14 month old refusing meals

I have a family member going through the same thing with their little one. You are not alone sending love 🩷

My son is almost 19 months and I feel like I wrote this myself. I think maybe his molars are coming in because he's barely drinking today.

I dunno if you're looking for advice, but be reassured this is entirely normal. Babies under 1 tend to eat almost anything they're given - parents think their 6 month old is a terrific eater and they'll never have to deal with picky eating, only to be in for a rude awakening when their toddler becomes more active and less interested in food. They also start to actually develop "tastes" around a year of age, so refusing food is a part of discovering what they like. You are doing fine.

Protip: toddlers can and often do seem to live on air. Don't worry about their nutrition. Try to include a few good fats and don't be afraid of fruits, because they are more palatable and have a lot of good nutrition. Just keep it low pressure as you are doing. Smoothies are fun for +1yos and you can cram in a lot of extra nutrition. But toddlers don't need the massive amount of food that babies do - most of them are grazers and prefer to snack in small amounts.

A little trick of mine - I like to give spoonfuls of nut butter between meals. Kid loves it, and it's a decent shot of fats and protein for developing brains.

Also, check her milk intake - if she is still taking a lot, milk may interfere with appetite, and make her more disinclined to try foods.

Also remember that it often takes multiple tries for kids to actually like something. Keep trying and be consistent, don't push, but end the meal if she's not interested and try again later. She will be fine and won't go hungry as long as you're consistently offering good food.

You got this!

Yes this is totally normal! Check out the Solid Starts resources on toddler selectivity (it’s different than true picky eating and you handle it differently); they’re super helpful.

My daughter went through this after 1 and I found that sometimes it was teething, sometimes it was to see what you would do and then other times was just seemed for no reason. In the end I would just let my daughter sit there with her food until I finished mine. I was consistent and always offered new food with food she already had tried and liked. I didnt show my frustration to her but when she was asleep to family and friends and partner. At 2 she went through a stage of eating no meat and wouldn't take supplements. I was tearing my hair out. She also wouldn't try anything new. Now she eats a some meat and will try most new things I offer but it took time and consistency and no pressure. Shes almost 3. Sometimes I feel like she lives solely on air. 🫠