I need your advice. So, my 17mo son has eaten worse in the last 3mo. Dropping safe foods left and right, and just continuously refusing to try new food (even in a more chill setting like when he’s playing).
So he likes cereal like cheerios and corn flakes. I’ve been putting it in his bowl most of the time, for example: oatmeal, rice with some gravy, barley, soup, etc. He will have to scoop those “actual” food in order to get the cereal, sometimes he will use his hands to get the cereal directly though.
Or else he will not even try the food. I feel like I’m setting him into bad habit, where his bowl has to have crunchy cereal on it.
I’m tried limiting the amount of the cereal i put, meaning i wont add more to it. But he won’t proceed eating without it.
What should i do? His hasn't gained weight in 3mo, btw.
My 17mo son has eaten worse in the last 3mo
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Cathlyne
My daughter is the same… she doesn’t like meats, maybe a lunchables ham she’ll try a piece but that’s it…. She doesn’t like being fed, so she eats on her own but most time food just going to waste…. I cannot force food on her… plus she just had RSV and recovering and the more she doesn’t want to eat ANYTHING!
She has lost so much weight… she doesn’t like drinking anything else other than her milk, a sip of wAter or juice… she’ll eat maybe 10 cheerios…. 2 bites of banana, some pasta… she’ll taste the meat and spit it out…. Super frustrating but I can’t give, I’ll just keep offering! Definitely it’s something I’ll discuss with her pediatrician next week for her 18th month visit…
She has lost so much weight… she doesn’t like drinking anything else other than her milk, a sip of wAter or juice… she’ll eat maybe 10 cheerios…. 2 bites of banana, some pasta… she’ll taste the meat and spit it out…. Super frustrating but I can’t give, I’ll just keep offering! Definitely it’s something I’ll discuss with her pediatrician next week for her 18th month visit…
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Elizabeth
I’d give him the cereal! It’s super frustrating when they won’t eat meals but personally, I’d rather my kids eat something rather than nothing. Keep serving other options alongside the cereal but try not to push too hard. I know my picky eater shuts down when I would push him to try things. My son is 3.5 now and his eating is really starting to improve! Still not amazing but most definitely better than it was. I noticed a huge shift when I started serving something I knew he would eat with the rest of the meal. Hope this helps!
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Jess
toddlers and meal time!
We have so many discussions on how little toddlers eat. Hopefully this will give peace of mind to some of you.
Tag a worried parent whose toddler used to be a fantastic eater as a baby or save to share with the grandparents 
. 
This is it.
Toddlers are just not very hungry.
They are also very busy. They have so many skills to practice, so many places to go to.
And they really really need to establish their autonomy. My body, my food decisions.
Eating is just not a high priority for them, because biologically, they can grow and develop just fine when eating what seems like very little.
Here are some examples of how dwindling appetites may affect toddlers:
Only eating absolutely favorite and very easy to eat foods. Dinner with accepted options is refused but a pouch or puffs are a hit.
Throwing food. If babies may throw food to learn about gravity, food throwing in toddlers is often a way to say: “Sorry, not hungry right now. Please don’t make me eat."
Not eating dinner with accepted foods but begging for snacks after. If we included an accepted food or two in the refused meal and they ask for a snack 15 minutes later, it’s likely not because they are suddenly starving. It’s probably because they just want that particular food.
Eating ok breakfast and lunch and very little or nothing at dinner. They may get just enough calories in the first half of the day.
Toddlers breastfed on demand may refuse most meals or eat very little solids because most of their low caloric needs are met with the breastmilk. And since snuggling with a mom is a lot easier than sitting in a highchair and eating meals, they are not motivated to do the work.
Similarly, a toddler who drinks more than 3 cups of milk a day has less appetite for meals for the same reason.
The good news is that toddlers crave structure and limits just as much as they crave autonomy within those limits.
We have so many discussions on how little toddlers eat. Hopefully this will give peace of mind to some of you.
Tag a worried parent whose toddler used to be a fantastic eater as a baby or save to share with the grandparents 
. 
This is it.
Toddlers are just not very hungry.
They are also very busy. They have so many skills to practice, so many places to go to.
And they really really need to establish their autonomy. My body, my food decisions.
Eating is just not a high priority for them, because biologically, they can grow and develop just fine when eating what seems like very little.
Here are some examples of how dwindling appetites may affect toddlers:
Only eating absolutely favorite and very easy to eat foods. Dinner with accepted options is refused but a pouch or puffs are a hit.
Throwing food. If babies may throw food to learn about gravity, food throwing in toddlers is often a way to say: “Sorry, not hungry right now. Please don’t make me eat."
Not eating dinner with accepted foods but begging for snacks after. If we included an accepted food or two in the refused meal and they ask for a snack 15 minutes later, it’s likely not because they are suddenly starving. It’s probably because they just want that particular food.
Eating ok breakfast and lunch and very little or nothing at dinner. They may get just enough calories in the first half of the day.
Toddlers breastfed on demand may refuse most meals or eat very little solids because most of their low caloric needs are met with the breastmilk. And since snuggling with a mom is a lot easier than sitting in a highchair and eating meals, they are not motivated to do the work.
Similarly, a toddler who drinks more than 3 cups of milk a day has less appetite for meals for the same reason.
The good news is that toddlers crave structure and limits just as much as they crave autonomy within those limits.