It is common for parents to worry if their one year old boy, girl is refusing to eat. Mothers often observe that toddlers who are one year old are eating small amounts, are fussy about what they eat and at times refuse to eat at all.
Reasons for – Why my one year old boy, girl is refusing to eat:
As parents, especially mothers need to keep in mind these following things if your toddler is refusing to eat –
- Experts say that growth slows down in the toddler years. So, toddlers around 1 year old or between 1 to 5 years old don’t eat as much as you expect them to. How much a child chooses to eat is controlled by the appetite center in the brain. Kids are already programmed to eat as much as they need for growth and energy.
- Understand that sometimes when your one year old boy or girl is refusing to eat or drink, it is because a toddler’s appetite varies constantly due to growth spurts. With growth spurts, comes the changing eating habits and activity levels. The child is still figuring our what s/he likes or dislikes.
- One biological factor that parents need to remember is – toddlers have small stomachs. Hence, that is one reason why they eat less.
- For example, small babies of around 7 months old who are going to the toddler phase are curious about the world around them. Therefore, they have short attention spans for food.
- Sometimes, 1 year old babies want to push boundaries. They want to show how independent they can be. And one of the ways they do it is by sometimes refusing to eat.
- As mother of 1 year old you must have seen that your little one liked a food just yesterday and today is refusing to eat it. Right? Well, it is common for toddlers to show how independent they are.
- As mother of 1 year old you must have seen that your little one liked a food just yesterday and today is refusing to eat it. Right? Well, it is common for toddlers to show how independent they are.
How to handle feeding challenges for babies?
The first step is to provide options. Offer healthy meals at regular times through the day. And be okay if your 1-year-old is refusing to at certain times.
If your one-year-old baby is refusing to eat whole meals, try reducing the amount you’re offering. Your toddler can always ask for more if they’re still hungry after the first serve.
One mistake most mothers make is to force their little ones to finish everything on the plate. By doing this you are making mealtimes stressful. This creates a hurdle during the next meal times because the baby relates mealtimes with stress.
Sometimes, try this method out. Between meals, you can offer your toddler nutritious snacks like fruit or vegetable sticks. This will provide toddler with energy if they’re eating only small amounts at main meals.
Do not worry if your 1-year-old or 2-year-old doesn’t eat very much sometimes. Generally, toddlers need only small servings at mealtimes, and children are very good at judging how much food they need.
A lot of times, encourage your toddler to trust their own appetite. By doing this you’re preparing them for independent healthy eating later in life.
Trying new foods for your 1-year-old: tips
It’s common for toddlers to refuse or avoid trying new foods. Here are ideas that might help.
Create a cheerful environment by making mealtimes ‘happy’. Sitting at the table to eat as a family should be a regular feature at home. Make your toddler sit on the baby dinning chair during meals whenever you can, so that the child gets to eat and watch everyone eat too.
Enjoy eating the food you have cooked. This creates a psychology in your toddler that eating food is about happiness.
Slip in new foods when your toddler is relaxed and is not too tired or distracted by other things.
Mothers, in an effort to finish everything on the plate, sometimes stretch mealtime to around 1 hour. Set a time limit of about 20 to 25 minutes for a meal. If your baby hasn’t eaten the food, take it away. Don’t offer an alternative snack or meal. Instead offer regular drinks of water until the next snack or mealtime.
Do not bribe your toddler with treats just so they’ll eat some healthy food. Children are great at psychological suggestions. Therefore, this can make your toddler more interested in treats than healthy food.