Threenagers and food

[Pecarino]

DD2 was previously the poster child for BLW. Ate everything and anything and actually got excited by food. All that seems to be changing. Now she insists on plain pasta and has a strop if there is any sauce, even pesto which used to be a fave. All veggies are rejected and plates pushed away if there is an offending piece of food on it.

Remind me, wise ones, how long does this last? Will I get my adventurous eater back? DD1 was never adventurous like DD2 and although she now eats pretty well, I really did think DD2 had skipped this faddy phase. Apparently not

[Morlyte]

It lasted a year for us, it was bloody annoying!

[Fozza]

Cant remember. We are still having two year old strops and 'just started school my friends eat this' faddy-ness.

[scoobie]

My little one will be three in just a few weeks, he's been like that since 14 months.

[Seriously_Nutty]

Arch has been like this latey. I've stuck to him only getting what's offered and going hungry if he refuses it and lately I've toughen up and bribed it just feels like a lot is becoming habit 'I won't eat that because I don't' IYSWIM and he gets in a rut but pushing him more to at least try things (he previously loved) seems to stop the mental block a bit. He polished off much of his lasagne last night which he hasn't done in a while. I've also seriously limited his snack intake between lunch and tea but it's reality difficult when the others ned their snacks. Stealth snacking is not an art form they seem to have perfected!

[wacky12]

oh god, this is mine. we had salmon tonight, he used to polish off a whole piece of it and whinge for more. Now he wont touch it, or anything in a sauce, so no italian, chinese, etc homemade food - even noodle stirfry which he'd always at least eat the noodles from. He'll eat stuff a nursery he wont' touch at home. With the salmon, it isn't the taste - he'll eat canned salmon sandwiches and fishcakes. I even offered him a treat after and tho he seriously considered it, refused. But then he's not been eating more than 3 bites of dinner for weeks. Will have to restrict snacks in afternoon, but he doesn't want junk, usually fruit!

[mammy_made]

yep, mine too! used to eat anything, loved courgette and chicken, now she wont touch either, im hoping it doesnt last long lol x

[realsLINshady]

Oh - its lasted ages. AGes and ages. DD2 is still fussier than DD1 by a long margin - this is the baby who ate her own bodyweight in turbot with hollandaise sauce aged 10 months btw!!

She's now 3 and 4 months - and I'd say that she's been getting increasingly adventerous since around ehr third birthday. This week she added ham AND macaroni cheese to her reportoire. Two new foods in one week <faints>

Mind you - she has gone off houmous but that is what she ate, pretty much to the exclusion of all else, for the best part of two years.

Good luck!

[skip]

Right there with you. with a bit of persuasion he will now try things he's just refused, then declare "It's yummy, I like it!" But then won't eat more than the one bite we've convinced him to try and will ask for something else. currently his repertoire is crackers, ricecakes, plain pasta, ham, raw carrots, fruit, yogurt and chicken. Is this just a bland phase or what? This is the kid who used to eat everything, spicy or strong tasting especially. The strongest taste he eats now is olives, and he'd eat his body weight in them.

[Kanga]

Just to join in and say me too! Dd is exactly the same age as Skip's ds so good to know they are doing the same Have to say dd isn't as fussy as it sounds some los are, but compared to how she used to eat it is infuriating!

Like others have said she snacks a fair bit during the afternoon which I'm sure is largely habit, but then she only has fruit or a whole raw carrot (!) so I can't complain! She used to love mushrooms/courgettes but went off them a while ago and now is even turning down cooked carrots and broccoli. At one stage we were lucky if anyone else got any carrots with roast dinner! She has also gone off lots of kinds of potatoes especially baked and chips which is annoying!! She also used to love chickpeas but wont eat them either!

Like skip said there are sometimes that we persuade her to eat something and she decides she likes it and yesterday I asked her to eat 4 or 5 carrots if she wanted ice cream for dessert then she asked for a second helping of carrots!! *rolls eyes*!!

She is also doing the threenage thing of appearing far too tired to eat and needing help which is doing my head in! That said she is only 5 months off 4 now so hopefully it will wear off soon!

[Heidi]

[skip]

We've prob been a bit lax about eating as a family since R was born. More of a frantic rush for food in between cluster feeds, baths etc. He does do better if we all sit up and eat together, and eat early - definitely tiredness making things worse too.

Tonight was better actually. Dh made a chicken and broccoli stir fry with noodles and M ate almost all except the broccoli. We bribed him to take a few bites in exchange for a yogurt, and he declared it delicious but I think he just likes playing the part.

[Kanga]

[TwinklinGDecorations]

The Monster is out of it now and doing really well at trying new foods and identifying flavours in casseroles and the like But the Pickle is being a nightmare. No alternatives are offered and I have had to get a bit tough on snacks. There is no telling what she will or won't eat though so I am sure for her it is a pushing boundaries thing at the moment and I'm trying to ride it out with a smile.She usually goes for plain carbs but at lunch today she ate the fish (no batter or chips) and peas of her meal, and with the offer of a salad race a cucumber stick and a carrot stick too. Tea was the hole of the toad in the hole and then her bodyweight in blueberries and cold custard.
Lunchboxes - I alternate between corncakes, ricecakes, crackers, bagels, oatcakes and bread with either ham, cheese or marmite in; always a yoghurt and a smoothie; some carrot and cucmber/pepper; 2 bits of fruit and maybe 1/2 a packet of crisps or some cocktail sausages. I want to put in pasta or couscous but they won't eat it. I feel like they have the same old, same old every day but am not sure how to shake it up.

[skip]

M only has lunch 2 days a week at nursery but we generally put in either a ham/tuna sandwich, malt loaf/oat cakes/corn cakes/rice cakes or a veggie muffin (still his fave since he was first weaning!), some fresh and dried fruit or carrot sticks or olives, a yogurt and a cereal bar. There are enough combinations that I don't feel too bad, it's when he requests the exact same thigh for dinner that I feel perhaps his tastes have become a bit limited!! <sigh> ho hum, I guess keep offering and this too shall pass.