I just don't know what I'm doing wrong

[Guest]

My son is 18 months and he will NOT eat anything but fruit and yogurt and occasionally a price of toast or a bite of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before he throws it.

Today I offered sausage links, scrambled eggs, and peanut butter toast for breakfast.

He ate part of the toast and that's it.

For lunch he was given apple slices, steamed carrots, and cheese quesadilla (he's been offered carrots and quesadillas so often he touched a carrot the other day and I got excited) but he only ate the apples.

Yesterday I tried giving him a smooth soup and half a croissant (he used to eat croissant and is now refusing) and he didn't eat anything all night and went to sleep without food (his snack before serving dinner was 3pm).

I just don't know what I'm doing wrong he won't even go near the plate if he sees it before he gets to the table and it has something he doesn't want on it.

He eats ZERO meat, I've gotten him to eat a few bites of meatloaf ONCE.

I'm just struggling and have probably been pushing the food too much and recently I've just been cooking it, offering with a food he likes, and not making a big deal and he still only eats the fruit

[Devi]

I’m on the same boat with you, momma! My 15mo son is also refusing most food. NO meat for the past few months, no egg either. I only depend on milk for his protein intake.

[Rosie]

Keep doing the no fuss approach, it takes months to take effect. Remember babies are designed to graze and their stomach is the size of their fist

[Ella]

Try serving nothing but safe foods for a week. Increase his confidence around eating. Then start offering one new food or old safe food with one meal a day.

[Maytinee]

Only way I get any fruits and veggies into our Sir Wiggles (3.5) is through smoothies - frozen spinach. He's started eating "little trees" as of yesterday.

I put soaked oatmeal into the smoothies too.

Sorry, that's all I've got in my arsenal right now..

If he's willing to touch things, unlike our son - maybe try steamed and cooled black beans, quinoa (whole protein) mixed into smoothies... or shelled Mac and cheese (the Kraft macaroni ones taste like glue and get too mushy for us once it's cooled)

Sir Wiggles Despises anything creamy and tart.

What are his textural preferences?

[Carolyn]

Will he eat mash? My son is 2yrs and the only way I can get veggies or meat into him is steam it and mash it together, like I did when he was first starting solids

[Sylvia]

My son was the same at 18 months. Keep offering new foods along with ones he likes (think one favorite on the plate, one new). ITs a LOT of trial and error at this stage. Hang in there!