Quote Originally Posted by DaycareMiss View Post
Hi folks, since I have always received helpful advise from people in this site, I will ask another question!

I have a 2.5 year old that is really struggling with meal times, the guy hates chewing! Will no eat anything thing that he cannot maul to death in his mouth. Bananas, pb sandwiches, plain yogurt(no lumps),kraft dinner, is pretty much all he will actually eat. I've been playing hard ball with him for at last 2 months, feeding him whatever everyone else is eating. One of each food groups at lunch, cereal or toast for breakfast, and something healthy for snack. I don't make a big deal about what he eats, I only encourage him to try something else on his plate. Once lunch is over and I start to tidy things up he gets super upset(probably cause he is still hungry). He is really struggling with language so it's hard to know exactly why he won't eat(only has 10-15 words)His parents are having the same type struggles at home, supplementing real food with baby food, pablum for breakfast, packages of food for other meals. I don't plan on giving him baby food while he is here. Any suggestions, keep holding out on him? How long could this possibly go on for, he was able to eat real food around 1.5 but has declined considerably on the "things he will eat list" down to only a few things. Mouth issue possible? Sensory? Parents? Does the oral delay have anything to do with it? Any suggestions ideas would be greatly appreciated
I'm going to play devils advocate here and suggest that this is potentially a fussy eater given the list of foods he will have. You aren't able to break down kraft dinner without some time of chewing, it's pasta for goodness sake. He would have to chew it to some extent or swallow it whole. His parents are only making it worse. Your two months of persistence was in vain if this kid knew that once home each day he would get fed the things he will eat. Plain yoghurt without lumps??? You don't have to chew the stuff with lumps, it's just a swallow. I don't see this as a sensory issue that is beyond the child's choice, I think this is a fussy eater who gets his own way at home.

How about starting some kind of meal plan and journal with the parents onboard 100%. You feed the same foods for breakfast lunch and dinner every single day at daycare and at home for a week. The next week a different set of foods but consistent at daycare and at home. No alternatives are given, ever. If there is the parent's concern that the child won't eat, maybe giving a smoothie for breakfast will help the worrying.

I think this may also stem from how late an eater he was. 1.5 years, that is extremely late. Table food by 9 months at the latest, consistency varying from child to child, but certainly no more than cut into small pieces beyond 10ish months. I know a lot of people wean later but it doesnt need to be. Perhaps they pureed for longer which hindered his development. But again, if he can chew bread and pasta in the kraft dinner then I call BS on this being a texture or sensory thing and strongly believe this is a fussy eater situation reinforced by parents not handling it properly by feeding baby food and other nonsense.