Help!!

supermum1

ok so i'm having 2 problems with my little boy at the moment and i've always received amazing advice from you guys so here it goes...

First off is an issue with food, he's 21months and over the last 2 months has decided to become a fussy eater to the point that he doesn't eat any of his dinner. the problem is mainly with veg (of course) strange thing is he'll eat a whole bowl of veg soup no problem but if I put veg on his plate he won't touch it. I was brought up with the rule "you eat what you're given or you don't eat at all" but when it comes to my son i'm not sure how to deal with it. me and my husband eat very healthy diets so it's not that veg is rare in my home. anyone have tips on how to deal with this?

also in the last 2 weeks he has started to cry in his sleep, i don't think he's teething (he has 14-16 teeth) and he is generally well. is this common? is there anything i can do?

Thanks for listening, any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

January

Fussy eating becomes normal at this age, it's an independence thing, they're trying to assert it! Just take the bowl away and offer nothing else and he'll eat it eventually. He's not going to starve, don't worry!

My little lady is 2 now and she cries in her sleep... she still has a few teeth to get so I think it may be that? Is he cold?

supermum1

wow thanks for writing back so fast!

in terms of his eating I have been doing that since day one, i hate to say he's gone to bed without dinner more time than i'd like! unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working and usually ends in a temper tantrum.

it's reassuring to know that other children cry in their sleep! i don't think he's cold, he wears full pj's with a vest under and has a duvet. I try to never let his room dip below 18c and have my heating timed to come on for short periods through the night to keep the house warm.

Children are so difficult!

I also have one more question (i know i'm getting greedy now, i'm sure you can tell i'm a first time mum!) he's not talking yet which i keep being told isn't good! he constantly babbles to me and understands what everything is ie if i ask him to get his cup he will go and get it. is it too early to worry/

January

Hey, we're all nervous, even if we're first time mums or seven time mums, kids are different! Ask away!

My little woman has a few words, but a lot of it is still babble, a friend of mine (who posts here too), her son still doesn't speak and he'll be two in Feb. If you are worried you can self refer to the speech and language therapist, just contact your local health centre (where your PHN sits) for the referral form.

metrovelvet

Honestly, I wouldnt make him eat foods he doesnt like or send him to bed hungry. You dont want meal time to turn into a power field, which is what will happen. Eating, like sex, sleep, play should be a pleasure.

I can tell you that my parents practised what you do and they lost many if not all battles with me over food, and food took on much more significance than it should have and they ended up losing big time. As I got older the table became a battlefield.

If he eats the veg in soup form, then give it to him in soup form.

I will make dinner for me and my son and if he eats it he eats it and if he doesnt, he doesnt and I'll give him a small supper or snack so he does not go to bed hungry. I do this also so he will sleep better.

lynski

get him to help 'prepare' dinner a little, like give you the veggies to chop or choose the pasta. Also I make pasta sauce with hidden veg; grated carrots or celery, onions, tomato, pepper or mushrooms and some tomato paste. my 2 love it. my 2 also eat raw carrots and lots of fruit.
Re the speech your lo prob has loads more words then you realise, just not fully formed words, but using sounds for particular things is considered words.

rylie

I try not to offer alternatives to baby rylie's meals, but I have to admit if he totally refuses it I'll give him plain toast because he just wakes at night if he's hungry.

Also he frequently cries in his sleep, he was at it last night and I think it was the change in routine- he started back in creche after the holidays yesterday so I think it was on his mind. We usually leave him to settle himself although it's hard listening to him cry.

Bill2673

Hi there

With our boy who is two and a half, we had the same thing where all of a sudden he just stopped eating green veg, at about 20 months or so.

When he was younger, we thought we were great altogether since he would knock back a bowl of broccoli no bother. But that all stopped about this time last year.

Like you say, if we do a veg soup he would eat it no problem, but the only way to get him to eat green veg was/is to blend it into a mush, or blend it in with carrot and spud so that its not green anymore....and even that might not work.

Veggies he will eat are spuds, parsnips, carrot (maybe) and especially baby tomatoes and avocado.

My best trick is to tell him that I'm going to eat his dinner and that its for me and not him and so on, that turns it into a bit of a game where I get all *mad* when he eats it instead......probably this is the wrong thing to do, but we just want to get his belly full.

Penne pasta is the great staple in our house.

Good luck!