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I was having the same problem with my 19 month old. He would rarely eat anything. Just recently I stopped feeding pureed foods too.He also doesn't want to let go of the bottle.I took him to his Dr. and he said to completely let the bottle go so he would eat. Feeding him the bottle only encourages him not to eat solids. When he eats he still spits out most of his food (especially meats), but when he is really hungry he eats fairly well. The bottle, I still feed him some milk but only at night. I was giving him one bottle in the morning, but that would cause him not to want breakfast, so I stopped. He cries, but I have to stick with this until he learns he has to eat real foods. We just have to keep trying and trying until they learn to eat well. Hope this helped some.

OMG this is exactly what we are facing with our 23 month old. He used to eat solids when he was less than a year old. But after that when we offered him pureed food when we were travelling ( just coz that was faster ), he started refusing solid foods. So even now he eats only pureed foods. If we make food too thick.. he gags. So it has to be kind of liquidy for him to swallow easily. This is giving me a lot of grief.. since he does not eat anything at the daycare. So I have to give him yoghurt to eat there. He eats snack foods but not regular lunch foods. Also, he still drinks from his infant milk bottle and insists I hold it for him. He will not hold the bottle himself. He used to drink by himself before .. but now he refuses. He drinks water from the sippy cup .... but not a lot. So when we go out its kind of embarrassing to take along pureed foods.. coz people are always commenting on how I shd just let him starve and then he'll eat. But that does not work. I tried it .. he starved for 2 meals.. so I gave up and went back to pureeing his foods. The way I look at it... I cant imagine my son being a 10 year old eating only pureed food. So this is obviously a phase and he will eventually grow out of it. Until then I will continue to give him pureed foods.. coz to me it is important that my toddler gets his nutrition rather than catch up with other kids in terms of eating skills. Oh .. today when I picked him up frm the day care I took him to sonics and got him a kiddie meal. He ate all the chicken and frieds and even drank OJ with a straw. I was sooooooo happy. Dont know if he'll do that again. But I think these are small steps of progression. I will let him grow at his own pace and until then support him by making sure he is well fed and healthy. Good Luck !

I also wanted to add. There is a state program called "Early Intervention". They evaluate toddler's different development skills. Eating delays is also something they evaluate.. and if it is determined that a child needs help with chewing foods.. then they suggest whats called "Occupational Theraphy". Some states do this for free. Check with local daycares or your pediatrician or call your state DSS and ask about such services in your state. Or google the words Occupational Theraphy in your state and call the agencies and ask about free evaluations and theraphy available in your state. Some insurances cover upto 90% of the cost. So you could call them and check as well. If you are worried about your son's abilities for eating solids, it won't harm to get an evaluation done.

Your child is not eating because he is not hungry! The bottles of whole milk are the problem. The longer you wait to take them away, the worse he will react. So...... switch to 1% milk in a small sip cup. When he is hungry, and he will indeed get hungry without bottles of milk, he will eat. Do not make a fuss over him. Thirsty children drink and hungry children will eat, EVENTUALLY. The body will not allow itself to do without food and water, so relax about food and he will, too. And, for heaven's sake, stop offering mashed up baby food. He has teeth! Good Luck from an old pro!!

Thank you so much for this advice...this is the most reasonable advice that I have gotten regarding this problem that I am having with my son. I am going to stop the bottles, and go to a small sippy cup for his liquids and see if this helps. Thank you so much for taking time to give some advice on this. It appears that there are many many of us out there with this problem with our little ones.

HI everyone...my DD is 14 1/2 months old, and she is still eating some baby food. she eats table food with us a lot, but still doesn't have a whole lot of teeth....so i do not feel comfortable giving her meat or anything like that yet. She still has a bottle of whole milk at least once a day, if not then no more than 2 times. usually just one at night before bed, and one sometimes in the morning. As everyone has told me to this point, she wont take a bottle to kindergaden, so it will eventually work itself out. but of course that is eay for the people who have already been there, and have older children. We need to hear each others stories to know we are not alone in this . I feel like the bottle stage will never and, and the sleepless night will never end, but eventually they will. And if she needs me to hold her at night to sleep, I will. Cuz she will be older someday, and not want me to hold her or talk to her or whatever i'm sure. So take it day by day, and it will all work out. Best of luck on everything to you guys!!

I think this is ridiculous. You need to discipline your kids. Quite believing the lie that you need to let your kids do what they want. Your the parent and its your job to teach your kids what they are supposed to do. If you kid resists it you need to discipline them. I have a friend who has a kid and he is 3 and he will only eat yogurt. When you offer him solid food he whines and says I don wan too. I guarantee you give me 5 minutes with that kid a free reign and that kid will be eating solid food within a week. What are you going to do when your kid tells you he doesn't want to do his or her home work? Tell ask them why and call a counselor? What a joke! Put on your pants, be the adult, and take charge.

It's not ridiculous if your child has sensory processing disorder, tactile defensiveness, oral defensiveness, or any other type of disorder that causes a feeding delay. Parents need to recognize that many children, including their own, sometimes, don't fit into the "box" that the experts say they should fit into. My child exhibited the same types of behaviors and after "putting on my pants" and forcing her to gag and vomit every day while eating, I finally had her assessed by an occupational therapist and low and behold, we found that she needed professional help that we would not have been able to provide ourselves. She is now thriving and eating happily, but she would not be if we had ignored her needs and forced our expectations on her. It's no joke when your child needs help, and I feel sorry for any child whose parent's fail to recognize that.

Well put rachels75. I have a nephew who is autistic with big time sensory problems. He used to vomit when at the zoo or around any animal smells. Same thing in the cafeteria or other enclosed space with food smells. Even now after close to 2 years of therapy, he only eats a few things: yogurt, cheerios and a pureed soup that my MIL makes. This soup cannot have any chunks in it.

All states offer free Early Intervention assessments to help parents who think their child may have any sort of delay and find free or low cost therapy - many times through the school districts. With early and proper intervention some children can overcome their delays. Not everyone in the world is the same.

TCM38.

Do you even have kids? Getting kids to do homework and getting kids to eat are 2 different things and I think that you are being awfully rude. It's not easy to get children to eat as I have a very picky eater. I don't know if it's sensory or not. Your way of getting a child to eat is awful. You can't force a kid to eat and punishing them makes it worse.

TCM sounds like a teenaged mother from 16 and pregnant. HA ha, sorry I fought rude with rude right there.

It Sounds good but it really is no joke ..Put on your pants and be an adult??? You can't make a child eat.You can offer him different things and just keep trying different things..Discipline your child if he won't eat??? I raised two children and will never forget making my daughter eat until the day she gagged and threw up. Yes that is right and I NEVER made her eat something she did not want to again..She turned out fine and eventualyl ate..I don't think I would want to leave my child with ou for 1 minute no less 5

My son had the same problems and did you know that not swallowing whole foods is a sensory issue?? My son has autism. He ended up getting a feeding tube. This mom is reaching out for help and support and when someone starts with their egotistical babble "give me 5 minutes with that kid" he needs discipline, bla bla bla... you're comments are ignorant and offensive to a mom that is struggling for real with something many parents will never understand to feed her child.