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okay....i have to reply to this.
first...at 22 months kids are old enough to not only know what they like and what they don't. they are at the age when it is so important for them to feel a part of the bigger picture. what i mean is if you and your family are all sitting at the table to eat together the likelyhood of your toddlet eating what's on her plate go way up. this forms a pattern that they come to expect and to look forward to.
also...my daughter went through a phase at about 18 months when all she wanted to eat was applesause and pasta. i thought she would turn into a piece of pasta. i asked her pediatrician and he said she will eat what she likes. if she's hungry she will eat. if she is not she won't. she won't starve herself. and on the occasions when she really did not eat much for her dinner, i would be sure to make her a decent breakfast...with some applesauce of course.
at this age they are already turning into little individuals with they're own wants and dislikes. just roll with it. and kids have very tiny stomaches. don't ever over feed them.
it will also help a great deal if you build up her appetite before dinner. let her run around and play alot. chase her and get her laughing and using some energy. she will not only eat better, after a nice bath she will sleep like a ....what ...you guessed it....sleep like a baby.
good luck... enjoy your and her dinner.
hey...start to give her what the rest of your family is having for dinner. and that ummmmmm sound really gets them curious. also set her plate just as you have yours. with choices...none of this one item stuff. would you like to eat just corn...or wouldn't you enjoy the steak and carrots (with a little butter on them) and some salad with the corn....try it...your will see...
This.
When mine were/are hesitant about eating, my hubby and I will talk to each other about how good it smells, and tastes. And just go overboard, "What is that delicous smell!!??" "Yum, this chicken is SOOOO good!!!" "Oh, Honey, did you try the corn yet?" "Yummy!!"
Works like a charm.
LOL! That's so funny! That type of thing had the absolute opposite effect on my son at that age, my daughter was pretty much an eating machine so we didn't need to try it with her, but judging by her personality I think it would've worked for her.
Make a whole meal with at least ONE surefire item that she likes at mealtime, they're stomachs are pretty tiny, you know, and the other poster was right about looking at a weeks worth of food consumption, quality not quantity is really the name of the game here.
LOL! That's so funny! That type of thing had the absolute opposite effect on my son at that age, my daughter was pretty much an eating machine so we didn't need to try it with her, but judging by her personality I think it would've worked for her.
I remember being amazed at how much a 1 and 2 year old could eat. There were times mine ate more than me for dinnner!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bellalunatic
Make a whole meal with at least ONE surefire item that she likes at mealtime.
I'd just like to clarify what you mean. (I think I know what you mean.) You're saying to make one meal in the day with something she definitely likes, right? I'm afraid the OP will think that you mean to always make her meals that she likes. I think that would be a mistake because it will teach her to be picky and she'll think she gets something different from everyone else in the family.
I wouldn't give her one thing at a time like that.
Give her the same meal you are eating that has multiple choices on the plate. Then just start eating your dinner. Ignore if she's not eating something.
You're teaching her to be a picky eater by only giving her one thing at a time until she finally likes something.
You're setting yourself up to having to cook special dinners for her when she's older.
I agree with this post. Serve the meal you and your hubby are eating and that's it. Once your child knows this is all that is going to be served, she'll eat. If you start fixing special food for your child you'll end up being a short order cook.
She is 22 months old. This evening at dinnertime I gave her corn. I left it on her tray for a few minutes. She wouldn't touch it. Then I gave her some pasta shells. She wouldn't eat those. Then I gave her some chicken. She wouldn't eat the chicken. So I took everything off her tray and gave her 1/2 piece of multigrain bread. She ate 1/2 of it. Then I gave her a string cheese. She ate a couple bites and didn't want anymore. Then I gave her some blueberries. She ate 1 and didn't want anymore. So lastly I gave her milk and she had a few sips and I just gave up. She had a snack around 4 or so, but I still would think she would be hungry by 7. Is it normal for toddlers her age to not want to eat? It gets really frustrating when I take time to make food that she won't eat which ends up being wasted!
Make a small meal and present small portions of it to her all at one time. If she doesn't eat that's fine. Some days toddlers just don't want to eat much. Their stomachs are small and their appetite can vary.
I would not get in the habit of letter her dictate what she will and will not eat, nor would I make a big deal out of it. Most parents fall into two camps:
1. They force their kids eat EVERYTHING without regard to the child's preferences. Meals can become a battle with this strategy.
OR
2. They cater to the whims of a picky eater making separate meals. You can go nuts with 5 family members if you go this route.
I personally feel that both extremes are detrimental to a child.
No child in our house has to eat food that they do not like. My husband and I have our own food preferences and we don't eat food we don't like. The kids are allowed to not like certain foods. I don't like beets or peas. My husband doesn't care for green beans. We aren't picky eaters but there are some foods we just don't care for and we don't eat those foods. I still cook them though.
We don't make separate meals for a family member who doesn't like particular foods either. If someone (adult or child) doesn't care for a certain dish they are free to not eat it. We simply do not make a battle out of food.
I recommend a similar approach with a toddler. Give her a balanced meal. Let her eat what she likes and pass on what she doesn't. Take note of her preferences so that you get a feel for what she eats. With a toddler I would try a food more than once even if she rejects it at first becuase toddlers may hate something one day and love it the next.
Maybe make her an entire meal and put it in front of her. Let her choose from the plate what she wants to eat.
Regardless of what my kids may want we all get the same stuff on our plates....just different sized portions. When our youngest became old enough to eat anything that's when we started doing that.
there are days when my son eats almost nothing. just 3-4 glasses of milk and maybe a waffle or an apple. the next day he will eat as if there were no tomorrow. the Ped. tells me that as long as he gets enough calories in a week as opposed to in a day, then not to worry. he is maintaining an excellent weight and gains as he should. (he is almost 4) i think this is just how kids are. i dont want to force him cause i dont want him to get an eating disorder, eating only cause it's a certain time of day or never actually feeling hungry but eating anyway.
i also stress to him at each meal not to eat more than he really feels like eating. when he is full, he is allowed to stop.
P.S. i only feed him what the rest of us are having---or better yet we all eat the same stuff. sometimes he gets to choose. i refuse to create a special menu for him.
My son is almost 2 1/2 and probably has not eaten dinner in 4 days now. He certainly scarfs down breakfast though. He is very picky and I have been giving him a plate of the same stuff the rest of us are eating. If he does not eat then he does not get anything else for the evening. I do not have time to cater to his pickiness. LOL!
Okay the problem here is that I am on a specific high protein diet. I eat the exact same thing every single day so I DO have to make her a separate meal, as unconventional as it may seem. So considering that, the best thing for me to do is to offer her a few different things at once?
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