. Just keep trying to introduce other items - eventually your child will try them.
J.
First time Mom to 2 year old

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Located in Downers Grove
Wonderful program that works with groups of kids with all sorts of issues ranging from speech, to eating issues. 22 months may be young but it is worth a call. They had a great summer class a couple of summers ago dealing with just your issue. Give them a call.

My three year old took yoga there and just loved it. My son was going to take speech, but it turned out that he tested out of needing services. We are going to take yoga again this summer.
Wonderful place!

Good luck!