Feel free to post in this thread about your toddler if they are begin a bit fussy with their eating, maybe others can help, or what you write will help others!

Thanks for putting this up hon i appreciate it. Decided to start this for those of us struggling with fussy toddlers and Lisa kindly set it up. Thought it could be used for general ranting, posting hints andtips or recipes/ways you have found that make a difference

My lil one is 18 months now and was a brill eater til abot 14 months then she got a bug and went off her ffod and we have never seemed to get it back. She wont eat fruit xcept strawberries or dried fruit and often will refuse to eat something she enjoyed the week before. As shes only on 2d-9th centile i do fret about her losing weight as shes not got much to lose.

So far the few things we have found that do help are
a)she hates the tray on her highchair and is much better behaved in a booster chair at the main table
b)hot meals at lunch and snack style dinners
c)ignoring her at meals til she gets bored and tries some

Is still hit and miss though. I offer ruit and veg outright on the plate but also use 'ninja veg' where i sneak it into something i know she likes so i can try and catch her coming and going. We have a few recipes we know she likes now and are trying to work out how to widen that out but its hard work as sometimes she starts being good again and just as we start to relax and unclench she starts refusing again

Izzy isn't a fussy 'eater' as such, cos she eats plenty, however she can be fussy about 'how' she eats her food!

For example until recently she would allow me to spoon feed anything if it required it, now she will allow to be fed something, but others (yoghurt!) are a NO NO and she will have full melt down if you dare to try and feed her
The only way around it is to allow her the spoon, which I don't mind BUT she takes forever as she wants to play not eat..so its kind of letting her play and take some with her spoon, while trying to shove some in with another spoon, while she thinks you too are playing!
Its a very delicate thing and she can suddenly decide no way not feeding me!

I think it is the fist sign that she is trying to show her independence and I need to allow that while still trying to make sure she actually eats it!

Another thing is that she loves to eat with us, and even if she has the exact food we have, she tries to pull food off our plate.
If she eats first and then I am eating the same thing just a bit later she wants more of what I have on my plate and will eat a fair amount - so worth considering that if your LO is fussy - will they take food off a shared plate/bowl? If so what about putting the food in a central bowls and everyone takes what they want, pack instinct might make them want to try more?!

Jamie is both a good eater for weeks and then can turn to being a fussy eater for weeks
A tip though to getting them to eat things like fruite as a snack or good for trying new things, i do this with jamie. Give him a selection of things in a bowl or plate an leave it in the living room and 9 times out of 10 he will go over by himself and get stuck in, wheras if i would give it to him at the kitchen table or in highchair he wouldnt even try them, he will eat his main meals at table though, stange child

Libby is very hit and miss, sometimes she will be a complete nightmare and only eat a couple of mouthfuls of any meal (except brekkie, she always manages to eat the whole lot) and sometimes she can be brilliant and eat a full plate of her lunch and dinner - but unfortunately the is no rhyme or reason, it's really random.

For a few weeks she had been eaing brilliantly until last Friday and now we get a meltdown every dinner time, Friday because she wanted to play with her fridge magnets instead of eating, Saturday she wasn't too bad but I had bought her a portion of chippy chips and a battered sausage so she enjoyed that , Sunday she was very tired and even though she loves what we gave her - sweet and sour chicken and rice - she got worked up for no reason and refused to eat it and Monday she demanded 'sauce' (mayo) on her tuna pasta bake and despite me saying no several times she still wanted it so had to relent in the end. I'm dreading tonight's dinner, wish me luck!!

I'm loving the hidden veg ideas I've been reading - definately going to try that, I think it would benefit all of us. xx

Wow not sure what happened tonight but we put out the spinach and bulgar pilaf we hav found C likes and she ate a big bowl of it then followed itup with a kinder hippo, a fruit string and a petit filous before i sat down with my dinner and she helped herself to half my mashed potato

If any one wants the recipe for the pilaf its here:

I skip the labneh and tomatoes for C but she eats the pilaf itself ad since its got spinach and onion in it thats 2 of your 5 a day and the olive oil gives penty goo fats

1 onion, finely chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
6 ounces bulgar wheat
1 1/4 cups (10 fluid ounces) vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper
10 1/2 ounces spinach
leaves torn from a small bunch of mint, torn
extra-virgin olive oil
For the labneh:
1 1/8 cups (9 fluid ounces Greek yogurt)
1 fat garlic clove, crushed
pinch of salt
For the tomatoes:
12 plum tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon harissa
2 teaspoons soft dark-brown sugar
For the onions:
2 onions, very finely sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon soft brown sugar
juice of 1/2 small lemon
You have to start the labneh the day or night before. Just line a sieve with a bit of cheesecloth and set it over a small bowl. Put the yogurt into the cheesecloth and refrigerate the while thing. The yogurt will lose a bit of excess moisture over the next 24 hours, leaving you with a firmer mixture, a bit like cream cheese. Help it by giving it a squeeze once or twice. Tumble the yogurt into a bowl. Add the garlic, a little salt and mash it all together. Cover and put the labneh into the refrigerator until you need it.
Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and put them in a small roasting pan or oven proof dish. Mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, harissa, some salt and pepper, and pour this over the tomatoes. Turn them over, making sure they get coated, ending with them cut-side up. Sprinkle the soft brown sugar over the top and put in an oven pre-heated to 350F degrees. Cook for 40-45 minutes (hs note: less time if you use smaller cherry tomatoes), until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet. they can either be hot or at room temperature when you add them to the pilaf, so you could do this part in advance.
For the pilaf, saute the chopped onion in half the olive oil in a fairly heavy-bottomed saucepan. When the onion is soft and translucent add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Tip the bulgar wheat (or alternately couscous - see headnote) into the pan (on top of the onions you just sauteed), pour in the stock, and season. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let the bulgar simmer in the stock for about 15 minutes. All the stock will have been absorbed by then. Cover the pot and let the bulgar sit to fluff up for another 10 minutes.
Take the stalks off the spinach and wash the leaves well. In a covered pot, cook the leaves in just the water that clings to them after washing. they will wilt in about 4 minutes. Squeeze out the excess moisture and chop the leaves very roughly. Saute the spinach for a few minutes in the remaining olive oil and season it well with salt and pepper. Stir this into the bulgar wheat.
Quickly cook the finely sliced onions in very hot olive oil - you want them golden brown with some crispy bits. For the last minute of cooking time, add the cinnamon and brown sugar. Stir this around and, once the sugar has melted and begun to slightly caramelize, add a good squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and pepper.
Layer the different components in a broad, shallow bowl: tip in the bulgar wheat, sprinkle on half the mint, then the tomatoes, then the rest of the mint. Break the labneh into lumps and scatter them over the tomatoes. Now strew the onions on top, drizzle with a slug of extra-virgin olive oil, and serve.
Serves 4 to 8 (main / side).

101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/














google_protectAndRun("render_ads.js::google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);

Yay Mario, that's brilliant and well done C!!

Must be something in the air today, we gave Libby her dinner which was roast chicken pie, chips and peas and fully expected her to ask for 'sauce' but she didn't She ate all of her chips some of her pie and a few peas absolutely brilliantly, no whinging, no tantrums, nothing So because she was so good we let her have some strawberry cheesecake icecream (ideem, ideem ) Just before bed she asked for her 'milkshake' as well so had some strawberry Nesquik.

So one very happy mummy tonight!! xx

Same here. Now hopig she does the nappy for neil or the childmindr tommorrow!

Hehe got my fingers crossed for you!! xx

Lol Mario.

It sounds like you've had some good eaters today.

Mine on the other hand has been a nightmare

Rice krispies and cubed 'narna' - Ate most of.

Offered rest of banana for snack - NO!

We were out today so he ate, a mini (I mean the size of a 50p) spiced burger and half a rice cake then picked and piked at some cheesy beans (a grand total of a tablespoon eaten)

Refused any tea (tikka curry & rice) threw a right strop, then ate 1/3rd of a slice of malt loaf.

I will give him his dues this time though as he is now the proud owner of a new molar

Aw poor Oliver! Fingers crossed for a better day for you both tomorrow now that his tooth is through xxx

Susan,Libby+1 wrote:

Aw poor Oliver! Fingers crossed for a better day for you both tomorrow now that his tooth is through xxx

Aww, I doubt muchly his other cheek has been flared up for a while so the other one should been cutting soon too.

He's been really suffering (not crying much but just generally mardy) for a good week or so.. so i've been giving him some calpol a good hr before tea to see it it helps but no

Oh poorman. C def worse when teething. We looked all set for 2 new canines a fortnght ago but they go halfway then went on strike

Interestinlgy ive beenlooking at the site zee gave debs and it mentioned fluid intake (juice/water) should be 4-6oz. C drinks like 15-20!!! So tried to cut it a little today as maybe shes drinking when shes hungry. Dont think im ever gonna get it to 4-6 and wouldnt want to tbh as shes so well hydrated i wudnt do that to her but she had 10-12 today and ate better so maybe i need to limit her drinks a bit to get her to eat more. And then maybe i can go longer than 2 hours in a friggin pocket nappy too!!!

And suse i got a pear for her to try tommorrow ater talking to you last night. She wont eat fruit if i cut it up but usually wont bite into apples etc bu she did yesterday but seemed put off by how hard t was so thought if she would bite into a pear she might find its sweet and juicy nd at least can get her onto some fresh fruit instead of dried and bars all the flaming time

Izzy hates fruit skin, on everything really, so I peel apples etc..tangerines she just sucks and spits out the 'skin'

I defo agree that they can drink way too much - Izzy would easy drink 6 oz before a meal if I let her, but I let her have 1/3 of a beaker (2oz) first, then some half way and then she can finish what she likes after the food, chances are she leaves a couple of oz!

Mario when it says 4-6oz - that's per meal yeh? Surely that can't be in a whole day?!

Hmmm I'd never really associated drinking alot to not eating, I'll keep an eye on that.

Zee, oh no hopefully the tooth will be through soon.

Mario, I usually cut a pear into quarters and just put them in front of her, they have to be really ripe otherwise she isn't too keen. Hopefully C will enjoy them too.

Lisa, bless Izzy for spitting out the skin I suppose at least she eats most of the fruit.

xx

Lisa wrote:

Izzy hates fruit skin, on everything really, so I peel apples etc..tangerines she just sucks and spits out the 'skin'

I defo agree that they can drink way too much - Izzy would easy drink 6 oz before a meal if I let her, but I let her have 1/3 of a beaker (2oz) first, then some half way and then she can finish what she likes after the food, chances are she leaves a couple of oz!

Mario when it says 4-6oz - that's per meal yeh? Surely that can't be in a whole day?!

It does sound awful low for a whole day for def. C has over 20oz some days though plus her milk so we thought bringging it down to 10-15 might be better. Shes had about 5 or 6 already today so playing it by ear but def ate better yesterday for it

ARRGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! Meltdown at dinner again!!!!!!

We had tomato and basil pasta and chicken and she was demanding 'sauce' again, despite saying no several times we gave in and let her have some. We only gave her a small amount so she got through it quickly and when she asked for more we ignored her, it worked for a little while and she ate about half of her plateful. Then as we were clearing the table she decided she wanted some 'ideem', but we'd finished it yesterday, so yet another meltdown We let her down from the table and I cut a pear in quarters and put it on the playroom table, eventually she calmed down and ate that and a whole banana.

Tomorrow if she asks for 'sauce' again I am not giving in, I'm going to take it out of the fridge and then show her that it's not in there and I'm going to her it's all gone. I am getting sick and tired of this now

Yer, I mentioned on Debs' post about O's fluid intake increasing loads, in one morning (8am-1pm) he'd done 5 TT cups of juice + his milk So I have been offering juice after every meal now eg; B/fast, then juice..snack then juice etc
I've been doing it about a week now and have defo noticed a difference in his fluid intake - doesn't seem to do half as much if he has a little something today and for a change he wasn't nicking everyone elses juice at play group today after having a yoghurt 1st

He has done much better today, ate all B/fast, all lunch+half an aero pud (was full up) yogurt and bicci at group then half of tea without a meltdown, another yoghurt and a milky bar All that and his cheeks were still glowing red.

Susan - I was going to suggest that you make out that there's no sauce in. Or you could try making your own and saying its Libby's special sauce..or do something like H/made apple sauce or fruit chutney etc..If it goes down well you could maybe make a few up and freeze them

Mario - Moo can surely goo slightly longer now with his cheep pockets, now I can control his fluids a bit.


Anyhoo, I need a bit of advice - O goes through stages of behaving/misbehaving at the dinner table. He normally sits in his booster seat directly at the table with me, OH and my mum (so a full table) but he's started doing this thing where he taps his cutlery on his plate, my plate and who ever's at the other side of him, we've tried ignoring, showing our disapproval but he just does it all the more..we can't take his cutlery off him as he needs it. So we've had to resort to putting him back in his highchair at the table so he's not tapping every ones plate..but he does it to his own and proppa wacks it - its obvious he's trying to get attention as tonight he was doing it so loud (nearly chipped the plate )and because me and OH were ignoring him I caught a glips out my eye and he was so frustrated but carried on doing it

Does anyone elses LO do this? He only ever does it at tea time though, when were all there..never b/fast or lunch when its just me and him

Izzy doesnt do it, but have you tried plastic cutlery and plate for him - if it didnt make such a noise maybe he wouldnt be so interested in doing it?

Callum is a fussy eater he will not eat a mixture of 2foods on a spoon say like speghetti bolon,baked beans etc Will is starting to be a pain at dinner times. Im gonna try cottage pie for the 1st time tomorrow xx

Lisa wrote:

Izzy doesnt do it, but have you tried plastic cutlery and plate for him - if it didnt make such a noise maybe he wouldnt be so interested in doing it?

I've tried, but the plate goes flying and he can't eat with plastic cutlery (fork etc, he can't stab his food)

He was fine this morning and dinner time but I just know he's gunna play up at tea I was wondering if its cos we're all there so more attention or seeking undivided attention of us..but we've always eaten as a family, why now?!

Carla, Olivers a bit like that too, the other day I preloaded a fork of chicken and carrot, but he HAD to eat them separately Do you still feed him full time? Could try letting him feed himself, or you have a spoon and he has one, maybe if he's preoccupied he may not notice as much whats on the spoon. Good luck with the cottage pie

Well the cottage pie didnt go to well i even used his fork n spoon i let him play with it. He had half which some i had to force in his mouth other times he took some and then got to the point where he was just spitting it out over me. gave him a yoghurt 4 desert asual oh wanted me to cook him something else but i didnt see the need to so im just gonna give him a couple of biscuits and hopefully he will be full enough. Only thing i can say is atleast he did try some as such other times he would just look at it and keep his lips shut so i couldnt get near him xx

So how are our little eaters doing?

We've had such a lazy day today in regards to food, but tbh he hasn't done too bad B/fast eaten as usual, Out for lunch - he had sausage and beans and a slice of bread, scranned the lot, then tea he had fish and mushy peas..ate majority, followed by a choc desert which he'd never refuse anyway

We've still got the plate bashing thing going on though, but we're doing the 'ignorance is bliss' route Also, I've noticed - say for example O drops his fork, stuff like this seems to really put him off his stride, or if his foods hot..I say hot - and he says hot and blows!! but then he refuses to eat the whole meal, but its driving me mad cos he sees me plate it up so he goes and gets in his highchair, cos he's so impatient makes out he so hungry..then doesn't friggin' eat - argghhhhh!!!!

Jamies been ok with his eating lately am quite lucky that he loves veg and fruite, even comes over to steal my fruite . One thing i cant get him to do though is sit in his booster seat at the table he just crys when i put him in it any one else's LO do this? he's getting far to heavy to lift in and out of the high chair, have tried on several occasions at different times of the day to eat in the booster but he's havin none of it, but he's ok as soon as i put him in the highchair, any tips anyone?

Aww, Maxi. I can imagine. O's the other way where he's good in his booster but creates in his h/chair, but he's in the h/chair at the mo cos he's disrupting everyone elses meal, but we're just ignoring his behaviour. Its so hard though. Tonight he kicked off again, oh..and dinner time too. Its really getting to me now I've usually got the patience of a saint but its wearing so thin

Do you sit with him when he eats then (when his in the booster)? I'm not sure what to say other than ignoring his crys and remain positive with him about it - sorry am not much help.