Weaning 19 Month Old off Baby Food?

hi~
I have worked with a lot of picky eaters. Some suggestions are:
1) Make sure you do NOT force feed your child
2) Try your best not to feel overwhelmed/stressed during meal time (your child will feed off your stress (i know easier said than done - I'm sure this is VERY stressful for you)
3) place a food that you are eating (that is safe for your child) on the tray (without ANY expectation that your child will eat it).
4) let your child play in food and get messy – this allows your child to learn the properties of food (smell, feeling, sight) – you can also “paint” with pudding, “draw” in cool whip (especially the kind that comes from the can – kids LOVE to see it squirt out).
5) offer foods your child eats and try to expand within the same food area (e.g. if your child eats pureed banana try banana pudding or yogurt. You can also mix pureed banana with another smooth fruit).
6) if your child is screaming and refusing – ignore the behavior (turn your head as your child is yelling, count to 10, turn back and offer “first lick (or kiss or touch) X (non-preferred food) than Y (preferred food)” using a matter of fact (non-emotional) voice
7) encourage your child to touch new foods to cheek/lips (WITHOUT expecting your child to eat it) – cheer/provide positive feedback when your child does this. Then encourage your child to lick it, then eventually bite it (this may take 10-20 exposures before your child bites a new food)

I find that some kids (typically the ones I work with) who are severe picky eaters will not eat even if they are hungry. If you do not see an improvement (e.g. increase foods using above strategies and you have concerns over health nutrition or weight gain) you may want to consider asking your pediatrician for an occupational therapy or speech therapy referral for feeding. It is MUCH easier to work on feeding issues when they are younger verses older.

Remember encourage your child, praise your child, and even though it is hard try not to show your child your stress.
I hope that helps! Good luck!

2 moms found this helpful

OMG!!!
I seriously thought I was going to be going to still be buying strained spinach by the case when my son was 16 YEARS OLD. He didn't mind eating table food, but would ONLY EAT VEGGIES AND FRUITS FROM A JAR!! UGH. (He would only eat stage 1 and stage 2 veggies and fruits)
What I did, was what another mom suggested... I gave him his own spoon and put the jar food in a bowl and gave him a spoon and walked away (BTW, when they start feeding themselves, get a clear shower curtain for the floor!) After he started feeding himself with the baby food, I would add less baby food to the bowl and add a couple small chunks of ripe strawberry or finely chopped lettuce or avocado. Babies get really curious and will put anything in their mouths that you don't ask them to. So, the trick is to walk out of sight, so they don't think they are doing what you want!! It's a trick! Anyway, most of it will end up on the floor, but heck, they are now 4 and 6 and everything still ends up on the floor. But, the good news is that they both LOVE veggies (yup, broccoli and salad too).
Let him feed himself and he will be more willing to try new things!
It takes longer, makes a bigger mess and he will not always eat everything, but he will get something. And, if he's hungry enough, he will eat what's in front of him.
Good luck and lots of patience!

1 mom found this helpful

Yup. Take away all the baby food until he eats what you give him. It is not cruel, it is a power struggle that you must win as the mom. Some fights are worth fighting and this is one of them.

He will eat when he gets hungry enough. Try not to give him too much milk at this time. It will fill his little belly and then he will not want to eat. It may also be a texture thing. It often is with toddlers.

It will get better! Stick with it!

1 mom found this helpful

My son is on a soft foods diet because of a recent oral surgery and is almost two. At first I was buying him baby food (we kept him on a little baby food so he wouldn't lose his taste for it because we knew this was coming up) but he's not too fond of it. What he DOES like--and you might try this--is putting our food (like chicken) into the food processor. When you make baby food, you mix it with enough water so it becomes a paste, but when you use little or no water, it doesn't become a paste and is just chopped very very fine. This might be a good transition from baby food to table food. It's kind of like halfway in between. We've also noticed that the shape of the container we feed him from matters. He prefers the round cups (like applesauce) to the rectangular Gerber cups of fruit. If we hide the original cup, he'll eat things he wouldn't ordinarily eat. So, maybe try some finely chopped table food that you've stuffed into a baby food jar to start with. We've had to get creative -- LOL. Good luck!

you really dont have to worry about it he will wean himself off when he is ready my 2 year old still eats baby food and at first thats all she ate and i was concerned bout it but then her doctor told me thats it completly normal. i started introducing other foods to her slowly and didn't force her into eating them. now she still eats baby food but little by little she is moving to table food and she is 100 percent health.

Yes, and my kids are all in their twenties now! Feed him what he will eat, as long as it's healthy.--is he manipulating the spoon himself yet? once he discovers he can't shovel the food in fast enough, he may start grabbing the little pieces of table food. Good luck!

I did daycare for 5 years. At one point, I was watching a FIVE YEAR OLD whose mother was still buying her baby food......... (Fruit.)

At daycare, I EXPECTED her to eat what I was serving and she did! At home, she would ONLY eat french fries, chicken nuggets (IF you lied and told her they were from McDonalds), and baby food. That was about it from what the mom told me........ When they first started coming, the mom would bring them after breakfast so her daughter would eat at home. After they came a few times and the girl saw what I was feeding the other kids, SHE ASKED TO COME FOR BREAKFAST! I made ALL my meals from scratch.

If he is eating bacon and french fries, I would quit giving him baby food. He will NOT starve himself. And stop giving him the bacon and fries for a little while until he starts eating healthy food! I WOULD NOT FORCE FEED HIM EITHER! Just put the things in front of him and let HIM chose what he does or does not eat. Keep some fresh cut fruits and other healthy MEAL type items handy so when he gets hungry between meals, he can try them! It shouldn't take long and he will be eating normal meals with the family!

Most kids are off babyfood entirely by about 12 to 14 months.

We are trying to wean my daughter off of baby food. I was breaking up the bread and she was throwing it on the floor. I finally gave her a bigger piece for her to take bites from and she ate it all. Maybe instead of breaking up the food you can try giving it to him whole. I understand about taking all food away, maybe you can try giving him table food and if he doesn't eat it, he doesn't eat at that time and then if you feel the need to give him baby food, don't do it immediately after he refuses table food, otherwise he will think all he has to do is throw a tantrum and he gets what he wants right away. If he won't eat the table food, remove him from the table and give him baby food a little later.

Have you tried cutting up pieces of veggies (and whatever) and mixing them in with the pureed foods? Or giving him the chunkier but still really soft Stage 3 baby foods? Or mashed (but not pureed) veggies, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and avocados?

It seems like it could be a texture issue with him. If he eats cheerios, crackers, etc., maybe try giving him some crunchier foods, like apples, nuts, raw celery and carrot and see if he likes those. Just keep an eye out for choking with the carrots especially.

If he's still refusing that stuff, though, I'd say just keep giving him the pureed foods until he's ready. Still try to offer the other stuff, but don't push it, because the last thing you want is for eating to become a power struggle with him.

Good luck.

My first child wanted nothing but table foods and to feed himself from about 6 months on. My second was perfectly happy to be fed until she was over two. Like yours, she would eat some table foods but preferred baby food. It was a texture issue for her and still is at age 14. If a piece of lettuce accidentally gets into her soft bean and cheese burrito she will visibly gag. Each kid is different and they all have their idiosyncracies. Keep feeding some baby foods and keep offereing table foods. One thing I did was put Cheerios in yogurt so they could easily grasp the food and get the benefits of the yogurt at the same time. (It's messy but fun!) Dont' stress about it, don't try forcing anything, just hang in there and keep offering. (My third still drinks soy formula- and she is 12 years old. She had milk allergies that she eventually outgrew but she never acquired a taste for milk or even soy milk. So she still drinks formula- no biggie. If she goes to a friend's house she just doesn't have anything that requires milk. It's all good.)

You may just have a picky one on your hands....my son is 25 months now and I am STILL buying jars of Earths Best veggies and fruits. A cashier at Target actually judged me on this with her rolling eyes. My guy is very picky....but will eat a Few certain entrees but regarding fruits and veggies really only wants the purees. He will eat a few of his handfuls-sized portions of steamed broccoli each week and occasional steamed pea..a rare grape slice or berry. That's about it. I realized I would rather get at least 5 servings of veggies/fruit in him each day than force an argument I can't win and continued to serve him the purees. He is so particular that he will down the Earth's Best pureed sweat potato for example ( he drinks them from an open cup), but refuses mashed or baked/cubed sweet potato. I continue to offer him "solid veggies and fruit" daily in the hope one day he will take him. I am not cutting out the jars until he does..he at least is getting them in his system this way. Having a picky eater is tough and everyone always just tells you its your fault that you are enabling the behavior. No one wishes this type of challenge over a meal...we would rather the challenge for bigger issues. Good luck.