my toddler has all of his teeth and is ready for more solid foods. the problem is that he doesn/t want too many of them. he still wants baby food 90% of the time or something that's smushed up. i have tried lunchables & he only wants the crackers in it. sometimes the cheese. i cannot get him to eat green beans or any veggies that he has to bite into. tried gerber graduates also.(no luck)... any advice for a first time mom, please let me know... thanks!
well, i've been trying some of the ideas the other moms have given me & i want you all to know that my son is doing a little better now with grown up foods. he ate meat on his own last night & that was a first since the baby food. he still won't eat the gerber graduates, but i'm not so worried now since he's eating from the table. thank you so much for all your help. if you still have any new tips, feel free to post them for me.. thanks again!!!
My son is like that. He's 2, and, while he and his sister (they are twins) don't eat baby food anymore, he won't eat any meat except chicken. He loves just about all vegatables put in front of him, but he'll not touch pork or beef. My daughter, however, eats anything and everything in site. Just keep trying, but don't force and make it fun.
I don't know exactly what stage of development your 1 year old is, so only you can be the judge of if he is ready for this decision making process.
If you are trying to feed your the solid foods with a fork or spoon, try letting him eat them as finger foods. Also, I would try something that does not spoil easily so you could leave it on his tray for a while. If you can leave it sitting on a tray, when he is ready for a snack he can go over to it himself and give it a try. Eventually, he will get the picture, that the food on the tray is the only snack he is going to have until the next mealtime.
I would leave toddler friendly snacks on a tray as my children were growing up. It taught them independence, built confidence that they could do things by themselves, and best of all my kids eat everything (even brussel sprouts).
This is the best stage to head off big problems later at mealtime. If your toddler realizes that this is all Mommy's offering, he will eventually get the picture.
Of course, all of this depends on what stage of development your 1 year old is at. He would have to be at a mobile stage to get to the snack.
Hope this helps.
I'd just say keep trying until you find some foods he loves, then stick with those until he gets a little older. I have some suggestions for foods- bean burritos (or just the refried beans- you can buy them low fat), black beans, cous cous (my daughter loves eating this- it's a little messy though- that's why they love it so much I think lol), eggs (oh and you can mix in some of the jarred veggies with the eggs!), mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, corn, carrot dices, canteloupe, avocado...chicken salad sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, meatloaf (I have a great recipe where I sneak in veggies- if you want it let me know).
try the graduates pasta pick ups. My son loves those and they come in 4 different varieties. kids usually love them because they can use their hands.
You cant make you child eat anything they dont want but I just put it out in front of them and when they were ready they started to eat it. I have four kids and its differant with each of them but my youngest still eats a little and the doctor says that they will eat it when they are hunger. Just put out a little at a time in front of your child and let him take his time. He will eat it...it just takes time for them to understand that they need to use their teeth now. I hope I have helped. Im a mom of four girls..there not babies anymore so Ive been there before.
