my 9 months baby used to have her lunch,snacks without any problems. But these days , she throws tantrums a lot..she does not like to eat and enjoys playing all the time.
How to handle this?
-Thanks
You don't tell if she is eating baby food or table food. If she is eating baby food-she is probably ready for table foods. It is common for babies around that age to not want baby food anymore--and to let you know about it!May be time to move to another type of food for her.
Babies do go through kicks where they don't eat much, and that is OK. Your baby is NOT going to starve herself. Forcing her to eat can set you both up for power struggles and her with food issues.
But you do want to get here to eat, though. Isn't parenting fun?
Try turning snack time into play time. Sit in the play area and have a picnic. Let the toys have a turn eating, and hopefully she will be curious and come over to "play" eating with you. Try some fun children's dishes to serve on to get her interest.
I have a 10 month old girl (today!) and she is going through the same type of thing. She is sick of her regular oatmeal, and she is so "busy"!! I think it's normal. They are on the move now, crawling and stuff. They just don't want to be bothered with eating. But of course, we need to make sure they do. Just try to make it fun. Good luck!
just have patience. babies wont starve themselves. the more calm and patient you are, the more confident and safe she will feel during her "phase". dont push anything, just make sure shes getting breastmilk or formula and dont worry about solids. they arent nutritionally necessary until after a year anyway, especially if shes getting breastmilk/formula.
:D OK? calm, patience.
Hi there!
I have just this to advise: Kids will never go hungry. My sister lived off soda crackers. She's 42 and still petite, but she just didn't need to eat that much, she still just eats here and there.
I know you're concerned becasue she's only a baby. But my mom always told me this, " J., if your baby is loved, hugged, fed and changed," that's all they need.
Kids grow in sperts. They grow up and then out, up and then out.
Your child will let you know when she's hungry.
She'll let you know.
Don't worry, unless she starts to lose her energy. Then I would be concerned. But if she's having fun. Why worry!
J.
My daughter is about the same age and the same problem :) I give her another spoon to bang with while I feed her...seems to distract her a little bit so I can get in a few bites here and there. We also have a built in toy on the tray that she can just reach enough to turn. She enjoys that as well and as long as you can handle the mess, there is always letting her squish up the nutrigrain bar, cracker, banana every now and again as well.
What types of food are you feeding her? Are just spoon feeding? Try giving you child her own spoon to play with. Try introducing finger foods. Cheerios, bannanas, avacado are good starters.
Other than offering the food, there is nothing you can do to make her eat. You don't want meal time to become stressful.
Another thought. Are you feeding liquids before food? Try doing food before breastmilk or formula.
Hi A.,
It is totally normal for babies and toddlers to have fluctuating appetites. Some days my son (14 months) picks at his food, and other days it seems like all we do is feed him. Malnutrition does not happen overnight--it's what a child eats in the long-term that matters.
From the way you describe things--she doesn't want to stop playing--she sounds happy and healthy. But two things come to mind at this age: teething and food allergies/intolerances. If she's teething, it may hurt to eat and drink. If you are introducing solids, she may be eating something that is upsetting her tummy, and making her not want to eat much.
The food allergies/intolerances are a long shot, but if you've ruled out teething and her appetite consistently stays low for a long time, you might want to watch for a pattern.
