Are You Still Feeding You 2 Yr Old or Does He / She Eat on Her/his Own

L.,
My son was the same way and I think I made a mistake by feeding him for too long. If there is one true statement about kids, it is "They will eat if they are hungry." Could you try giving him the 'less appealing' things first and after he has a few bites of that, add the fruit or veggies, etc. At some point you've gotta make this transition. You decide when. It's important for toddlers to learn these fine motor skills early. Good luck!

2 year olds are generally VERY picky eaters. Not unusual at all. There's different things you can do.

Being 2, you can now supplement his diet with half a Flintstone Complete Vitamin during his picky eating period.

Stop feeding him or he will keep depending on you to eat and will not learn independence. There's no reason why he can't eat finger foods with his hands and use a spoon and fork at age 2.

When possible, sit down as a family to eat so he can see that you are eating the same things as him and enjoying it. That just sets a good example.

If it's possible to use a booster seat at the table rather than a highchair, that will help him feel more like a big boy.

Feed very small portions for each item on the plate. You can always get him more of something if he asks.

Try feeding by courses. Feed him his least favorite thing first. Don't let him move on until he finishes, even if it's just three peices of broccoli. Then move on to his next least favorite, saving his favorite for last.

Don't get into a routine of desserts as he'll wait for that and only that. No more desserts. That's just a filler and if he's hungry he should eat his main foods.

If he stops eating his first course then he's done with his meal and take him down. It'll be a new habit he'll have to get into.

Save his milk for last, after the meal, so he does not get filled up on milk first. Have him drink whole milk for the few extra calories.

He will not get sick or anything for not eating a meal. He will only take in what his body needs. You'll find that toddlers will go through a period of eating very little and then pig out before a growth spurt, and back and forth.

At snack time, don't give him juice if he isn't taking in enough milk from his meals. Try giving him smaller morning and afternoon snacks and see if he eats more at his regular three meals. You may find that he's a grazer, as many kids are during their picky periods, and you can give him three smaller main meals are two larger healthy snacks.

Be sure through out the entire day, no matter how it's broken up for feeding, his foods are balanced. If he's getting fruits at snacks don't worry about that at his main meals.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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My daughter is 2 and 1/2 and I still have to feed her sometimes. Not an entirely altruistic action on my part because she's much less crabby and gets along much easier if I do so! :-) I've just come to accept that she's not a "meal" eater. She'll eat very good food, and a lot of it, if it's offered to her throughout the day. I just keep healthy food around and out so she can eat it when she's ready. I do, however, make her sit at the table for meals even if she doesn't eat.

No worries L.. I was feeling the same way a few weeks ago, but after talking to some friends and people from work I've come to realize that this is pretty common. My son eats well on his own, but there are some evenings were he won't feed himself. We use every trick in the book on most night, but since he's so attached to Milk, we tell him that he has to finish a portion of food before he can get more milk. That usually works. Good luck.

I say just let him feed himself. Kids don't typically need to eat as much food as we think they do. If he isn't thriving, that's a different story. My cousin's son was like your son - not eating unless they fed him. He wasn't gaining weight, though, so they put him in some sort of class that teaches him to eat or something like that (sorry I can't remember that exactly) and he now has a feeding tube. So, if he isn't eating on his own and isn't gaining, there might be more of an issue.

I had to laugh because I misunderstood your question.
My two-year-old feeds herself a lot, meaning she goes in the fridge or cabinets and gets what she wants!
Some days are so hectic it's nice she is so independent. We stock a bunch of healthy stuff all over, so the kids get all the food groups.

We don't always get a meal together. Kids are 2, 3 and a baby. Everyone gets fed. I don't spoon feed anyone! In two months the baby will be 6 months, and then I'll start doing so. :)

Hi L.,
I haven't read the other responses because I don't have time. I just wanted to let you know that we've noticed if we just put our two year olds food in front of her she will only pick at it and tell us she's done. But if we feed her or help her she will finish all the food on her plate. I don't know if it is normal behavior or not, but it's what she does!
Take time to enjoy the special time with your son, he will soon outgrow letting you help him and you will want this time back!

Sounds like you got a lot of good info already, but I agree, let him feed himself. They have to learn sometime.
I got lucky on this one, our 18 month old daughter has been eating her meals by herself since she was almost a year old! She's very independent! She also goes into the cabinets and helps herself to pretzels and the fruit bowl. She's not picky, she loves mushrooms and all veggies. She also wouldn't touch those Gerber meals, (can't blame her though, have you tried one of them? yuk!)As long as he's gaining weight and is thriving he'll be fine. Good luck and best wishes.

let him feed himself he will never learn unless he does it by himslef. he will get enough food. LOL
good luck T.

I think it's common, my daughter and her friends do the same thing, I feed her sometimes b/c she gets distracted easy and she just turned 3, also as for eating veggies, I don't know if it's right but I get her to eat them by saying diferent things like green beans are growing beans, broccli are trees and shes a dinosaur that eats whole trees, carrots help her see in the dark...when she doesn't eat them I say uh oh your muscles are shrinking, and then she eats them and puts out her muscles so we can watch them grow, she's caught on b/c when I say she is shrinking she actually pretends to shrink now, but it still works, also calling food princess food, or superhero food or having them help make it, even if they are just mixing or adding veggies always works for me, or adding a toppting like cheese or pepper... I have a site 4pakids.com which is an event site for things to do with kids in pa but I also have a cooking with kids section.
hope that helps
J.