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Katie Elwig, iVillage's nutritionist, hosted a live online chat on the Kids and Food board. If you missed it, here's a sample of some of the questions she answered
My son stopped eating veg
I'm wondering if you could advise me about what I could do to get my son to eat vegetables (or savoury in general really). He is only eight months old and we have been weaning for about three months. I make all of my own baby food and at first he loved everything I gave him including veg but within the last two weeks he has started to refuse to eat anything savoury at all.
Even if you do manage to get him to open his mouth for it he just starts crying and refusing again. He is absolutely fine with all fruit. It is purely veg or anything savoury he is refusing. Is there anything I could try to get him to start eating it again?
mummyofthree
Katie Elwig: You are experiencing what all mothers go through with their little ones and weaning so please don't be too concerned. It is terribly frustrating but it will eventually pass.
Firstly, don't force-feed him foods he is refusing as this will only aggravate him further and also increase your anxiety. Babies pick up on these anxieties and play on it for attention. Just calmly leave it until the next meal. I would actually give up offering those foods he blankly refuses and try them again in a week or so.
Perhaps it is the texture that is bothering him. Most sweet foods are easy to take, just like milk, and they slip down easily with little bother chewing. Perhaps by returning to pureeing your savoury dishes you may have more luck but try and move onto more textured food slowly.
Obviously, it is difficult to assess your son's nutritional intake through this message but I assume that he is thriving well otherwise. If you have further concerns about his poor intake and it is affecting his growth then please don't hesitate to speak with your health visitor or GP and get a referral to see a local paediatric dietician.
Vegetarian children
I've got two sons (nine months and three years old) who are both vegetarian. They are both easy to feed and like most food but I do worry about them getting enough of all nutrients.
Firstly, there's so much hype about Omega-3. They do have dairy and seeds but are there any other sources or shall I start them on a supplement?
Secondly, how do I know if they are getting enough protein? They do have lentils, beans and eggs etc with bread, rice and pasta. Is there a set amount of daily servings I should aim for?
missyaggrevation
Katie Elwig: It is really important for people to know that you can successfully wean your children onto a vegetarian diet with no detrimental effect to their health, growth and development. In fact, some vegetarian diets are far healthier than those that contain animal sources of protein.
You are obviously proof of this and there is no reason for you to change your habits. There are also plenty of cultures around the world who adopt vegetarianism and have balanced diets. It is only those who are not sensible in choosing good alternatives to protein sources etc that fail to follow a nutritionally-balanced diet.
Omega-3 is getting a lot of attention at the moment and your children will be getting all the vitamins and minerals they need from their lovely balanced diets. By offering them nuts and seeds they will most probably get more Omega-3 oils than most other children their own age.
As you may know, oily fish contains high amounts of Omega-3 and this is where non-vegetarians will probably get the most of this oil from. I would recommend continuing with seeds and perhaps looking for milk enriched with Omega-3 oils. Don't worry too much about supplementation at this time as it's expensive and hard to maintain.
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