Toddler with Poor Eating Habits - Riverside,RI

K.--This is how my now 3 year-old daughter was (and still, to some extent is!) I think you might have a granddaughter very similar to mine with two things going on: 1. She is a 'picky' and 'light' eater and it is just who she is and is her personality and 2. It seems that most pediatricians and nutritionists conclude that this is a normal eating pattern of all toddlers in this age group: may be one substantial meal in a day with a lot of 'grazing' or 'picking' in between. This makes sense as after the first 12 mo of life the amount of growth that a child experiences decreases considerably during the toddler years. My daughter is still very picky and eats lightly but with time the amounts and frequency are growing as she is nearing childhood and leaving the toddler years. An excellent resource is Ellyn Sater (http://www.ellynsatter.com/). She is a popular and experienced nutritionist; my pediatrican recommended her books to me. I empathize with you!

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Hi K.,

My 21 month old went through a few periods where she just didn't want to eat - but when she was ready, told me she wanted to eat. She hasn't had baby food in a long time since about 13 months old. I just kept trying new foods- maybe avocado, raisins, crackers and hummus, yogurt. Things that have nutritional value that she also may enjoy! :) It's certainly a common question and one that I'd bring up to her pediatrician as well - but I've heard you should measure what toddlers eat by the WEEK not the day! Best of luck!

I wouldn't worry too much. My older son also had these issues. He still will not eat food as chunky as what his younger brother (only 17 months) will eat. However, he eventually (after he was 2, I think) started eating foods that were not all mashed up. He just seems to have a real issue with textures. I tried slowly making his meals less mushy (I second the reccommendation to try mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and you could mash other things, such as peas, carrots, or spinach, in with the potatoes) and sneaking in small chunks, such as pieces of soft meat or whole peas or corn. My son actually would gag and throw up his food sometimes if he found out there was a chunk in it, and it was very discouraging, but in the end he did learn to eat like a normal person, and I'm sure your granddauther will too! As long as she is healthy, I would just let this issue work itself out and definitely not turn mealtimes into a battlefield. There are many things we can force our kids to do, but eating is not one of them!

I'll mention that my 17-month-old has lately gone on a lunch and dinner strike. He eats a big breakfast but very little at other meals, and although at first it was really stressing me out, I've come to accept it as a phase. I guess if he were really hungry, he would eat, and he doesn't seem to be wasting away.

Good luck!

K.,

First, most kids only have one good meal of the day.

Secondly DO NOT MAKE IT A BATTLE!!! Offer the food and if she doesn't eat - NO PROBLEM!!! Offer snacks inbetween meals - very important. Try high calorie snacks or meals. Whole milk, butter, cooking in olive oil, drinkable yogurt or the baby yogurts, cheese, egg yolks, avocado (can be mushed with banana or pear) and even ice cream.

Try letting her feed herself. I do this by giving my daughter a 'baby proof' bowl with a spoonful or 2 of whatever the meal is and letting her try and feed herself while I'm spooning the food into her out of another bowl. She is distracted by trying to feed herself and it lets me get a bit of the food into her. If it is yogurt I am feeding her I give her an old yogurt container with some yogurt in it. Sometimes even with this she wants the bowl I have. I generally try to put it on her tray and let her eat out of it while I hold it down. Also if they want to 'get into it' with their hands -it a good thing. Give her 1/2 an avocado and a spoon, show her how to get the fruit out and see if she used the spoon or not. Allow her to mangle the avocado with her hands. The more they play with the food the better. Allow her to get messy and DON'T clean her up til the end of the meal. This is fun for them and the exploration is good.

The feeding specialist we have seen says to offer 3 to 4 different items at a main meal and 1 to 2 at a snack. Don't keep offering different foods until the child descides OK, I will eat that. If they don't eat - no problem, end the meal after 1/2 hour to 45 minutes if it last that long and then in a little while (depends on the child) offer them a snack (something different then the meal - hopefully something you know they will eat). I try to have at least 1 most of the time 2 of the 4 items at her meals, things that I know she will eat - whatever that is. The other items can be new foods or new textures. Remember it takes some kids 10, 12 or even more times seeing and trying a new food or texture before they accept it.

Also some kids are social eaters. They like it when they are eating with others, ie the parents or their friends. I know my daughter always eats better when her friends are eating with her. I try and meet up with friends in the morning and have lunch with them so she can have that social atmosphere. Sometimes just going to a lunch place by ourselves works too.

All in all don't make this an issue. It will resolve itself as long as you let her be in control of what she eats and how she eats it. But if you push it can become something that is worse late on.

Good luck,
L. M

I like the book, "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter.

We have been through the same thing with my daughter. I have learned that the only reason "food issues" become a battle is that parents in general worry way to much about their child's eating habits. As long as your granddaughter is gaining weight and thriving, it's not necessary to make her clean her plate at every meal. We often overestimate correct portions for children, making them closer to the amount an adult should eat!

If she's picky about certain foods, that's one thing. If she's simply not eating "enough", that's a completely different thing. Try not to compare children to one another - some simply eat less than others - as is the case with my daughter and her brother. If she's getting a well balanced diet over the course of a WEEK, not a day, she's doing fine. I found that it helped to keep a weekly log for a while. (Ex.Laura may not have eaten her chicken at dinner on Tuesday, but was happy with her steak on Thursday, so her protein intake for the week was fine.)

Many many many children go through food phases and jags. The important thing is to keep serving and re-serving healthy options and limit the unhealthy options. Eventually she will try new things, and who knows, maybe find a new favorite.

Hi K.,
This website explains what a serving size is for toddlers and I found it really helpful when my little one seemed to stop eating. http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/Toddlers.htm

It even explains that kids eat more in the morning and less throughout the day. So for dinner we often just did cheese and crackers or something easy so I didn't feel slighted if he didn't eat it. There are also lots of food suggestions on this site. It is a phase, and if she's eating healthy food, don't worry about the amount! Good luck!

1. I would try to reduce the baby food down to a minimum and increase soft table foods like mash potatoes, squash, peas cinnamon toast, freeze dried veggy's or dried fruit, etc.
2. Maybe find simple finger foods she might like to feed herself then she is given some power of choice and independence. My son loves to dip everything. Easy dipping foods can be nice although my son gagged easily so she might not like the texture and might feel like she is choaking?
3. Try, try, try again. My son will refuse a food one week and the next week he will eat it.
4. My son loves the recipes from Deceptively Delicious a whole lot. He's very picky.

I hope some of this might help, and Good luck :)

My son had major issues with texture as well - the pureed baby food was okay but once we went to the next stage and there were even small chunks, it was all over! It was so frustrating! I wish I had known at that time about a nutritional supplement that all my friends use - it's delicious and liquid (it's a powder you mix with milk, water, juice - whatever she drinks), and it takes all the worry out of this phase of picky eating. You know she's getting what she needs while you wait for her to outgrow the texture thing. It was formulated by the same food scientist who was on the team that developed Enfamil and ProSoBee infant formulas so he is world-renowned as an expert in pediatric liquid nutrition. Totally safe, no warning labels like on kids' vitamins, and it's a sure-fire success! Happy to share more info and connect you with other parents.

My son is 15 months old, and he eats a big breakfast (1/4 cup of quick oats made with milk, and a whole mashed banana mixed in), and then the rest of the day he probably only eats that same bulk/caloric intake total with his lunch and dinner. So, the little that he eats, I make it count by giving him healthy foods.
Kids know how much they need. As long as they are eating at all, gaining weight and are happy, they are fine. You dont want to force her to eat when shes not hungry, for two reasons. It tells her that she shouldn't listen to her body cues as to when she is full, but rather she should be a "member of the clean plate club", which has been shown to lead to over-eating and therefore obesity. Also, struggles and fights that are about food have been shown to lead to eating disorders.

If she likes the texture of baby food, try yogurt, applesauce, homemade soups, oatmeal. Then you could add food to those foods (chunks of pineapple in yogurt, small diced veggies in soup, berries in oatmeal etc.) It's hard--some kids are picky! Stick with the healthy food though and just keep trying. I know too many people who relent and give their kids junk because they know they'll eat it. At a given meal, I'll give my son a few foods I know he'll eat and then have something new/different on the plate too. I also give him 3 meals a day and two snacks, all at the table so he gets used to the procedure of eating. I won't let him eat while he plays.

I also heard a tip to make a laminated menu with pictures of complete meals and let the toddler choose what she'll eat. I haven't tried it but I wonder if that would help. But again, make the meals all inclusive to cover F+V, protein and carbs.

That book Deceptively Delicious might help too if your granddaughter really wont eat many solids, it will give you a good idea for purees. Good luck!

My now 9 year old daughter LOST weight between 12 and 15 months so she was put on Pediasure. You can get it at the grocery store. At one point she drank 3 of them a day. She still is a picky eater. At age 5 we switched to Carnation Instant Breakfast (we put the vanilla flavor packets in a glass of 2% chocolate milk) and she still drinks one every morning. That gives her 2x the protein of an egg and 2x the calcium of milk plus vitamins. The doctor said she did not need to take extra vitamins if she drinks either the Pediasure or the Carnation.
My advice: do not make eating an issue. Give her healthy choices but if she is full after 2 bites or hates the texture (my daughter has both) then let her be. She used to go through about 2 week cycles of wanting the same thing for breakfast-lunch-dinner (mac-n-cheese for 2 weeks -yuk!) but the doctor said just let her.
So, don't force her to eat, just give her a few choices, watch what she does like and offer that and add the Pediasure or Carnation.
Good luck.

I find that it is usually me that is making it the issue.

Toddlers know when they are hungry, is what experts have said. They are not vain and worried about how they look, what they weigh or whatever. They eat for survival. They go through spurts where they cannot eat enough! And they go through times where they simply nibble.

However, you do have control over what they eat. Here is my rule of thumb. Offer good foods from the basic food groups. If my dd didn't eat enough fruits/veggies, it gets offered again as a snack. If she had a good balanced meal, I'll offer her a little ice cream or animal crackers for a snack instead. MODERATION is key.
But if she is offered good wholesome food and she wants what she wants (the restaurant syndrome), too bad-so sad. If it is something 'dicey' (ex. bbq chicken) I'll have her eat what she does like from her plate (raw veggies) and give a fruit snack, but if she fights everything, she won't get a snack, either.

Lastly, it's not always the case, but check the finger/toenails. If they are nicely shaped and without severe ridges, they the child is getting enough nutrients. I dated someone whose daughter really ate just junk, and it was true, the nails on this child were really odd.

Don't fret! They all grow through it!