Feeding a Toddler is Stressful
I have been surveying a lot of my friends about what they feed their kids. I needed ideas on what to feed my 17 month old daughter and I wanted to know how my daughter’s diet compared with her peers. Turns out that that my daughter is normal. Since Annabelle has moved on from mashed baby food she has become picky, moody, and is eating less.
My pediatrician warned me that my baby’s appetite will decrease, because she isn’t growing as fast. She also told me that she won’t eat when she isn’t hungry. It makes sense, but sometimes you need a reminder.
My friends confirmed that being picky is perfectly normal at this age. It is frustrating when one day they love strawberries only to push them away the next day. My friend Myra wrote a phenomenal guest blog post here about her son’s picky eating habits. I think about that post often. Annabelle isn’t that picky, but I now understand better where Myra is coming from. She wrote about being judged in restaurants when she fed her son a PB&J. Now I feed Annabelle whatever she will eat, just to keep her in her seat and not to make a disturbance when we eat out. At home I try to be more strict and let her pout a little until she does calm down and eat whatever I placed on her tray.
I did get a few suggestions from my friends about food ideas. My friend Sarah made me feel better about feeding my child canned vegetables. They are soft and ready to go. Another friend only gets her daughter to eat protein once a day.
I could beat myself up about what my daughter eats, but I decided not to. In the last three days she has had cheese pizza, french fries, and pancakes. Not the food of champions. I used to pride myself in making homemade baby food and now I cheer if my daughter eats her chicken nuggets. Ensuring that my daughter actually eats the nutrition she needs is stressful, but it all comes along with the territory of parenting an increasingly independent toddler.
What do you feed your toddler? Do you have a picky eater? Do you find feeding your toddler stressful?
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What I have found to be great with Brielle (Deceptively Delicious cook book) she loves to dip anything. So I LOVE the dips and food for toddlers in this book, but all that said sometimes just getting anything down your child is great!!
The best thing you can do, Amanda, is keep offering her a variety of foods, even if she doesn’t eat them (and always carry back-ups if you’re in a restaurant). My son went on a fruit and bread kick during his toddler years– that’s all he would eat! No meat, no eggs, no veggies, no pasta, nothing. It was temparary though, and now he eats just about anything, as long as it isn’t spicy (or doesn’t have onions and bell peppers).
I also don’t compromise on food, because I refuse to make separate meals for each of my kids — it’s too much work! Sometimes I’ll let them eat leftovers if I’ve made something too spicy (who wants to eat un-spicy chili? Come on!).
I have a 4 year old son who has been picky about how & when he eats from day 1! Dinnertime (not lunch or breakfast usually) has ALWAYS been a battle with him. I think the evening are harder because he is tired and just can’t quite hold it together. I still ask him to eat what we are eating and don’t make a special meal for him. I try to have at least one thing on the plate that he likes and keep on trying other things. I ask him to try everything on his plate and he usually will. We have our ups and downs with it but slowly but surely it is getting better!
They go through ebbs and flows, just like us. I’m happy to report that things are already getting better on the eating front. I just kept offering new foods and eventually, Jake took me up on it. Cautiously, yes. But definitely progress.