"Worried Mom of Fifteen mo.old Baby's Eating Habits"

Relax A.. If he can eat and digest anything he is ready to eat it (and digest it). Baby food is irrelevant and many babies in our country are never offered it (I never gave it to my kids).

Consider that in almost 95% of all countries on the planet babies are never given baby food because it isn't available.

Your son is fine.

I'd say this is a great time to take a look at the entire family's eating habits. If he wants to eat what everyone else is eating, then let him. But, make sure everyone is eating veggies and fruits with every meal possible. I know this can be difficult with the busy life style that surrounds your household, I'm sure. Take one afternoon to buy all of your fruits and veggies, and cut them up when you get them home (have the older ones help you!). Then package them up and all you have to do is pull them out later when you want to use them. Take advantage of canned/frozen fruits and veggies. Look for canned fruits in 100% juice instead of syrups. Canned and frozen produce are packaged at their peaks - when they have their most nutritional value. Let him eat what you eat, but maybe change what you're eating a little.

Good for your son! He's fine. Baby food is really good for the companies that make it ($$$), but it is not something that babies of any age need. Real food is more nutritious, and your son will develop a healthier sense of taste (if you are eating nutritious foods) than the bland taste that baby food encourages.

If you are worried about HIS health with hte meals you are serving the family, then you should be worried about the health of your entire family.

At 15 months old, he is more than old enough to be eating table foods, and he should be self feeding. Baby food is not all that nutritious either, its processed, watered down, stabilizers added, and then packaged. THAT is not the perfect food.

Serve him what you are eating for meals, cut it up, give him a plate, and let him eat himself. By 10 months my boys could use a spoon and fork alone and eat their meals. I made all their babyfood homemade. They started solids at 6 months, and by 9 months were eating only table foods.

Make sure his diet (and the whole family!) is balanced, fruits, veggies, starch, meat, and dairy. It doesnt' take anything to cut up and apple or orange with lunch or dinner, or micro some corn or boil and mash sweet potatoes.

but again, no reason a 15mo old should be eating packaged baby foods.

I wouldn't worry about health issues later on... unless you are making homemade baby food... I am not sure that the nutrition is really there... it is processed and watered down. Sounds like he is doing GREAT! Eating MEAT... my son who is six will only eat chicken and some beef. I would say let him explore... and as long as your meals are healthy and balanced... don't worry.

he will definatly eat what you serve him. i stopped feeding my son baby food around 13 months since he didnt care for it anyway. besides, they have to get used to the texture of real food, so starting real table foods is GREAT!! you are doing just fine.

HOWEVER, it is CRUCIAL that there be fruits and veggies served. meat and pasta is ok, but, according to the newer improved food pyramid (and what is required by my federally funded food program for my child care) pretty much says that meats and breads should be a smaller portion than veggies and fruit. we need to include them more in our diets!!

i dont know if you are religious or not, and i dont want to offend you. if you arent, just ignore this part;
in the garden of eden, adam and eve ate only fruits and veggies - plant materials. and i would have to assume that they were pretty healthy. so, within reason, to eat more like they ate would be a blessing on us! im not saying become a vegetarian or anything, but including more fruits and veggies HAS to be healthy!

anyway, you arent going to hurt your son by feeding him table foods. great job mom! and way to go for being concerned enough to ask for help!!

Hi A.. First, always ask your doctor. My daughter was the same way and much younger. I was told as long as she could properly chew or gum her food she was fine and could be fed anything we ate. He will let you know when he needs more. Just remember those fruit and veggies.

P.S Ever try those baby foods? Can you really balme him? LOL

L.

Hi A.. I have two kids and they both never really ate baby food. They were eating table food by 9 months. I found that if you take an ice tray and fill it with a mix of chicken, mashed potatoes and a vegetable put that in a food processor and divide into the slots in the ice cube tray. Then freeze it and pop one or two out when what you're eating will not satisfy him. otherwise I always put whatever we're eating add a vegetable and food process it. Then it's little chunks that they can feed themselves.

A.,

15 months old is too old to be eating baby food. Especially if your child sees older siblings eating something else, he will want what they have. There is nothing wrong with feeding him meat and pasta, just steam or boil some unsalted vegetables to go with it. The 8 & 5 year olds need those anyway.

Don't be surprised if he refuses to stay in a high chair or booster seat pretty soon. He is going to want to be just like his big brothers in every way he can, which is a blessing and a curse. :)

Good luck,
S.

I would not worry at all. If your son wants to eat what your eating, that is great.. The babyfood dinners are the same thing that you are eating, just mashed up. You will just have to make sure that you make it small enough so he can handle it.. If you don't think he is getting enough vitamins, by the vitamin drops for infant/toddlers and add a drop to his milk every day. I have 3 kids of my own that all started eating real food at age one. They started picking at it here and there before turning one. My oldest is almost 6. I don't think I fed him enough of what I ate, I only made him what I thought that he would eat, and now he is the pickest eater I have ever met!!! My daughter that is almost 3, I fed her everything that I made, and she eats what ever you give her. I think there is only a couple of things that she does not like. And my youngest daughter just turned 9months today and she loves her baby food. I have given her little pieces of pancake, little pieces of steamed veggies, mashed potatoes. She loves it. I do not over do it, but I do give her some. Your son will be fine..

Hi A....
I have a nine month old and a five year old... I never fed either of them baby food. They both ate/eat only food that we eat. For my nine-month old, I make it age appropriate, it is mashed or cut small enough for her... but she has never had tradional baby food. I like it better because I control what gets added to the food and she is getting used to how we will be eating as a family for the next 18 years! Just make sure YOU GUYS eat lots of fruits and veggies and everyone will be more than fine. Good luck!

He should definitely be eating table food at this point, and tons of finger foods. My son only ate pueed food for the first 4 months of solids and then we let it get progressively chunkier and chunkier until by 12 months he was eating table food that was just cut into smaller pieces than you or I would need.

By 15 months my doctor wanted me to wean our son off baby food! Don't worry - whether he eats baby food or table food, as long as it's varied and healthy, he'll be fine. Just be sure to push the fruits and veggies so he doesn't get comfortable with just meat and bread.

SAHM of seven

By 12mos. most are completely off "baby" food and solely on regular table food.

All baby food is good for is getting the textures and tastes down then they move onto table food. Keep trying different foods in his size bites.

15 months is plenty old to be eating table food! Baby food is not more nutritious necessarily depending on how you prepare your own food. That is the whole goal to be getting your child to eat regular food. I think my 2 started eating table food at around 9 months. Just make healthy meals for everyone.
Brekka

A.,

My kids were off baby food by at least 12 months, if not earlier. As long as the food is soft enough and he won't choke on it, there is no reason that he shoulnd't be having just table food.

Baby food is expensive and I get my kids off as soon as I can...

One of my boys didn't like any food the texture of applesauce or mashed bananas. Which are the foods I started my other three boys on. He really didn't eat much until he could pick it up with his hands. He would throw up in later years when trying to eat mashed potatoes. I think it was a very sensitive gag reflex. about 2 years ago at thanksgiving he decided he had to give mashed potatoes a try, since his twin brother loved them as did his other brothers and little sister. He finally could eat them and loves them. he has been much better at trying other foods(not many) that he didn't like when young. now at 18 he eats everything, but mayonaise! I would find fruits and vegetables that he ate in other forms and feed him those when he was little. but he lived on cheerios for a long time. good luck

My son is almost 13 months old and has been eating the same foods as us for several months now, without baby food. I make sure that he gets a fruit, vegie, grain/starch, and protein. As long as your 15 mont old is getting a balanced diet, he doesn't need baby food anymore. From my understanding at a year babies are generally on regular foods.

It's great that your child wants to eat what you eat. Now all you have to do is make sure that you are eating the things you would want your child to eat for the rest of his life. Then you won't have to worry about his health in later years, plus it will have the added benefit of you perhaps getting healthier too so that you can keep up with him as he ages!

I agree with the other posters. At 15 months, you should only be worried if your child is still eating baby food. He should have graduated from baby food by now, so the fact that he is eating your food means that he is right on schedule. And don't spend too much time trying to force-feed him. He should be feeding himself - either with fingers or a toddler spoon and fork. If you are looking for tips on what kinds of food to offer him and in what amounts go to: http://www.babycenter.com/0_age-by-age-guide-to-feeding-y...

All my kids stopped eating baby food by a year. I only used baby food long enough to introduce each new food, then I switched them over to our food. My kids love most foods and are very healthy.

Feel free to check with your doctor, however I doubt he will tell you to keep your son on baby food.

It is fine if your 15 month old wants to eat what you are eating, he is just bored with the babyfood. As long as you are eating healthy foods then he will be too! You can try to sneak in some babyfood as a sauce for pasta or as a dip (try mixing ranch dressing and mashed carrots for a dip, yum!). You can also add nutrition by sprinkling some powdered milk and/or wheat germ into foods. Just make sure that he is not eating things that he could easily choke on, cut up meat into very fine pieces or shred it up, but as long as he has some teeth to bite and chew with and you supervise him closly he should be fine.

I think it's perfectly fine for any child over one year to eat only people foods. Just make sure you try to get some vegetables and fruits in him, and whole milk. But I think meat and pasta is fine. I think your doctors would agree.

Stop the baby food. Your baby is now a toddler and shoud be eating toddler food. Both my children started eating table food at 10-12 months. My daughter (2nd born) barely lasted that long; she wanted to do everything her big brother was doing and he wasn't eating baby food. Just keep your family's meals balanced and there should be no problem with nutrition. You as the parent are modeling good eating habits, so make sure you are a good example. Think about saftey and make sure the food is well cooked and cute up in small pieces and you can even put it on a plate and give your child a spoon. We use the Baby Bjorn set and love it; my daughter is now self feeding herself with a spoon 50% of the time :) I always have bananas, yogurt and cottage cheese on hand incase I have to have a subsitution for something, but I now have a two very healthly and good eaters at 16mos and 4 yrs old. Let your child be the guide or you will create problem behaviors around eating and then dinner time will be no fun!! Good luck!

I say let him eat what you are eating. I have 1 year old twin girls and they eat what we do. I just make sure they are also getting plenty of fruits and veggies too. They haven't eaten baby food since they were 9 months old. They like 'big' people food and do so well eating it on their own. If he is eating 'big' people food for you, be happy and let him do so. You're one of the lucky ones. My brother's 15 month old won't eat anything!

I can't say as I blame him. That stuff is nasty! I think 15 mos is old enough for food from the table that is cut small enough. Baby food is super processed and probably isn't all that good for them anyway.

A 15 month old absolutely does not need to be eating baby food. Please don't try to force it - I wonder if my parents tried that, since to this day I get nauseated by anything with the texture of baby food.

Hi A.,
As long as your son only eats what is safe for him at his age, I wouldn't worry at all that he doesn't eat "babyfood". After all he is not an infant anymore, and remember that the pureed food is only supposed to be a transition between breastmilk/formula and real food. So just let him eat what you are eating if he is enjoying that, but make sure he gets all nutrients he needs!

Letting him eat finger food will make appreciate real food easier than if he's being forced to eat pureed food he really doesn't want. Food should be a pleasure even for little ones. :-)

I found two interesting articles from the UK:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jun/17/health.medi...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6762795.stm

Don't worry and good luck with your little 'gourmand'!

My son stopped eating baby foods around 13 mo. He loves finger foods and I make sure to give him a fruit and veggie with every meal. His doc doesn't seem to worry about his long term health as long as he's getting a balanced meal.

My son is 13 months old and hasn't been eating baby food for a couple of months now. He can handle meat, cut up soft fruit, broccoli, corn, almost anything. His nutrition is up to you! If you are rally worried, I know they have fortified formula's for over the age of 1. I think it says for 12-24 months.

When my kids got their first teeth, I switched them to table food, first I would chop them up in a food processor and then would cut them up for them. My kids never liked baby food either and they all had to be like the other kids or like us parents, so if their food was different from ours, they refused to eat. kids can be crazy sometimes!

At 15 months your son is ready to eat your foods with some modifications. Some meats will need to be pulled apart or cut small, like steak or roast. He might have trouble with some raw veggies, carrots and broccoli, but even salads are a good choice. Some kids even like spicy foods, my son loves tacos and burritos!
My 18 month old son has had almost no babyfood. He wanted our food from the time he could reach out and grab it. There were things we didn't give him in the beginning, and many foods we gave a squish to so he could handle it better, but he had no problems at all.
Then there is my nephew who is a month younger. He is just learning to eat some table foods. But he is happy with the baby foods.
If your child is not happy, then it is time to help him learn to love food.

That is wonderful that he is eating table foods. You have every right to be concerned about any of your family getting the right nutrition. Did you know that we even as adults, aren't getting the nutrition we used to from our food?

Senate Document 264, 74th Congress, 1936 stated that our soils Deteriorated. The mineral is NOT in the soil, thus, it isn't in our food.

It would take 70 servings of spinach today to equal the same nutritional value found in 1 serving in 1949!

On June 19th, 2002 the American Medical Association told the American people that they need to begin taking an absorbable vitamin/mineral to prevent disease (not to mention our nutrition).

Make sure the supplements you take are made by a registered pharmaceutical company and they are natural and freshly made because nutritionals lose half their potency sitting on a shelf for 6 months.

I do consumer direct marketing for a company that has a patent on absorbtion of the mineral. I know of no other company that has an actual patent on absorbtion. When I take it - I feel it! The awesome thing is that they have this same absorption patent on the childrens chewable vitamins. My kids are on this and I feel more at ease knowing for sure that they are getting nutrition at the cellular level.

So in my job, I tell others about the company and they decide if they want to try shopping with them risk free for 60 days. They have a 90 day challenge on the vitamin and mineral. If you want more information, I can tell you much more and help you set up a wholesale account. You won't believe the money that you will save here because of the almost 400 product that they offer. (Nutritionals, Bath and Body, Cosmetics, Safe Non-toxic cleaners and a natural pharmacy). I do laundry for $.08 per load and it works better! They also have a natural solvent that will take permanent marker off of a photograph without harming the photo, or red nail polish off of white pants!! Really.

Good luck to you.

A., he shouldnt be eating baby food anymore. He should of been eating food cut up like bananas, carrots, any fruits and any table foods when he ready at like well some kids are ready at 7 months. I have a 10 month old in my daycare who was ready for table foods before my own son was and now the 10 month old is eating hot dogs cut up small and sausage ect... If you are worried about his health you should be worried about your whole familys heatlth eating whatever you are eating then and should change your eating habbits and your son should be eating whatever you are eating. Theres a certain age kids start to want what you are having and that is a sign. I dont blame him for not wanting baby food anymore either he has long out grown that stage in his life and really wnats what your having, so do him a favor and give him what your eating!!

Your baby is old enough to be on table food. At 15 months,your son can eat soft meat, pasta and veggies. As long as he has a variety of healthy foods, he will do really well on what you eat. Just remember to keep things soft and cut up small. Plus, it will save you a bundle not having to buy baby food.

I have worked in childcare for 8 years. It is perfectly normal for a child to no longer eat baby food at 15 months. In fact where I work we stop feeding children baby food at 12 months and only feed them what everyone else is eating, with discression of choaking hazards of course. As long as your are feeding your baby a balanced diet including: whole milk, fruits, and veggies in addition to the meat and pasta, I would not worry about his future health! :)

I don't think you should be so worried. He's probably getting more nutrition out of the real meals than out of the baby food. Have you tried taking the food you are eating and grinding it up for him? Maybe he just wants to be a big boy and eat like the rest of you. I would think that as long as he is getting lots of fruit and veggies and some protein he should be very healthy.

I don't see a problem here. Just eat nutritious meals, cut the baby's portion into safe sizes and shapes and thank your lucky stars you don't have to buy baby food anymore. It's pretty normal for kids to be eating table food at 15 months. If you're worried about him getting everything he needs give him a multivitamin. (I added drops to my kids' juice when they were toddlers.)

My youngest (15 months) son hasn't eaten baby food since he was 9 months old (and he only had 2 bottom teeth) and is doing fine. 15 months is more than old enough to lose the baby food and I can't imagine having to sit and feed my toddler. My son eats what we're eating at meal times (he'll eat anything and he only has 4 teeth in the front on the top and bottom, no molars yet). With the exception of lunch (I don't always eat lunch with him and his brother), then they eat grilled cheese, hot dogs, quesadillas, stuff along those lines.