Picky eating behaviour

Ethan started to refuse his food since New Year eve...I thought he was playing up initially coz he stopped eating when family and friends drop by while he was having his meals...he will take a few spoons before he started to "lock" his mouth...being the impatient person that I am, I started to get frustrated and angry and started scolding and even forced and punished him...mealtimes became a battle ground for both of us and it drove me nut...then I thought to myself...this is not right...maybe something is wrong..perhaps he is bored with the food but then again I told myself he has only started eating pure solid food less than 2 weeks ago..he can't be bored with the food already as I cooked different menus most times...he used to love them that he even asked for more sometimes...it's a nerve wrecking to see him refusing food and it made me worry that he’s not getting the nutrition that he needs...I felt hopeless and kept wondering what's going on...I finally decided its time to open the pages of my "What to expect the toddler years" (1997, Murkoff et al) on the second day and true enough him refusing to eat during meal times is actually part of his developments ..it is normal for toddler to start refusing food as they are learning to be independent and thus trying to choose the type of food they like. And just to reconfirm, I did a search on the net to find out more...

"....it is perfectly normal for children to go through periods of saying they dislike something even if they loved it the day before. It is often due to their growing independence. This is why toddlers often go though periods of being fussy with what they eat." - having a mind of their own now...

"Refusing to eat is very common to toddlers because they are reaching a stage of learning control. To them, food is the easiest thing to control, eat or not eat." - aren't they smart as they now want to control us instead hehe

"...at about one year of age. The child now grows at a slower pace and does not require the amounts of food that were necessary to fuel the earlier growth. " - thus the reason why they don't eat as much I supposed....

"A common reason babies don't eat solids is that they are getting more food than they need the easy way, from the bottle. No toddler needs more than 24 ounces of milk a day and you can even cut down to 16 ounces. " - I may have overdosed him with his milk as I give him almost 24 ounces a day...

"...instead of aiming for a nutritionally balanced day, aim for a nutritionally balanced week" - ok now I know...

"Be aware of how little food a young child needs. A TABLESPOON PER YEAR OF AGE (i.e. two tablespoons for a two-year-old) of starches, fruits and vegetables is an adequate serving size. As for meat or chicken, a serving is the size of the CHILD'S PALM" - oh my...how little..no wonder...

and Murkoff et al said that "When it comes to eating and growing, a toddler's body works in mysterious ways. Toddlers manage to grow and thrive taking in amounts of food that, from parental point of view , seems insufficient to nourish a grasshopper" - thank goodness as I was worried sick about this ;p

So now I don't have to worry too much as my lil' boy is actually growing up and this is one of the phases that is perfectly normal..phew!! ;p

If you're having the same problem or getting yourself ready for this phase, here are some useful links:

• Managing mealtimes with your toddler
• Picky picky: When your toddler won't eat
• My toddler won't eat
• What to do when your toddler won't eat
• How to encourage your toddler to enjoy mealtimes