23-Month-old Not Eating Well

S.,

Have you thought about adding some protein powder to her milk bottles? I could send you a sample of what Arbonne has if you like.

L.

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My daughter is the same - 25 months and eats very little. I try to get her to eat a good breakfast (oatmeal/bananas or a waffle with some syrup or a whole grain English muffin with some jelly or cheerios and fruit). For lunch - always a yogurt - she loves yogurt. And for dinner, I do my best and tend to supplement with baby food twice a week (I use the baby food to hide meat and veggies on the spoon). She will always eat the Earth's Best Vegetable Turkey Dinner. It's healthy and I know that she will get a balanced meal from a couple of jars.

it may be a texture thing. try everything and just keep going back to them... if she doesn't want it after some tries, then maybe she really doesn't like the taste or texture. it's so hard to get kids to eat sometimes. maybe even if you do raw veggies with dip or make yogurt fruit smoothies to balance her diet. she is probably being picky just because she can. :)

my son doesn't eat red meat (he's almost 5). we figure that he doesn't like the smell/taste and it just grosses him out... he would go so far as to vomit on demand when he was asked to eat it.

try to make it fun and try even having her eat at a different location like the tub... i do that when i am running out of time at night :)

-L.

Hi,
I have a 28 month old and he is just starting to try new things. Try condiments it worked for me. He is much more likely to eat his eggs and chicken with ketchup on them and although I avoided syrup for a long time but I gave in to whole grain waffles with a little bit of light syrup. He loves yogurt so I also buy the large stonyfield organic yogurts and put it in his sippy cup with milk like a smoothie and sometimes I blend some fresh strawberries and put them in it. Just make sure they are puree'd very well or they get stuck in the cup. Other then that the kid loves cheese, sometimes I feel like I am raising a mouse. What has also worked for me is just praise when he eats, I tell him to chew for mommy and that he is eating like a big boy and he seems to tolerate it.

You too?! My 23 mos old toddler has been very finicky with her food and the doc assures me this is normal. Besides, I can't keep up with my daughter's ever changing whims: one day she likes chicken nuggets, the next she doesn't.

To combat this, I offer her healthy dry cereal to munch on: Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Healthy Start, etc. She likes crunchy things so she'll eat it and get some vitamins in the process and its good for on the go.

Other than that, I keep offering different foods and everytime she does eat something I praise her and make a big deal out of her finishing her plate (ie. sing the Dora song "We did it!").

I'm interested to see what others have to say.

Normal, normal, normal. Just go with it. Don't make
yourself crazy about this. Just give her what she wants.
If you look at her diet over a week, she is getting
everything she needs. Just enjoy her.

Your little girl has stopped growing at the rapid pace she did before. SO she doesnt need much food. Keep the junk food away from her and she will be fine. No little kid ever starved themselves. She is also learning to say NO and if you make food an issue she will use it as a power play. Let her start chosing her breakfast and lunch, giving her 2 healthy options. If she refuses both, just shrug and say oh well, theres a banana on the table if you want it.
A person's normal stomach is the size of their fist. Look at her tiny fist and see how little she needs to fill up. As long as shes health and active dont worry, better thin that fat.

i like yogurt (i use stoneyfield whole milk yogurt) and mix it with some flavored applesauce. this is my fallback in case no one will eat anything. gerber has a product called pasta pickups that my kids love. they are expensive about $1.25 per serving, but they eat it. i also give them soup with all the broth drained and i sometimes add a buttered slice of bread. i feel the same way, i am desperately searching for something my kids will eat!

Hi S.,
I have a 3 1/2 year old little boy who can still be very selective about the foods he eats. Will your daughter eat scrambled eggs with cheese? This is the one thing my son would never turn down and it made me so happy knowing that even if he refused everthing else I gave him, at least he had received vitamins and protein from the eggs. Wegmans also sells a super yogurt with omega 3 and pre and pro biotics, my son loves this. Another favorite of many little ones is mac and cheese, I make a simple cheese sauce, mix it with whole grain pasta and add some small steamed broccoli flouretts. My toddler is ever changing as I am sure yours is, keep introducing new foods and reintroduce old foods that she once liked.

This is our constant struggle as well.
I have a 3-1/2 year old and a 20 month old. Both are on the smaller side (I think they're too busy playing to eat, and with my working full time I don't have the time to make wonderful elaborate meals).
We saw a nutritionist for my 1-year old who told us that its okay for them to eat healthy snack-type foods or non-traditional itmes as meals: peanuts, granola, cheese, yogurt, graham crackers, PB&J, omlets or pancakes for dinner, strawberries, etc.
One trick that I use is to set up their plates like hors d’oeuvres with toothpicks in each hotdog or chicken nugget bite. The change seems to make it more fun for them to eat.
They're both in the lower percentiles for their ages, so my husband came up with the great idea of giving them Pediasure milk shakes before bed when they don't eat much for dinner - this way they don't run off the calories. The nutritionist seemed to think this was brilliant and recommeneded high-calorie Hagen Das ice cream with the Pediasure. My fear was that the boys could see it as a reward for not eating, but she said that if dinner's at 6 snd bed time is at 8 there's enough time between that they won't associate the two as connected.
Good luck to you. I'm sure years from now we'll be saying "I can't believe this was ever an issue - these kids are eating me out of house and home!"

I too have a 23 month old who has days of not eating well and other days she eats a lot. We call her our "boaconstrictor". I have asked the doctor and he says as long as she eats a little and drinks she is fine. Make sure you are still giving milk and water to drink that is readily available. we give our daughter sippy cups of water and leave them where she can always reach them. They also don't make a mess if laying on their side or even upside down in the toy box! As long as she knows where it is we are happy. This time of year dehydration is always a concern so just give fluids. She will eat when she is hungry and she may "fill both legs!" A.

My 21 month old daughter has been doing the same thing on and off for the last 4 months. SHe will only eat yogurt and oatmeal cookies and cheerios for weeks and then all of a sudden she will eat chicken and peas one night but not the next. My doctor has told me not to worry. Just keep offering healthy foods and snacks and when she wants to eat give as much as she wants. Toddlers are finicky and eating is not a priority when trying to learn other new things. I just give my daughter a vitamin everyday.

is she guzzling juice or milk?
either one of these beverages will reduce appetite. kids close to the age of 2 don't eat as much as when they were younger. part of the reason is they are not growing as fast.
simply make sure that you both have access to good quality veggies, grains and protein. nothing has to be fancy. here's a link to some super easy summer recipes, most of which would be great for your little one. http://bedfordmagazine.com/Media/PublicationsArticle/Susa...
you also might want to check out cynthia lair's Feeding the Whole Family, it's one of the best books out there for busy moms like you.
enjoy!

S.,

Dips! Any type of dip. Our son has stopped eating the way he used to and wasn't consuming enough food during the day. We introduced every type of dip imaginable, from ketchup, to BBQ sauce, Ranch dressing...anything. He even does guacamole now. Just last night we had another food struggle. Wouldn't eat chicken I had bbq'd. So out came the sauces. He ended up having 3 small servings before asking to be excused. It is really working with us. Good luck!