1 Year Old Not Wanting to Eat

I have had the same problem. I have 1yr old twins. I feed them a little here and there through out the day. Along with whole milk. They usually cry if theywant more so I feed them fruits and veggies. And they love cheese. kids there age like foods that they can feed themselves. Try finger foods. It works!

A.,
We haven't had too much trouble with this yet, but our son certainly has his days. I read about a "minimum diet" that Dr. Brazelton published as being enough nutrition for a child over the age of 1 to survive on for quite a while. Although I don't agree with everything Dr. Brazelton says, I'm sure he knows what he's talking about on this one. Here's the diet: 1. 16 ounces of milk, or its equivalent in cheese, yogurt, etc. 2. 2 ounces of iron-containing protein (meat or an egg), or cereals fortified with iron (such as Cheerios). 3. One ounce of orange juice or fresh fruit. 4. One multivitamin (to cover for lack of vegetables). And that's it! I personally have not give then vitamin, because we haven't had that much trouble, and I'd ask your doctor about it. But I hope this sets your mind at ease!! Good luck!
Becca

I can definitely relate. My 1 year old started doing that about a month or two ago also. Your baby just might not like baby food. Try warming it up or looking for something he likes the taste of. I give my daughter fruit mixed with cereal in the morning that I mix myself. The natural fruit always seems to appeal more to her. Or I just add more gerber fruit than cereal. It depends on what your child likes. They also sell gerber cereal and fruit already mixed which she really likes. The harvest vegetable medley by gerber is good and the chicken and apples by gerber as well. Maybe even try just giving your baby just fruit for breakfast and lunch and a fruit and meat dinner to see if he likes it. If he does, he may just be more inclined to open his mouth for future feedings. Rotate your foods. You just have to go with trial and error. It's the only way to figure out what works for you and your baby. At least I think so. Also, I find that my daughter likes her meats and vegetables warmed up a little bit. But most of all, she likes table food the best. If you have time, cut up whatever it is you have cooked for dinner and put it on your baby's tray. He might like that better. My daughter only has her front teeth, so I do a little at a time. She really enjoys eating what we eat. Well, the only thing else that I can say is good luck and don't give up on finding exactly what suits your baby. Hope this is helpful! :)

What I found that works when my son was being picking is know what he likes and set up a routine for them to eat that. Avoid too much snacking between meals. If he drinks prior to eating he probably is getting full on fluids and not the food itself. Limit the amount of liquids at meal time. It may work. I hope that helps. Good Luck.

A.,
Every child goes thru stages. Mine went thru the not eating stage also. My pediatrician advised me to offer healthy snacks throughout the day. If you are still concerned, you can always add pediatric nutritioanl shakes. They wil help assure you that daily requirements are being met. he'll grow out of it.

How much milk is he drinking? Too much will fill him up and he won't be hungry for food. If thats not the problem I wouldn't worry too much as long as he is eating something he should be fine. My ped always says they won't let themselves starve they'll eat when their ready just keep trying

My 14 year old put me through the same exact situation when he was about 1. Don't depent too much on the milk. Meaning give him his milk in the morning and at night. But if you take away milk as an option, I assure you he will start eating in no time. Sometimes children get too use to the milk. So they refuse to eat. He is not going to starve so take away the milk. What are you feeding him? Maybe he's very picky and doesn't like what you're giving him. Try different foods.

My daughter doesnt always wanna eat either just make sure what the eat is good like fruits and stuff get snacks ((healthy)) to help for when he doesnt wanna eat> My 13 month old doesnt eat a whole lot but i give her the snack like when her older sister eats and Shes BIG ((bigger than the other)) and shes loves her chocolate milk...:) how much does he weigh??

I was always told that they will eat when they are hungry. some days my little boy does the same. i give him pedasure and just keep offering him something to eat.If it gets to bad ask your dr. But I am sure he is fine.

This one is simple. He is not playing games with you he is just not hungry or does not like what you are trying to feed him. What are you trying to feed him? Is it baby cereal? Try a different baby food or mashed potatoes. I called my daughter the potatoe baby! Don't worry he is new to the game of eating. He will be fine!

hey this is perfectly normal when children start to grow out of their baby phase their appetite can dwindle a little b/c they are not needed to eat as often or as much. i would explain to him though that he can't have any milk until he takes a bite of food. get him to take a bite give him a sip of milk. trust me he will let you know when he's hungry. good luck

Does he always have juice or milk within reach? If so, he will fill up on the liquid and not feel hungry to eat food. WE went through that with my daughter. We started only giving her sippy cups at certain times of the day. AS far as meal time, she could not have anything to drink until she ate at least half of her meal. That way she couldn't fill up on milk before touching her plate. Good luck!

He is not getting enough nutrition from whole milk, our bodies are not able to digest cow's milk to the extend that doctors say they can and so therefore we do not digest the nutrients from cow's milk and get all that good nutrition, so just don't let that fool you. I would definitely get him on a multivitamin and possibly a calcium supplements. there are some really good ones available at the vitamin shoppe, try to avoid ones with added sugar or food dye as this can have a negative effect on your child. You may want to consider putting flax in his yogurt or fruit, this is a great source of nutrition and won't alter the taste of the food, but will help him get more fiber and omega 3's that he needs that he is probably not getting because he won't eat more. Just keep introducing good healthy foods, and don't give him sweets and junk food as these are just fillers and won't do his body any good. also steer clear of juice and other fillers that don't supply a lot of nutrients, but fill his belly so he doesn't have room for food. good luck.

We fretted and stressed out about my daughter eating and made ourselves CRAZY. My daughter is 12 now and eating is and has been no problem for a long long time. Looking back now, it seems the key is not freaking out. Kids usually eat when they get hungry...If my son doesn't eat, I give him Carnation Good Start in his milk and move on... Although milk does have a lot of protein, vitamins & fat, the carnation good start provides calories and more vitamins. 8 ounces of Milk with Carnation Good Start is around 400 Calories. (I know this as I just sent a handout on high calorie snacks to a parent from my clinic who is concerned about her son not gaining weight.) Good luck and take care.

My daughter is now 15 months old. I started not letting her have her cup til she is just about half thru eating. Cause she would fill up on milk or juice. Also I figured out. That now she wants to be independent. So I'll strip her down. Put her in her highchair. Let her feed herself. She was giving me a problem like that. Taking one bite and closing her mouth. But when I let her feed herself. She will gobble it all up. I mean it might be a mess. But I know that she is eating. :o)

N. mommy of 1 daughter Makayla Desirae

It's true, kids will eat when they're hungry. But there are some things to do to make sure he eats. Is he drinking milk all day long? If so, he may be getting too full for food. Limit milk to meal times, even then try to get some food in him before giving him his milk. If he seems thirsty between meals, give him a little water, but try to limit that too. Also, try letting him feed himself, put some finger foods on his high chair tray and let him do it himself. You may also want to limit his between meal snacks, so when he does sit down to eat, he'll really be hungry. Sit down with him at meals and eat too, and let him eat what you are eating. Good luck!