Hi parents! Sorry this is a bit of a long one so you have all the facts!
Around 6 months ago my then 1.5 year old had tonsillitis and was prescribed antibiotics. He was a fantastic eater up until this point, literally stuffing his face with anything he was given! Then after his antibiotics he was never the same. I've always made sure he was a healthy eater, chocolate and junk kept to a minimum. He is now 2 and still eats quite a healthy diet, but has become extremely picky. He only eats a limited selection of food and I can't take it anymore! I'm scared for his health :(
We've been to see our GP on numerous occasions who said it was normal, then finally referred to a specialist who stated children in their second year of life tend to not eat as much because they're distracted by their surroundings and more interested in play time. I was worried he may have developed a sensory issue, which she doesn't believe to be the case. Her suggestion was to either continue with the things he is eating and every so often introduce something new to him in the hope he will eventually develop a healthier relationship with different foods OR sit him down, place whatever I've prepared in front of him and give him the choice to eat it or not - and if he doesn't eat it to not give him anything else until he's ready to have what's in front of him. I know a lot of people say that a child will never starve (and so did the doc), but is that honestly true? I've tried the second method on a few occasions, and he literally has a meltdown when I put something different in front of him! So I feel bad and just continue to give him the foods he eats.
His diet consists of:
- no meat at all, unless I can sneak a thin slice of turkey into his cheesy toast
- yoghurt (mainly strawberry, banana, vanilla & tropical)
- banana, strawberries, apples, grapes
- carrot, potato only in the form of chips lightly salted, a few bites of cucumber occasionally, hummus
- rice crackers, home popped popcorn, plain Turkish bread, multigrain bread with cheesy toast
- 150ml of milk just before afternoon nap (usually sleeps 2 hours) and 150ml just before bedtime
- vanilla or chocolate custard (occasionally)
- chocolate and a bit of ice cream occasionally
- drinks water only, intake is pretty good
- Nature's Own gummy multivitamins almost every day (he screams when I give him Pentavite, but force it as it has an iron supplement)
He refuses rice and pasta and used to eat it all the time!
The other day his dad ordered a veggie juice with beetroot, carrot, celery, spinach etc freshly squeezed. My son demanded a taste... He doesn't like any type of juice I've given him before mind you... And he LOVED it! His exact words were "mmmm yummy!" So he drank about half of it... We were shocked to say the least! But since then, no luck with veggies.
Any advice from those who have been in a similar situation? I feel so stressed that he's barely eating veggies and meat, I'm at my wits end!
Thanks x
4 Replies
It's a totally normal developmental stage! Give him the healthiest means you can, made up of what he currently eats. Continue to offer new foods as he shows an interest. 2 year olds are sturdier than we think and not many don't go through a fussy stage. They get over it, especially when we stop stressing about there foods, it brings down the tension and stops them digging in there heals!
Iron in supplements isnt fun.....it causes constipation may be why he doesn't like it....multivitamins arent worth the money if you want to give him vitamins and mineral supplements have the doc do a blood test and find out what he needs.....not a single vitamin in a multivitamin is at a therapeutic dose.....it wont address a vitamin D or iron deficiency if he has one....
Try a probiotic and fiber and check his motions he may have tummy trouble which has put him off his food....
Miss 2 is very similar, use to eat everything and now eats meat peas and youghrt (not the full list obviously) she has just started to come good again after about 6mths of fussing and even ate a piece of pumpkin the other day! Our solution is tomato sauce, not Ideal but better than starvation, she'll eat just about anything if she can dip it in sauce. Be patient and keep sneaking things in. We also got a veggie spaghetti maker and replaced her pasta with carrot and zucchini, she didn't even notice.
My son was a good eater until he turned 2 . Then for 2 years all he ate was chicken nuggets, carrots, peanut butter sandwiches and pasta. He did eat a lot of fruit though. Docs says it is completely normal. However once he turned 4 I had had enough to of making 2 meals every night for dinner. I found online (Finlee and me website) a plate called a dinner winner plate. It like a little race track with small compartments. When you get to the end you get a prize. It work wonders. We started off just adding one new thing every night and now he will eat (or at least try) pretty much everything we eat.
I wouldn't stress about it too much. My mums always tells me that when I was little I would only eat tomatoes and chocolate for a whole year. Lol