Bad eating habits of 13months old

I really like the tip on eating together with your kids. Thanks so much for sharing!

Are you eating with your daughter? It's really important that your children see you eating and enjoying food and they tend to eat so much better if you sit with them, also eating rather than just trying to shove food in their mouths. Meal times really don't need to be such a battle, sit with her, eat with her, chat to her. Give her a selection of finger food for her to try feeding herself, a bowl of food with a spoon for her to try to eat herself and you also have a spoon to see if you can get the occasional mouthful in. If she closes her mouth or turns her head, listen to what she is telling you and don't push it. My 16 month old hates me feeding him but happily eats loads feeding himself, he's been like that for a few months. Don't worry about mess and don't keep fussing over her and wiping her. Let her explore the food and have fun with it, hopefully some will go in her mouth too. With regards to the iPad or TV, you are the parent, you make the rules. I've never allowed my children to have TV, iPad or toys at meal times, therefore they don't expect it. Take it away, she's young enough that she'll soon forget she was ever allowed them at mealtimes.

Actually really you have the bad habit, not your child. It sounds like she isn't really interested in food yet, and does not enjoy being spoon fed, both of these are quite normal, the way you handle them is important. I have two children, the first was very interested in eating from the day we started solids and would cry if I stopped feeding him before the bowl was empty, he ate anything and everything and in any form. He was over 12 months before he ever spat a single thing out, brocolli florets, liver, salmon, beetroot, all gulped down!. I actually wondered if there was something wrong with his tongue and he physcially couldn't do it as others complained about their babies refusing foods. I didn't even need a bib with him, it was like feeding a baby bird! My second baby in contrast although crawling by 5 months was not really interested in food at all before around 11 months. She absolutely refused to be spoon fed purees, insisting on doing it herself. I gave her finger foods, put a drop cloth beneath her high chair and left her to it. She is 20 months now and still more or less feeds herself, and still isn't a huge eater at all except for dinner when she has a "proper meal" but she does have a good attitude to food and will eat enough if left to do it at her own pace. She is lean but lengthwise has grown well and hit all her milestones at the right times. Babies are different and their body's readiness for food can vary. She had quite a lot of reactions to foods and I suspect that she just wasn't physically ready internally despite having the motor skills. Unless there is a serious weight concern, I really don't agree with the idea of tricking/distracting a baby/child into eating. They should be in control of what goes into their mouth and mealtime should be an enjoyable experience that is meeting their needs. So long as she is taking in plenty of milk, I would relax and offer her food frequently and at her own pace. Have a look at the BLW sites for good finger food ideas. And despite telling you to relax, I do know how frustrating it can be. Spending a long time preparing a food only to have it refused outright is hard not to take personally sometimes. There is a book "my child won't eat" which I haven't actually read but which I have heard a lot of people reccommend.

Put the highchair in the kitchen or somewhere there is no TV. Then put food that she likes in front of her so she can eat herself finger food etc. That should distract her enough so you can put a spoon full of food into her mouth. Or you can put the new food in front of her so she could eat and explore it by herself.