Food Concerns

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My son just turned 23 months and he refuses to eat table food. His daily food intake mainly consists of Oatmeal, fresh fruit (either - grapes, watermelon, cantaloupes, strawberries, apples, honeydew melons), yogurt and snacks (either - cookies, craisins, cheerios, cake, ice cream, wafers, crackers, granola bars). Sometime he will eat chocolate chip pancakes. He drinks whole milk, Pediasure, water and some juice. He also eats gummy vitamins. When he was 19 months, I completely cut out the stage 2 baby foods. Everyone was telling me to stop giving him the baby food. They also said when he is hungry enough he will eat. Well it has been 4 months and he has to hungry by now!!!

He is always saying "eat, eat", but when I place some veggies, chicken, pasta or rice, etc. on his tray, he will not eat it. I used to force feed him, but now I don't because it doesn't help. I want him to willingly pick up the food and eat. I sit him on my lap sometimes to eat so he can pick up the pieces of meat and veggies out of the bowl. Doing that works the first day, then the next day it doesn't work. I always eat my food with him so he sees me eating. I offer him what I'm eating, but he just shakes his head, puts his hand up and says no. I offer him the same food for several days straight, but he will not eat it. I pureed some sweet potatoes and one of those Gerber toddler meals, but he didn't eat it. I also made some veggie/fruit smoothies, but that didn't work either. He is very smart and intelligent. He knows what the food items are and he points them out in the grocery store, but when I sit him down to eat, he will not eat. So afterwards I'll give him some milk or Pediasure and he goes to bed hungry. I do not know what to do.

From your description, I know that both you and your son are very frustrated with your son's feeding challenges. You have certainly tried a great variety of things on your own to help your son to eat a greater variety of foods and it sounds like you are being a great role model by eating with him at meals. Without seeing your son in person we can't recommend specifics, such as whether your son's food refusal might be related to sensitivity to textures of foods, difficulty with chewing/swallowing foods, etc. What I would definitely recommend is that you contact your local early intervention provider immediately through this link and request a feeding evaluation for your son by an occupational and/or speech therapist who can assess your son's difficulties with feeding and begin to teach both you and your son some skills you can use at home which will lead to successful mealtimes.

You may also wish to contact the Kennedy Krieger feeding disorders clinic in your area for more information and assistance as well. Children with feeding problems will not simply eat when they are hungry enough (as is the advice you hear from most friends and family), they need specific therapy to determine the reasons behind their refusal to eat certain foods. Food refusal is not always just a behavioral issue. It is important that your son's feeding concerns are addressed so that he gets the proper nutrition and his health does not suffer. Our Thrive Place Child Development Center treats children with feeding problems in the Pittsburgh, PA area, and the majority of children who receive therapy go on to be able to eat in a successful and age appropriate manner. I hope that you can receive some immediate help through the two local resources for Anne Arundel county that I provided above.

Back to:  Therapist Questions & Answers - Food Concerns

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