Thought I'd just share with you all as I know loads of us have had - and do have - problems with picky eaters.
My daughter (now 3) had tiny amounts of milk. At a couple of months old, she'd only take around 2oz per feed and didn't take 7oz in one go until she was 18 months! Weaning wasn't hard food-wise, as she seemed happy to try most things, but would eat really tiny amounts of them. Every time she got ill, she'd stop eating and just drink milk. This time last year (just over 2 years old) she decided she'd stop eating everything and go back to drinking milk (oh, she'd eat the occasional orange, but that was it). This lasted around 6 weeks. Then breakfast started to be a problem - she wouldn't eat anything except one of those Organix oaty bars or her formula. Then everything new would be an issue - not new items of food, but the way in which they were cooked together or the way in which they were presented on her plate (mixed up was a no-no). She wouldn't eat anything warm, it had to be cold.
Luckily she took enough in to keep her roughly between 9th and 25th centile. I have no idea how!
Now for the past couple of months it's like feeding a different child. She eats breakfast - Weetabix and milk, plus toast if still hungry. She's tried two new meals in the past week, both involving mixing up of some of her favourite foods, and has eaten them both (ok, we did have "I don't like this" before we tried it, but with some encouragement she ate, then realised she did like it, then ate the whole lot). She'll eat properly at snack times and actually ask for more food.
So, don't give up! Keep up the positivity and don't let them see you getting upset or get upset/angry with them not eating. Keep presenting new foods, sometimes separating out what they do like so they have some familiarity while trying new things. And, as I've found out recently, pile on the praise when they do eat well - this is the one thing that's not difficult. I almost cry when I'm telling her how proud I am.
Hope my story helps! xx
My daughter (now 3) had tiny amounts of milk. At a couple of months old, she'd only take around 2oz per feed and didn't take 7oz in one go until she was 18 months! Weaning wasn't hard food-wise, as she seemed happy to try most things, but would eat really tiny amounts of them. Every time she got ill, she'd stop eating and just drink milk. This time last year (just over 2 years old) she decided she'd stop eating everything and go back to drinking milk (oh, she'd eat the occasional orange, but that was it). This lasted around 6 weeks. Then breakfast started to be a problem - she wouldn't eat anything except one of those Organix oaty bars or her formula. Then everything new would be an issue - not new items of food, but the way in which they were cooked together or the way in which they were presented on her plate (mixed up was a no-no). She wouldn't eat anything warm, it had to be cold.
Luckily she took enough in to keep her roughly between 9th and 25th centile. I have no idea how!
Now for the past couple of months it's like feeding a different child. She eats breakfast - Weetabix and milk, plus toast if still hungry. She's tried two new meals in the past week, both involving mixing up of some of her favourite foods, and has eaten them both (ok, we did have "I don't like this" before we tried it, but with some encouragement she ate, then realised she did like it, then ate the whole lot). She'll eat properly at snack times and actually ask for more food.
So, don't give up! Keep up the positivity and don't let them see you getting upset or get upset/angry with them not eating. Keep presenting new foods, sometimes separating out what they do like so they have some familiarity while trying new things. And, as I've found out recently, pile on the praise when they do eat well - this is the one thing that's not difficult. I almost cry when I'm telling her how proud I am.
Hope my story helps! xx
