How to encourage 1 year old to eat?

Question

My daughter is one year old?She feed her but eats very little. Mostly i use some kind of distractions methods to make her eat.Is there any way i can encourage her or to feel her hungry to eat more?

Answer 1

When my brother was younger my mom use to say dont you eat that chicken monster if we were having chicken and it will make it like a game so she wants to eat  

Answer 2

my kids were fussy eaters, so Id sit them down with a plate of different fruits, all cut up and a cup of yoghurt, and let them feed themselves. I also used to make pizza faces, just a pizza base with the toppings arranged in a face, as the kids got older, they would make their own :P

Answer 3

I find that having an intersting distraction for the baby can ease difficulites with a baby not wanting to eat.  If you feel the condition is serious, please consult a pediatrician immediately!

Answer 4

Use something to make it more fun! Like pretend it is a train and it is coming in and her mouth is a tunnel. You could buy a colorful spoon. You could use something she likes and be creative with it! Good Luck

Answer 5

Maybe you should tryy by encouragiing her with a sweet treat everyydayy...say that if yuh eat all of this..you get to have some ice cream or something of that matter.

Answer 6

this website should help:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/archi...

its question asked from real moms, answered by real moms.

good luck ! :)

Answer 7

give the soft bit on her head a little 'tappity tap'

I'm just joking!

Answer 8

put the airplane in her lttle mouth and say here comes the chu chu train!

that'll do it

but while feeding her the chu chu train u must sing my humps and twinkle twinkle little star foir this method to work properly

Answer 9

well, try to make it fun, or bribe her with something

Answer 10

i posted many, many questions like this for months -- ruby would NOT eat. in my answer history, there is an great answer froma nutritionist -- it helped a LOT. let me take a few minutes to find it and then i will cut and paste it below.

here it is (just so you know, ruby woke up one day and out of the blue started really eating. but these tips helped, too):

I don't know if this is the case, but in my office, after talking a few minutes with parents and reviewing a food frequency recall, the fluctuating hunger could be from a few things and all my parents have confirmed either scenario:

1. Too much formula.....Her stomach is still small (well the organ), and will fill up fast...If she is consuming more than 25-30 oz/day, this is unlikely to change, and her hunger for foods will be diminished.....Then if she gets a day where she doesn't drink as much formula, then she smells something delish like that homeade pizza, then she is going to chow down!

This is also the case for my 11-month olds up to age 2 or 3....

2. Too much milk or juice....Since she is almost one, and you may try milk (cow's or soy)...remember protein is the most satiating energy nutrient, so it will dimish hunger for longer periods of time.....(concerning milks).....With juice, it can be the same...older toddlers and kids (11-60 months old) need no more than 12 oz/day of diluted 100% juice.....No more than 16 oz whole milk/day(4, 4-oz servings/day and this can be either all fluid milk or a variety of dairy (1 sl. cheese, or 1C yogurt = 1 glass of milk)....After 2 years old, offer lower fat milk....

3. Or generally too much fluids TOO CLOSE to the next meal or feeding a snack too close to the next meal....

If they are really hungry and lunch or dinner is close, try to re-direct and play a game or have them play with a toy or give fruit, and offer less fruit and veggie at that meal (its like serving that portion earlier...but its still part of dinner).....

4. Large servings on the plate.....This is so overwhelming to kids, and if they don't finish it appears they are not interested, but for toddlers, their portions are 1/3-2/3 smaller than an adults! And its easy to get it confused....Offer very small portions on a very small plate, and offer more of they ask....

its better for them to eat very small frequent meals, as kids learn not to overeat at each meal until they are stuffed as they get older......which is a learned trait...

So your baby sounds like a snacker which is a personality trait, so offer her new exciting things, make sure you eat all those healthy foods, teach nutrition, colors, and talking when offering healthy foods, and make food fun! Since she snacks give her healthy foods, and make sure you are not like my parents who give in...Which is important! Best of luck....

Your concerns are important, and you are at a great time to address it today....If you haven't I would talk to her MD or a Registered Dietitian who specializes in infant, children nutrition, and eating behaviors at this age....

Be blessed....Happy B-day to your little jewel:)

EDIT...Its okay to give formula well into the first year...but if she is eating solids from each food group daily, then be careful how much you give b/c its like a meal replacement shake at that point.....Also give her the formula in a cup, and if she takes a bottle after 13-14 months, start giving her water in the bottle....she may wean herself....

What I have found that works is definitely gauging her interest (The pizza probably looked interesting with all the colors, and flavors) by modeling behaviors, and enjoying the foods...offer fruits and veggies in bite-sizes, and feed her, and let her feed you, and see how much fun it is...She will equate eating with mommy moments.....:)

Answer 11

Is everyone kidding?  Seriously?  

Assuming the child is healthy and maintaining proper growth:

Do not 'make' a child eat.  Don't try to trick them into it or force them or bribe them.  

Offer her healthy food at meal times and offer 1 or 2 snacks (healthy snacks!).  do not allow juice, pop, candy, cookies, cake etc.  Design a meal plan and stick to it.  Decide on meal times and stick to it.  If she does not eat at one sitting she will at the next.

Also understand that a 1 year old is leveling out as far as appetite goes.  They only have tummies as big as their fists.  A little food to us may be a lot of them.

Answer 12

just don't feed her when she's not hungry. Wait until she is hungry and trust me on this you'll know!!! Ha ha well i hope this helped.  

Answer 13

i had to encourage my son to eat by letting him do it himself. he was about the age of your daughter. he wanted to be more independent. so let her use to fork and spoon on her own. he also liked it when the food was separated. he hated when his diced apples got mixed with his pasta! i sometimes let him help make the food and as a reward he got to eat it! and when he was bad and threw a fit cuz he didn't want to eat. it was time out for a minute. or nothing at all till it was time to eat again. sometimes you have to be a little rough.

Answer 14

Make sure she is hungry.

If you are giving her juice - good idea to stop that.  It is just sugar.  

Watch the snacks -if she thinks something she likes more like a cookie or something is coming later she won't care if she eats that meal or not.  

Give her good food, sit her down and she should know that is the time to eat.  Give her 15 minutes or so and then take the food away.

Don't fuss over her and coax her - it is kind of negative attention.  

If she knows she has 2 hours to eat and you are captive and giving attention the whole time - SHE WILL TAKE 2 HOURS TO EAT

Answer 15

Our pediatrician told us that as long as she maintains her weight don't worry if our daughter didn't eat as much as we thought she should be getting.  Make sure she gets enough liquids to keep her fully hydrated, she's probably going through a stage.  However, if it persists and you have tried all kinds of different foods, then you may want to check with her doctor.  One is such a cute age enjoy!

Answer 16

let her watch tv cartoons .. pick up for her, her favorite show & let her eat while watching.. the more she watches the more she'll eat!

Answer 17

Just let her get hungry in the first place.  She'll eat.  If she doesn't, then she's sick.