Food Battles

Daniels eating is starting to frustrate the crap out of me.

He's not overly fussy about his food - will eat almost anything but getting him to eat is just horrid and it's just getting worse and worse..

Breakfast is okish if I give him custard with rice bubbles (which he totally loves).

Lunch and dinner though are so hard now. If I try and feed him with a spoon he puts his hands up by his mouth and smacks the spoon if I'm not quick enough to pull it away. I've tried giving him a cruskit or another spoon to hold etc but that doesn't help. He will clamp his mouth shut and whine. If I give him finger food he just throws it away or swipes his hand across the tray flinging everything onto the floor and will repeat this over and over.

The stupid thing is that if hes at the in laws and I feed him he will be a dream child, open his mouth and take it all.

And when you do get food in his mouth he will actually eat it. And he is hungry.

If he's sitting on the floor watching like mickey mouse he will eat some as well.

It's not just teething as it's been going on solidly for about a month now and is just getting worse.

And because he's being such a twit with his food he's not really eating enough during the day so he's waking in the early hours of the morn (like anywhere between 3-6ish) hungry... whereas before all this started he was starting to consistently sleep through 7-7 (which he has never really done other than the odd night).

Is this just a stupid phase they go through, or does anyone have any tips that I can try?

A friend suggested getting a plastic mat and sitting him on the floor by the tv to eat but I think that is just going to create a bad habit and he won't sit still for that anyway, he will just try and climb all over me.

my suggestions are different location; different time, maybe earlier... or leaving snack type finger foods other places for him to eat when he wants...

if he gets grumpy with the food remove him immediatley from the high chair and do something else.    

oh and most of all dont show him your frustration.

just say, "oh you dont want it, ok". then pack it away.

good luck.   

Edited by Bizzy

Yeah Spencer ends up wearing most of his. He loves mandarin slices but apparently they taste a lot better if you squeeze them with your fist until all the juice comes out and then eat them...lol.
I try to give him something I know that he will eat, he loves toast and potato and kumara wedges so I normally give him those as well as other stuff so that I know that he will at least eat something. I also find that if I give him one or two peices at a time that he eats but if I put it all in front of him he plays.