I have always been used to my eldest son Finley eating so well. Right from when we started weaning he would eat anything I gave him and really enjoyed food. He would love snacking on raisins, would eat all of his lunch which was mostly always sandwiches and loved fruit!
Finley loved a sandwich
No problem with spaghetti
Noah, my youngest, on the other hand is completely different. He is so stubborn and knows what he wants and if it isn't what he wants he won't have any of it. They are both very different in the fact Finley will eat the whole of something he is given, where as Noah will eat what he wants and leave the rest. There is never much wastage of food with Finley.
When we started weaning he was very much like Finley with the purees that he would eat whatever we gave him until it came to start on the more textured foods. He would take the first mouthful and if he didn't like it he would pull it out his mouth and not take another spoonful. So I would go to the cupboard and get a puree out and let me have this instead (This may have been where I went wrong). Then came the finger foods, I found this stage one of the hardest as he will NOT each sandwiches or wraps or pitta bread or anything like that! He lives on baked bean, spaghetti hoops and scrambled egg for his lunch. I have tried again and again but he will not eat anything sandwich like and ends up throwing it on the floor.
When it comes to fruit he will eat strawberries and tinned peaches. This is our limit. Blueberries get chewed then spat out and a banana doesn't even get tasted before its on the floor.
Noah wasn't sure on the taste of raspberries
At tea time he will happily eat chicken nuggets, turkey bites, potato waffles and all these finger foods. He will also eat spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne and cottage pie no problem but anything else you have to tread carefully. I make a lot of casseroles and I like us to all eat the same and together. I have to mash up the casserole so it has no lumps and distract him with the ipad for him to eat it. But if he all of a sudden decides I'm not eating that we're stuffed, lol!! So what I did the other day was I told him if he ate a spoonful of pork casserole he could have a spoonful of ice cream, and it worked! So this is how the meal went and he ate it all. So we now have to use bribery when Noah refuses to eat. I'm hoping it is just his age and its just his way of being in control but I am so not used to this.
I never thought feeding a child would be so hard! And sweet stuff, no problems there!!
Even Finley having a little word with Noah didn't persuade him to eat a sandwich!
Feeding a child can be incredibly hard! Especially if they become a fussy stubborn eater.
ReplyDeleteChildren develop such a want for particular food and tastes that they will and can reject food at any time.
My two boys have always eaten well with food choices.
Although my eldest (now 5) is difficult. But he has something called a geographic tongue. This is where his taste buds move....so subsequently from one month to the next what he did like he then suddenly doesn't. This changes constantly so I am always retrying food.
My youngest (now 3) is the fussy one. On a whole he will eat anything. But I often get days where I get 'I don't like it' and 'I don't want it'.
It's hard so you've got my sympathy.
I think you're doing the right thing though by giving motivation to eat. Just start weaning him off the ice cream/treat. After ever 2 mouth falls etc.
Good post ☺
Thank you - these toddlers and their food are hard work aren't they! :-)
Delete