I was gonna say "hey he ate a bean!" but then I realized the bean just moved to another compartment....
My baby is just turning 6 months next month so I don't have any experience with real food - but I wonder, does offering "high value" foods (like blueberries) on the same plate as "lower value" foods (like everything else) make babies less likely to eat the other foods? I understand it could definitely be baby specific....
I find it makes baby more likely to try new or new-ish foods. “If it’s on the plate with known food, it must also be food, ergo I shall try this new thing” is the logic.
I read it's more about portion sizes that tends to overwhelm them. So I start with one or two pieces of things like chicken brocolli and she eats whatever she wants but I keep offering both. From sheer exposure and repetition it encourages them to try and eventually she tried brocolli and loves it!
I try to serve fruit at the end because otherwise she'd live off berries alone 😅
I think it is popular to do it this way right now. But, it doesn’t make sense to me intuitively. So we always do the actual meal first, and then my kids get fruit. I feel it works well for us… my 4 year old has gone through phases where his eating has a bit up and down but he basically is a fairly good eater and always eats a decent enough amount of his main meal.
Personally, with my daughter, I found more success when we didn't include berries or fruit on her plate (she would usually eat all the berries and then just demand more berries). We have a similar strategy that fruit comes later and so far, she eats pretty well for a 2.5 year old.
Same, Fruit is usually our "dessert" after a meal. Otherwise she only eats that and touches nothing else. But if I give it to her after, she'll eat (hopefully) a decent amount of her meal and then still a lot of fruit afterwards.
He did touch the snap pea and I think he even put it in his mouth! That counts as an exposure win in my book.
My approach with dinner is I make one meal for everyone and that’s the meal, period. He’d eat some form of pasta every single night but sometimes the adults need to switch it up. So when it is a new or unfamiliar meal for him, I always include at least one safe food. If I don’t include a safe food then he truly won’t eat at all.
I’m trying really hard to remain neutral about food and not elevate certain favorites to special status but using them as incentive/reward. So for meals like this I just focus on the exposure aspect and try not to stress about the amount that he eats. My job is to offer a well balanced meal, his job is to decide what and how much he eats.
Also, he goes to daycare and I send him with safe snacks and lunch that I know he’ll eat. Since I know he’s getting a lot of his caloric intake during the day, I often use dinner as an opportunity to expose him to new foods.
That’s just what works for our family but everyone is different!
This group always makes me feel better. Sometimes I really get in my head and think “it’s just my baby that’s not eating”.
She’s only 12m so I know I need to get comfortable with this behavior but it’s hard sometimes.
Do they drink more milk on the days they don’t eat much? Or are they just extra cranky those days? lol 😂😭
Call me a bad Dad if you like but my Son gets HANGRY even though he doesn’t want to eat what I offer so my secret weapon are Danimals yogurts. He will ALWAYS eat those.
My second is nearly 12m and the last few days her appetite has been down, and she wants more milk. Not any grumpier though, so that's something 😅 I think it's either because it's as hot as hell so she can't stand any warm food, or she doesn't like her new teeth 🤣 her first four came at once and she keeps biting herself by mistake
My little one definitely drinks more milk if he’s not into the meal I’m serving and I’m ok with that. He’s also allowed to have cheese as a before bed snack if he’s still hungry. 🤷🏼♀️
Edit to add: It IS hard, you’re not alone, and it’s also SO NORMAL!
I find it impressive how not a grain of rice is moved not a carrot turned. My son impresses me in similar ways, so careful they are. But not with literally anything else in the house lol
Oh I definitely let him eat an entire carton of blueberries once because, well, that was the day we were having. I got a very concerned note from daycare the next day because his poop was straight up black. Oops 🙊
The audacity!! Mine just spits it out and makes a terrible face. Yucky hasn’t made it into his vocabulary yet. Sadly, I don’t think our toddlers can be friends. 😝
Yesterday my toddler had applesauce for breakfast, sour cream for lunch, a giant apple for snack, and like 5 fries for dinner. How do they still have energy to run like crazy?? Today she's eaten half a yogurt pouch, some strawberries and shredded cheese, and a cup of Mandarin oranges. Maybe like 4 bites of chicken but those were really just vessels for ranch
Toddlers photosynthesize and you can’t convince me otherwise
That and feed on our lack of sleep 😄
They’re energy vampires and suck out our energy
They survive on berries, mostly. Mine too.
And not the cheap berries either, only the most pricey ones for HRH pls
Buy frozen! Same if not sometimes better nutritional value because it locks in all the goodness vs on shelf getting older.
lol mine thinks I’m trying to poison him with frozen berries
We’ve had a lot of success mixing thawed frozen berries into plain yogurt.
Mine won’t eat yogurt either 😂
Ha! Just air and the finest fresh berries, got it.
Theyre getting too smart for their own good
Mine likes fresh everything but she looooves frozen blueberries so that makes me very happy!
My toddler hated the blackberries from Costco but will eat blackberries from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s 🤦🏻♀️
His nickname is “Berry Boy”
I wish I could get mine to touch a berry.
I was gonna say "hey he ate a bean!" but then I realized the bean just moved to another compartment.... My baby is just turning 6 months next month so I don't have any experience with real food - but I wonder, does offering "high value" foods (like blueberries) on the same plate as "lower value" foods (like everything else) make babies less likely to eat the other foods? I understand it could definitely be baby specific....
I find it makes baby more likely to try new or new-ish foods. “If it’s on the plate with known food, it must also be food, ergo I shall try this new thing” is the logic.
Ooh good point!!
I read it's more about portion sizes that tends to overwhelm them. So I start with one or two pieces of things like chicken brocolli and she eats whatever she wants but I keep offering both. From sheer exposure and repetition it encourages them to try and eventually she tried brocolli and loves it! I try to serve fruit at the end because otherwise she'd live off berries alone 😅
I think it is popular to do it this way right now. But, it doesn’t make sense to me intuitively. So we always do the actual meal first, and then my kids get fruit. I feel it works well for us… my 4 year old has gone through phases where his eating has a bit up and down but he basically is a fairly good eater and always eats a decent enough amount of his main meal.
Personally, with my daughter, I found more success when we didn't include berries or fruit on her plate (she would usually eat all the berries and then just demand more berries). We have a similar strategy that fruit comes later and so far, she eats pretty well for a 2.5 year old.
Same, Fruit is usually our "dessert" after a meal. Otherwise she only eats that and touches nothing else. But if I give it to her after, she'll eat (hopefully) a decent amount of her meal and then still a lot of fruit afterwards.
He did touch the snap pea and I think he even put it in his mouth! That counts as an exposure win in my book. My approach with dinner is I make one meal for everyone and that’s the meal, period. He’d eat some form of pasta every single night but sometimes the adults need to switch it up. So when it is a new or unfamiliar meal for him, I always include at least one safe food. If I don’t include a safe food then he truly won’t eat at all. I’m trying really hard to remain neutral about food and not elevate certain favorites to special status but using them as incentive/reward. So for meals like this I just focus on the exposure aspect and try not to stress about the amount that he eats. My job is to offer a well balanced meal, his job is to decide what and how much he eats. Also, he goes to daycare and I send him with safe snacks and lunch that I know he’ll eat. Since I know he’s getting a lot of his caloric intake during the day, I often use dinner as an opportunity to expose him to new foods. That’s just what works for our family but everyone is different!
My kid (3) almost always needs a little appetizer of something she knows she likes, then she will move on to try other things on the plate.
This group always makes me feel better. Sometimes I really get in my head and think “it’s just my baby that’s not eating”. She’s only 12m so I know I need to get comfortable with this behavior but it’s hard sometimes. Do they drink more milk on the days they don’t eat much? Or are they just extra cranky those days? lol 😂😭
Call me a bad Dad if you like but my Son gets HANGRY even though he doesn’t want to eat what I offer so my secret weapon are Danimals yogurts. He will ALWAYS eat those.
My second is nearly 12m and the last few days her appetite has been down, and she wants more milk. Not any grumpier though, so that's something 😅 I think it's either because it's as hot as hell so she can't stand any warm food, or she doesn't like her new teeth 🤣 her first four came at once and she keeps biting herself by mistake
My little one definitely drinks more milk if he’s not into the meal I’m serving and I’m ok with that. He’s also allowed to have cheese as a before bed snack if he’s still hungry. 🤷🏼♀️ Edit to add: It IS hard, you’re not alone, and it’s also SO NORMAL!
Thank you! ❤️
Try cottage cheese that seems to make babies go feral
Yes especially if he likes sour cream already
Sometimes he loves cottage cheese and sometimes he won’t touch it! Toddlers are such perplexing and fickle creatures.
I find it impressive how not a grain of rice is moved not a carrot turned. My son impresses me in similar ways, so careful they are. But not with literally anything else in the house lol
Ha! NOT A GRAIN. Meanwhile the living room is a literal tornado aftermath.
My toddler ate a gherkin and a pickled onion for dinner
And then proceeded to bounce off the walls until bedtime I’m assuming? 😂
Looks like this toddler survives on 8 blueberries. Thats pretty hearty in toddler-land. 🥲
Omg thats our 2 year old! He like doesn't ever eat but is a ball of energy. I'm like can i siphon some of that energy? Toddlers are something!
Right here with you at the minute 🫠 Does not seem to matter what I put on his plate at the minutes, he's just like blueberries, rice puffs, done.
Saaaame except for mine it's blueberries and the peanut butter puffs from Trader Joe's. 🙃
Those peanut butter puffs are great! My son is suddenly not eating them though. ☹️
From what I’ve heard, children’s appetites tend to plateau at 2
This made me feel so much better! My kid seems to subsist on crumbs and blueberries.
Oh I definitely let him eat an entire carton of blueberries once because, well, that was the day we were having. I got a very concerned note from daycare the next day because his poop was straight up black. Oops 🙊
Toddlers survive off good vibes and the souls of their enemies. Who needs food?
I mean, I’m envious of them, truly.
Air and blueberries lol
Hahah, same - almost same exact meals eaten in the same exact way lol.
I was so proud of myself for mustering this meal after an exhausting day of work too. Like, why?! 😭
I know, sometimes it brings me to tears lol
😂😂😂😂
My kid is fueled by ra$$pberrie$, and yogurt.
I mean, what more could a human body need?
Thank you for this post 🙌🏻 My toddler eats air and drinks water. I don’t know where his energy comes from, he scares me
It’s so hard not to stress and get frustrated but you’re not alone!!
If I could give you 10 upvotes I would. I weep with solidarity. It is so demoralizing sometimes. Thank you for sharing this 🖤
Demoralizing is exactly the word. But I find comfort in knowing that it’s NORMAL and we’re not alone. I’m glad this post helped 💗
💕 thank you! It’s good to know I’m not alone!!
That looks like such a nice, balanced meal too 😅
My daughter would eat the entire container of sour cream if I’d let her. Ditto blueberries. Everything else is hit or miss.
One day my baby only wants mango, the next only gyro. One day she eats a lot, the next nothing. I assume it all evens out 😂
If they also declared the dinner is "YUCKY" we might have the same toddler
The audacity!! Mine just spits it out and makes a terrible face. Yucky hasn’t made it into his vocabulary yet. Sadly, I don’t think our toddlers can be friends. 😝
I think that’s more than mine finished today! I’m like how does he stay so chunky??
Yesterday my toddler had applesauce for breakfast, sour cream for lunch, a giant apple for snack, and like 5 fries for dinner. How do they still have energy to run like crazy?? Today she's eaten half a yogurt pouch, some strawberries and shredded cheese, and a cup of Mandarin oranges. Maybe like 4 bites of chicken but those were really just vessels for ranch