[bubzillaiscoming]

Hi All,

Sorry - probs a boring topic and I will be brief
- DS is 14 months, he has always loved eating and we've never had a problem with him. The MCHN warned me that children often eat less as they get older and not to stress too much about it if he does so. He is eating A LOT less. Doesn't seem unhappy or out of sorts, but for eg refused to even have one mouthful of dinner last night, but did eat all his dessert (yoghurt). Ate his weetbix for breakfast this morning and had a plain salada after his morning nap. His lunch (vegemite sandwich, cheese, 2 slices of pear) resulted in him eating basically a piece of pear and throwing the rest on the floor.

So:

- Do I just leave him? He will eat when he is hungry?

- Should I be offering him yoghurt if he doesn't eat any of his dinner?

- Am I creating a fussy eater if I allow him to have the 'sweet' things (yoghurt) without having his meat/vegies?

- Should I go to the Dr?

Would LOVE some advice!! Thanks

[CherryAmes]

That's interesting, as my bub stopped eating so much at that point and now - a month later - she is eating heaps!

I've always allowed her to let me know if she's had enough, after all you can't force them to eat! I wouldn't make a big fuss.

The only thing that seems to make a difference is offering food more frequently - that way even if she has a bite, she's having a bite every hour or so, so it all adds up!

As I said, she has now started eating heaps again, so I wouldn't stress.

[BabeBlossom]

I find with my DD she goes through fussy periods and then settles down again. When she doesn't seem to eat as much or is rejecting some foods I just offer things she likes and more often.
I know things like yoghurt, cheese and crackers and fruit are her favourites so might offer more of these along side whatever I would have normally served her.
I think getting stressed around meal times or starting power plays(if you don't eat your dinner you won't get dessert etc) especially at this age is what will cause a fussy eater more than letting them have some control over what they eat.

[Majeix]

I would probably continue to offer lots of different foods and assume he will eat when he is hungry and that it is probably a passing phase. (Could even be as simple as a sore throat of just not feeling hungry). I wouldn't offer yogurt after every meal but I would probably offer a variety of food I knew he liked along side other thinsg and some healthyish desserts like fruit that were just a part of the meal reguardless of what he ate or didn't eat. I would also probably offer yogurt reguarly if I knew he ate it. He probaly wont eat ot but have you tried greek yogurt ?(even sweetened a little with fruit if he wont'touch it otherwise.) My daughter often has greek yogurt and fruit for lunch or a serving of yogurt as part of her dinner.

This post has been edited by Majeix: 16/04/2012, 01:04 PM

[Natttmumm]

I dont think you are creating a fussy eater at all. Just offer 5 or 6 small meals like breakfast, snack, lunch, arvo tea, dinner and later snack and let him eat if he wants to.
My DD2 was a big eater until around 18 months and in the last yr it depends on the day. I just offer healthy food as much as I can and leave it to her. Yesterday she ate no dinner (not even one bite) but an hour later ate rice crackers with cheese and milk as a snack.


He will be fine!

[deejie]

DS1 was a huge food eat and became very fussy at 15 months.

The theory that a child will eat if they are hungry has always been my philosophy. Does your child have a BF or milk drink before bed? If so, they are not going to bed on an empty stomach. I would always put dinner infront of DS1, if he ate it he ate it, if he didn't, he didn't and I would remove it with no fuss.

I never offer dessert if a decent amount of dinner hasn't been eaten.

Even now at nearly 3 years old, DS1 will go to bed once or twice a week having eaten either nothing or a mouthful or two of dinner. He doesn't have a milk drink before bed, sleeps the whole night and wakes in the morning for a regular sized breakfast.

If you are worried, offer dinner type food a bit more frequently- maybe some vege sticks or pasta spirals etc. I think sometimes at the end of the day, they are just too tired to eat so getting healthy dinner type foods in to them throughout the day is worth a try. Don't let your child fill up on milk in the afternoon which means they won't be hungry at dinner time-- timing of snacks/drinks beforehand might also be worthy of consideration.

If you are worried about the variation in food your child is eating (vitamin wise), talk to your MCHN. There are also paed dieticians you can see if your child is so extremely fussy that they are hardly eating anything.

[Livsh]

Is he coming down with a bug?

I usually find my two just stop eating when they are feeling rubbish but will take some yoghurt or milk, they come right again!

Keep offering the variety though!

[ForsakenTruth]

I doubt you need a doctor. As long as there is healthy weight gain and plenty of variety you don't need to over think it. At 14 months, if he doesn't eat dinner I would still give him some yogurt. Maybe not at 4 years, but 14 months, sure. Just remember that he is still developing his palette and children are far more taste sensitive than adults (taste buds haven't been screwed up by alcohol and nicotine and other vices). Things and textures he wouldn't go near last month, he may well like next week. Likewise, things he loved last week, may be fed to the floor this week.

[bubzillaiscoming]

Thanks everyone!! This has made me feel a lot better. I have also had a look at What to Expect in the first year and it seems this could be the norm!

He generally won't drink his night time bottle, but this isn't a new thing, but it does make me wonder if he is hungry at night, although I don't suppose he would sleep through if he was

I will persevere with the variety and so on. Hopefully he will come good soon.

Thanks for all your words of wisdom