[mturner]

Some of my kids favorite things:
mashed potatoes (messy, but they love them!)
scrambled eggs with turkey and cheese
applesauce
mandarin oranges
cheese cut up
turkey cut up
spaghetti o's
any kind of pasta
whatever chicken we are eating (just nothing spicy)
pizza cut up
they love cheese ravioli
corn
cooked carrots
jello
pudding
goldfish crackers and gerber puffs
fruit snacks
cereal bars
yogurt
eggo waffles
toast with jelly cut up into bite size pieces
pancakes
blueberries and strawberries
rice ( I add butter and they love it!)

Good luck!

Martina
Mom to Ella 2yrs. Nicklaus 1yr. and Joseline 3yrs.

[sak9645]

My daughter was 17 lb. at 18 months, and she grew very slowly. She didn't hit 20 lb. till she was well over age two. She didn't have a real growth spurt till she was about 10 years old. Now, at 12, she's in the 25th percentile for weight on the American charts, and that's probably ideal for her.

Our pediatrician was appalled by Becca's small head circumference and low weight on our first meeting with him. However, today, he is embarrassed to realize that he counseled me about the possibility of learning problems and such. Becca is way above grade level in all of her school subjects, and doing absolutely beautifully. She is also a well-adjusted, popular child.

Size is a lot less important than consistent growth. Failure to grow is a problem, and could be related to parasites -- Giardia can evade detection for the longest time -- and other issues. Failure to eat, and failure to move from liquids to textured foods, are indicative of feeding disorders that can be treated by a professional. But some kids -- and especially kids from Asian countries -- are simply small, but healthy and normal in their growth patterns.

It's normal for a toddler to want to self feed. It's part of a toddler's move to become more independent. It's also normal for a toddler to be rather bad at self-feeding, with only 10% of everything served making it into the stomach.

The parent should simply expect feeding to be messy and inefficient. And the parent should understand that a normal portion of a food for a toddler is very small -- about one tbsp. for every year of age. If you serve a toddler a small cup of pudding, and he/she tries to eat it with fingers, smearing most of it on his/her face, he/she will still manage to get a spoonful or two "down the hatch," as a general rule. And that is generally plenty.

Make a wide selection of healthy foods available. The child can eat most of what you eat, if it is cut up very small or mashed or cooked a bit longer than you would cook your own portion, so that it is softer. Omit the salt and sugar, if possible, when you prepare the food.

For breakfast, there are lots of options for the self-feeder -- scrambled egg, bits of toast with butter or jam, cut-up segments of clementine or tangerine, bits of banana, etc. And if you are willing to put up with the mess, try mixing Rice Krispies with a little flavored yogurt; offer a spoon, but don't be surprised if your child picks it up with his/her hands.

For lunch, slivers of chicken or tuna, small chunks of cheese, left over dinner veggies such as well-cooked green beans or carrots, crackers, etc. are easy to handle. Add some cottage cheese if you don't mind a bit of a mess. Some children may be willing to let you feed them a small bit of soup AFTER they have satisfied their self-feeding needs.

For dinner, some kids will eat "mixed" foods and some won't. As an example, lasagna is a "mixed" food, since it includes meat, cheese, sauce, and pasta. Some kids will love it. Others won't. If yours is one of those kids who won't eat mixed food, simply think about that when you are preparing dinner. Instead of putting all the cooked ground beef into the lasagna, serve your child a little of it plain or with a little pasta sauce. Make a small bowl of noodles and serve them plain or with a little pasta sauce. Cut or shred some of the mozzarella cheese to serve on the side And so on.

Dinner offers lots of options for self-feeders. Things like mashed potato or yam are pretty easy to eat. Noodles, though messy, are great if you cut them up a bit. Almost any cooked vegetable will work. Fish or chicken can be cut up very small. Some kids will eat tofu.

Snacks are probably the easiest things to serve the self-feeder. Put a little cream cheese on crackers. Slice apples very thin. Cut up little pieces of melon. If your child likes to "dip" foods, come up with nutritious options -- crackers and an avocado or spinach dip or a very mild salsa, bits of fresh fruit in a dip made from yogurt, etc.

Once kids start self-feeding, it's really, really important that you make and enforce the rule that ALL food must be consumed while sitting down in a highchair or at a table. Wandering around with food is dangerous, and can lead to choking. It also leads to a pattern of overeating. Needless to say, it also increases the likelihood that food will get mashed into the rug or stain the upholstery.

Always stay with your self-feeding toddler. This includes NOT letting your child eat in the car unless the motor is off and you can quickly grab your child if he/she starts to choke. Kids don't have a sense of how much food they should put into their mouth, or how long they should process it with tongue and teeth. It is VERY easy for self-feeding kids to stuff their mouths too full, or to try to swallow something whole.

Sharon

[isabel41206]

my little one loves apples but I peel it and slice it then cut it into pieces. ditto the whatever you are eating only cut it up.... her favorite thing is tortillas ! we make corn tortillas and she begs for one everytime she sees us cooking them.

[joyloo]

I like to make yogurt smoothies for DS to drink- he doesn't really like eating veggies so I throw some spinach in there with bananas & strawberries and he loves it. He also loves these bite sized veggie patties- I think they are made by Morningstar Farms? They have a spinach & artichoke one and broccoli & cheddar one, he loves them both. He also likes nutrigrain waffles with applesauce on them.

[mylovebug]

Which problem would be better to have? Someone who has a child that needs to gain weight or someone who has a 9 month old who needs to lose weight? Thay have put our foster son on a low calorie diet. He weighs 25.15 and he is way off the chart over 100%. He is only getting 6 oz with cereal (for reflux) every 4 hours ( but not in the middle of the night) and each jar food needs to be under 90 calories AND THAT IS SO HARD TO FIND) So it has been a struggle to deal with this. He wears 18 months clothing, size 6 in diapers, and some size 4 shoes if they are for a wide foot. It has lots of challenges of its own dealing with a large baby, I have to make sure that he can still breathe when I put a pair of pants on him. So Any food or snack ideas that are low calorie would be greatly appreciated.Thanks to all who encourage us and give much needed tips.

[asauer]

Ask your doctor about a handout on "maximizing caloric intake". It gives great tips on how to put more nutrient rich calories into kids' meals. Example-put butter and/or cheese on everything. I'm talking soft cheeses, not hard cheeses. Another example is looking at lables to see which bean or bread or pasta has the most calories and buying that one. My daughter is very small too and it's had to feed her healthy food, but still pack in the calories. Also, if you've introduced your daughter to peanut butter (or other nut butters), that's a good source of nutient rich calories.

[JustBarbara]

Avacado or Guacamole spread on whole wheat bread and cut up. Humus is another favorite, on pita. DS loves falafel. Grapes - cut in half. Now that summer is almost here- any kind of melon cut up. Cheese - great but be careful of the string cheese. I saw DS gobble it and thought ah- another food group - ah no ... he ended up choking on it and I had some terrifying seconds and gave him some sharp taps on his back - not enough to break any ribs but thankfully enough for the food to dislodge. DS's first food was mashed potatoes - and we could add finally chopped up chicken to it - now of course he wants to eat it by himself and have 3-4 distinct foods to taste.