my niece has a son who is almost 16 months old...he's been eating virtually the same meals (lunch and supper) for the past 10 months - mashed potatoes mixed with meats and veggies...thing is he's growing tired of the same old...we try to feed him other stuff, but he only eats a little bit of it whereby we are not satisfied that he had a wholesome meal...so basically I would just like some suggestions as to what main course meals we could prepare for him...much appreciated

Hiya, i have a 4 year old girl, but just let me tell you once you get them used to only eating one thing is hard to get them to try some thing else, once you change his meal, dont worry if he does not eat it all, he'll little by little start getting used to the new flavors, plus if he is already 16 months he can already eat meat, rice and so on as long as you can cut the things as small as possible he will start eating eventually..like i said if you eat meat,chicken,pork you can already introduce those to him, fish i started my daughter on fish when she was 5 months but everyone is different so ask his doctor if he can eat fish... but good luck to you and i hope this is of some help..

what i did with both of my kids when they were little i would fix them a smoothie... you can put strawberries, yogurt, bannanas, any kind of fruit pretty much and its like a milkshake but its healthier.

and dont put suger in it.(its gross0 a friend of mine made her that way. you figure with the fruit thats all it needs.


also i had with my daughter i mixed the meat in with her baby cereal
even the fruit....
i did the same with my son.

Let's see,for different meals,there's sandwiches and soup.Kids love grilled cheese at almost every age.My kids love to have mini pizzas on english muffins.A good salad with lots of green.That's all I can think of right now.Hope it helped you!

a 16month old has barley any teeth to even eat salad

Tofu liquidizes real easy, almost all protein, mix in any food. I used to feed my girls what ever I was eating, just ran it through a plastic hand mill, added a bit of water.

thats true, but the cheese he can eat. granted mini pizzas would be hard for a 16 month old to eat.. but cheese, bread, muffins they can suckle on easily as long as the bread is soft though..

he can also eat avocodos.. i used to give that to my daughter she loved that stuff..but also can mix it in the cereal

im not a fan of tofu. but it also depneds on how the other person makes it... 2 of my sisters dont eat meat. and so tofu is usually severed in there home.. my daughter loves that. i have made it in the past making a stir fry..

2 of my nephews also dont eat meat

Talk to his pediatrician!!!

Found this on a MedHelp page for you......

As a guideline for a 16 month old child should eat the following: Dairy 4 feedings a day - milk (4 oz), cheese (½ oz), yogurt (½ cup), or cottage cheese (¼ cup). Starch 4 feedings a day – Cereal (¼ cup), pasta (¼ cup), rice (¼ cup), bread (½ slice), or crackers (2). Fruits
and Vegetables 4 feedings a day – Fruits (including 100% juice limited to only 4-6ozs) and Vegetables (¼ cup). Protein source 2 feedings a day – Meat or fish (1oz), egg (1), or beans (¼ cup). He should eat 3 meals and have snacks
between meals using the foods
above to be spread out throughout the day.

______

By 16 months, I didn't combine the foods anymore. The child will want to start tasting the individual foods.

If I remember correctly, at about 1.5 years, my kids were eating whatever the rest of the family was eating.

Also, around that age is when they wanted to feed themselves so I gave them toddler forks/spoons and let them feed themselves. I also allowed the use of fingers while they learned to manipulate the fork/spoon. They were more willing to try new foods if they could control how they ate it - the freedom to feel, smell, lick and then nibble at something new before having a whole mouthful did help.

the world has you well trained

16 months old and been eating only mashed potatoes mixed with meat and veggies only? LOL!Poor kid!

is that a good thing?? Lol

i have a 4 year old son and a 16 month old that i just keep for a while while my friend works. I feed them both breakfast lunch and dinner and I feed them what the rest of the family is eating. my 4 year old still to this day will eat someday's and other days he wont eat at all. but I know that when he gets hungry he lets me know

Good advice but you should also talk to the childs pediatrician.....

I have a very picky three year old. I always offer a NEW food to him every time I cook dinner. He usually only eats a short list of things, but one day I know he will out grow this phase. Chicken, hot dogs, pizza, etc.

Make meal time fun, bring in different colors, textures and let him taste a bit of what his eye catches,,

Tuna and crackers let him dig in with fingers and enjoy trying something new, (an example)

Take meal time as a learning experience for both Mom and Child

We learn color, taste, texture and most of all we bond in a more
indepth way

At this age children's appetite for food; and especially new foods is affected by many things.

Sometime appetite surges and wains according to growth spurts but it can be affected by many other things from errupting teeth, to nervous stomache, budding allergies, fatigue, and even the understanding that eating food; especially certain foods give them new found "power" in their world. Being calm, even disinterested, about the change is often key to acceptance. If you or and influencial family member says something the effort can be torpedoed and it is better to avoid making meal time stressful. reverseing the tasteing process while "cooking" where your child feeds you or a teddy bear tea, even a pet can take away the fear of the "new" food.

I have always been a fan of introduceing new food as part of morning play in the kitchen rather than at the table where "mamnners" can be made too much of the process. Introduceing foods at an evening meal when children are generally less suggestable even tired is counter productive.

Where possible if the child can handle it; washing it, snipping it with sissors, stirring it, mashing it, sprinkleing it spices, painting it with sauce, serve it in "party" dishes basiclly any kind of interaction that is safe for them to do will create curiousity and pride. For children tasteing something that is on their hands is natural part of discovery and if it is easy to eat they usually will. Allowing kids to pick a new fruit or veggie at the grocery store as a treat can create interest as long as the eat ing time is not too far from picking time. Self pick farms are a great treat for children and visiting a Farmer's market can be fun outing. A trick for fruits and veggies that can be too difficult to chew raw can be steaming until slightly cooked but still firm and flavorful but cooled before serving. Small children may have interest in strange combinations but if dipping strawberries in ketchup makes it fun who cares if you think it is a good combination. Introduceing only one new food a week is not a bad plan because children do tend to have allergies and you don't want a child to hate a whole food group because one food is offending. Just because a child does not like a food at one stage does not mean they will not like it later so not making and issue out of it is a good plan.

It is probably a good idea not to associate meat (fish and or chicken with ) with the baby animals they see as pets or cartoon characters.

Avoiding such appetite killers as butter, mayonaise, spices, vinegars, even beverages can help a child want food.

Also remembering they have very tiny stomaches (about the size of their own fist) helps keep portions manageable. Over feeding a food will make a child hate it for life.

NOT useing sugar, chocolate, whip cream, or other high calorie sauces/desserts as a bribe is wise because a child will hold out for what they want and it just re-enforces the bad concept that there are good and "bad" foods.

Preschool age children are not able to grasp the idea of "healthy" or "respecting the effort" that prepareing a meal takes. They can however pick up on any negative vibe and the food predudices that they over hear so be aware of "teaching" moments both positive and negative.