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My son is 20 months and only eats Gerber purée's. He gags with any thing slightly lumpy or chunky. He will literally push the spoon away after spitting the SMALL, crumb-piece out. He does not experiment with any foods, from cookies, puffs, Cheerios, chicken bits, nothing. Once I place it in his tray he'll just push the food item away from him barely wanting to touch it, like it's dirty or something. He's not even drinking from a sippy cup either.

It's so frustrating! Any suggestions that work! I don't know what to do, feel like the worst mom ever :(

Acire
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user16876
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    Welcome to Parenting.SE! Here is another question you may find useful: How to get a toddler to start chewing and eating solids? – Acire Jun 23 '15 at 11:39
  • Does he eat non-pureed soft fruit, like bananas, strawberries, pears? – Ivana Jun 23 '15 at 16:50
  • He will only eat all purée food only including fruit & he doesn't like bananas. – user16876 Jun 23 '15 at 22:53
  • Have you talked to his pediatrician yet? It may be a control issue like one of the answers describes, but when you say he gags on even a small chunk of food, that makes me wonder if it's a physical problem. – Aravis Jun 26 '15 at 15:46
  • Sometimes alignment and muscle problems give a baby trouble eating solid foods. In this case, specialized physical therapy can help. Sometimes sensory problems are involved; in this case, occupational therapy can help. An "Early Intervention" evaluation would tell you whether one or both of these specialties would be helpful in your son's case. Note, if your son qualifies for early intervention services, there is no charge and the therapist comes to your house for treatment. – aparente001 Aug 03 '15 at 11:59

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Children often like to take control of their eating, and refusing is a form of control. It's easy for parents who who have been feeding their children for months to get into battles about eating, which is frustrating for both sides. It's not a reflection on you as a parent, you are trying very hard to make sure he has good nutrition like any good mother would.

Children taking control of their eating is a normal and good thing, and the best thing to do is go with it. It's not necessarily that he does not want to eat solids, but maybe that he wants to decide what solids he wants to eat, when and how he wants to eat them. My suggestion is put the food out there, give him a spoon and say there you go kiddo! Let him be and don't hover, prod and cajole. this can be really difficult, (I've been there myself!) but you may have to force yourself to give him space. Give him freedom and some choices and tell him what a big boy he is for feeding himself and I think you'll see a change.

Also, try to make mealtimes fun. Put on some funky music, tell him about your day, etc. A happy, relaxed mood is better for eating than a pressure situation.

Regarding what to give him put a more than one option in front of him, both with and without texture. Put a sippy cup and a bottle of water in front of him as well, and let him choose between. It's all about choices and variety right now.

GdD
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  • Thanks for the advice, I will try giving him options. Someone told me it takes a lot of throwing away of food... I guess I'm really stressing about it so much since he'll be 2yrs old in Oct :/ – user16876 Jun 23 '15 at 22:51
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    There will be some waste at first for sure, you have to think about the long game. Try not to worry, after all how many adults do you see who will only eat pureed food? – GdD Jun 24 '15 at 08:06
  • @user16876: My child is significantly younger but food wastage is a fact of life once you no longer control the food getting into their mouths yourself. Consider this a cost of learning for them, rather than an unnecessary wastage. – Flater Jul 20 '22 at 14:00