Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

My son is 16 months old and is the worst eater on the planet. No matter what foods we try, he just throws it on the floor and gets very agitated at meal times. He will drink his milk, and sometimes eat breakfast foods, but for lunch and dinner it's like pulling teeth to get even a few bites in him. Honestly, I cannot understand how this kid is never hungry, yet has tons of energy all the time. I asked the doctor about it and he said kids go through stages where they eat, then don't eat, etc., but this "stage" has lasted for weeks! His weight is on target for his age, but I worry because he isn't getting the proper nutrition, and is developing bad habits! Did anyone else go through this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Re: Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

I'd look into contacting a feeding specialist. Many speech language pathologists specialize in helping children with feeding issues, including those that are sensory based. Early intervention may be the way to go for you...some kids go through stages, others continue and need a little help.

Re: Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

I went through this and it was very frustrating!

The only thing my DS would eat was Stage 2 baby food until he was 18 months.

We did contact a speech therapist and food/eating therapist...turns out that MANY kids have texture issues with foods, and it's not a big deal, as long as they are maintaining age appropriate height/weight growth, and are eating something.

Our therapists told us that it's no big deal for him to keep eating the Stage 2 jars, and that the absolute WORST things to do for a child with texture issues is to force him to eat something he doesn't want, especially a Stage 3 food with the chunks in it.

We slowly discovered at that 18 month point with our DS that he's eat toast/muffins/rolls...any type of bread product.

Eventually around 19 months he started to eat cold pizza (he won't eat hot pizza, because of that texture issue, and the therapist said that is right on point for a child with these issues).

Now at 20 months, he eats things like jelly sandwiches, cold pizza, any type of bread product (pancakes, french toast, etc).

The therapist told us that children like my DS tend to continue this for a long time, and are those kids that don't like fruits or veggies, etc.

She assured us not to get so worked up about it, and to go with the flow.

Since then, we feel much better, and we still supplement his regular food feedings with some jar Stage 2 food.
Oh, and sometimes he likes chicken nuggets.
He seems to like crunchy things.

Hang in there, and maybe you should also get an evaluation, it was the best thing my DH and I ever did...we felt so relaxed knowing that this happens to many children and it is not as bad as we think it is.

Please FM me if you have any questions.

Re: Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

Re: Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

I have a 17 month old rebellious eater also! I vividly remember this stage with my now 3 year old son at the same age. He would only eat diced peaches and lived on diced peaches and milk for weeks. No matter what I did, nothing but milk and peaches would enter his mouth! It was so frustrating!!

And now I am going through it with my 17 month old DD. She'll eat a decent breakfast and then its down hill from there. So I try to make sure that the things she does like are very healthy. I serve sweet potato pancakes, whole oat pancakes, etc.. She'll eat fruit and drink her milk. She is healthy and growing and sleeps well. So I'm not worried.

Just try not to get too worked up about it. If there comes a time when your son is not gaining weight, then you might want to seek some help, but at this point, my advice is that its probably just a stage. So give him what he wants...keep offering the things he doesn't want and then go about your day.

Re: Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

My son is 14 months. We JUST walked in the door from vacation. I am proud to say that during the vacation he FINALLY ate ALL table foods. Not a lot of it, but, he actually even got chicken down.
If I felt he didn't get enough, I'd offer him yogurt.
I have been trying him on table foods since he is about 9 months old. He does/did GREAT with the stage 3's, but, after that, it has been tough!
If it wasn't on the spoon, he didn't want it.
Im going to keep trying.
A lot of it still may end up on the floor.
He takes about 5 mins or more to get a piece of chicken down. It's definitely something with the texture.
Next Dr. visit, if it's still an "issue" we will see about EI as well.
I say, just keep offering it.

Re: Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

I wish I had advice for you, but I'm having a really tough time with my DD also. She is 23 months old and only wants Cheerios or rye bread. We've been going through this for several weeks now. Occasionally she will have pasta & meatballs so I take that opportunity and I make the Barilla Plus, which is made with the chickpeas and legumes. I always sit her at the table with us for dinner and offer her the same food we're eating and she just refuses to eat it. I also feel that her nutrition is going to suffer, so I will sometimes be able to get her to eat a yogurt. But for the most part, I can't believe she even takes in enough to sustain herself, let alone grow and provide for brain development. I asked the ped about it when I was last there (it wasn't TOO bad at the time) and he said to just leave her alone and that she'd eat when she was hungry. She used to be a teriffic eater and many people were surprised at how well she ate, but all that has changed in the last few months and I don't know what to do anymore. The only advice I have for you to is to keep offering him the food you want him to have first, when you know he is hungry. I've even tried not letting her have any snacks, hoping it would make sure she was hungry, but it hasn't seemed to make a difference.

Re: Need advice...my son refuses to eat...anything....EVER!

Your DS sounds just like my DD. I see all these kids eating so well and then theres my DD. She eats like a bird. Like your DS, my DD will eat breakfast, but hardly nothing else.

She likes junk food and i dont know what to do. She loves Chicken Nuggets and french fries, thats it. Oh, she likes cheese. I've tried almost every vegatable and she hates them. Im in the same boat and dont know what to do either. It drives me nutty.

I, too, dont want her to get into bad habits. But I tend to give her the things that arent the greatest just so she at least eats something. Its probably not the best thing to do, but I do it anyway. Bad mommy!!!!

ETA: She also likes crunchy stuff and carbs like pancakes, waffles, cheerios, etc.

Message edited 3/31/2008 9:53:29 AM.