HI. My son is 26 mos. & weighs 28lbs. He is the most finicky eater I think alive! His preference is crispy textured food and COOKIES. He has such a sweet tooth. He's hot&cold with foods. One day he'll eat it, the next scream at the sight of it.Sometimes he's even finicky about his sweets.Ever since he turned 1 his eating has gone done hill.He just qualified for speech therapy & I'm having him eval for O/T,because I think he has issues with texture (sensory), and a mild case of sensory intergration disfunction(hubby is ped p/t 7 knows something about this). I am also reading "the out of sync child" which focuses on this,and I see a lot of him in the book. I recommend it for anyone suspicious of SID. I'm hoping with treatment his eating habits will improve. It's hard to tell with the eating what exactly is going on. Can anyone relate to my story, if so I'd love to hear your tale.
I would love to hear from other parents about their child's eating habits at this age. Also, how tall and how much does your child weigh at this age.
Thanks
I must also mentioned that his weight has leveled off and he has not gained weight since his 18 month check up
Based on weight alone, your son is approx. at the 75% for his age, and if his weight is in good proportion to his height this is not alarming. However, if he continues in this pattern of eating it could well lead to his becoming overweight, and when this occurs during childhood it is very difficult to address. I think your idea of establishing more structure to the eating schedule is sound, and your specific plan sounds fine. You've also noticed his interest in soothing himself via food, and this as a rule should not be encouraged. Instead, help him to learn what he can do other than eating to feel better when he is in distress. Ask him "What will help you feel better?" and see what he comes up with. Self-soothing is a major skill to learn at a young age.