One year old refusing food from a jar

By the age of one many children are refusing puréed jarred food, and rightly so. They are more than ready for, and in fact are in need of, food with more chewing stimulation. That's why your son is telling you he wants foods to sink his teeth into (or gums as the case may be). Therefore, don't consider him picky because he won't eat baby food out of a jar; consider him now a toddler. His tastes have matured. Toddlers, however mature in their chewing style, can be very fussy about what it is they chew. That explains your son's limited food preferences.

In trying to determine the adequacy of someone's diet, the first step is to see if there is any omission of an entire food group over an extended period of time. In your son's case, it is easy to see that he gets no fruit or vegetables (except on rare occasions). The other food groups are covered, with milk and cheese from the dairy group; eggs and chicken from the protein/meat group; and bread and cereals from the grain group. The lack of fruit and vegetables will mean he is missing some important vitamins and minerals, and fibre.

In particular, you need to see that he gets a good source of vitamin C. Other fruit and vegetables that you try to offer him should be those that are deep green or yellow so that he gets a good supply of beta-carotene. Concentrate your efforts on trying to include more foods from this group. Will your son drink any juice? If so, be sure it is one that is vitamin C-fortified. Other fruits and vegetables that are high in C include red peppers, kiwi, melon, strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes and mangoes.