15 month old's eating habits

I need some advice. My son Collin is 15 months old an hardly eats anything. He will cry for a sippy cup many many times during the day.. I do give in but IALWAYS offer him food 1st..He rarely eats breakfast..when he does its only a cracker or 2 an a bite of fruit or a bite of cereal…and he never wants lunch. he will eat supper but again its only a couple bites also he is really bad about storing food in his mouth like a hamster. He can hold it in his cheeks for up to 55 minutes (I timed him a few times) then he will spit it out on the floor or in his hand and try and hand it back to me or whoever fed him. He is very healthy.. 33 inches tall and 28lbs. Right on track for his age and his doctor hasn’t really said much about it. They just told me to stop givin him sippy cups all together. But I am not going to starve my child. I do with hold the cup sometimes but I mean when he is crying because he is hungry I am going to give him whatever he will eat you know what I mean. I just don’t know what to do.. He drinks a gallon of milk every 2 days!!! And 2 gallons of juice a week. His doctors said he should only have 4 ounces of juice a day and no more then 16 ounces of milk a day. He also only has 4 teeth and is getting 4 more..they are barely broke threw the gums. Do you think this has anything to do with the way he eats? My best friends baby is 12 months old and has 10 teeth and eats like a adult..she chows down. Any advice will be very appreciated.

I would for sure stop giving him the sippy, he needs to fill up on food first, and 2 gallons of juice is a lot of juice, not very good for those ltitle teeth. Maybe if you take it away and offer it to him only at meal times he will see that his drink is a drink not what he gets his nourishment from, and i understand you dont want to starve or dehydrate him, so inbetween offer him water, not a whole sippy full, just a little to make sure he stays hydrated, is he eating regular table food or is he still on baby food?

I have tried giving him the cup only at meal times but he will take the cup and not touch his food.. he won't drink water at all.. but thats a good idea bout only putting a little in the cup at a time. thanks so much.

My theory is kids will eat when they are good and hungry.However try offering him foods he has never had and lots of fruits(because they have juice in them and will prevent dehydration)but don't act upset when he won't eat them.Make sure he is in a high chair at every meal(make it like a routine) and praise him when he does try something, even if he spits it out.I would personally switch to 1% if he doesn't get it already, and really dilute his juice(I still dilute my 4 year olds juice).But unless you are going outside to play in which case I would let him drink lots of liquids to prevent dehydration, I'd considerabbly cut down on liquids -jmo.Good luck!

It is true kids will eat when they are hungry. They wont starve themselfs. I'm a nurse and its hard to get kids off sippy cups. Just make it fun for him. Both of you take the sippy cups and throw them away together. Then go out and buy him his own new cups. I did this with my daughter. It took about a week to get rid of them all but It was done she was about 15 months when we had to do it. Also too much milk will fill them up thats why he really doesn't want to eat food. He sees milk as an easy way to get food. He doesn't have to work for it. Hell if I could drink my meal I would...lol..I would get a lot done. As for the water thing tell him its power water that its going to make him big and strong. Or just slowley put 1/2 water and 1/2 juice and slowly start taking away the juice so the water still has a bit of flavor to it. Little things at a time. Its not going to happen over night. I hope this can help you. It took me a while to get my daughter off them and start eating she didn't take a passy so that was her security.

Quoting Sugar Mama:“ It is true kids will eat when they are hungry. They wont starve themselfs. I'm a nurse and its hard to ... [snip!] ... can help you. It took me a while to get my daughter off them and start eating she didn't take a passy so that was her security.”

thats a really good idea about throwing the sippys away! My sister had my niece on a sippy until she was about 5

if he is eating like that he shouldn't be getting juice at all. It is full of calories, and it's no wonder he isn't eating anythign if he is drinking that much juice. The milk is another thing, at least it has some nutrition.

Quoting *Tera*:“ I need some advice. My son Collin is 15 months old an hardly eats anything. He will cry for a sippy cup ... [snip!] ... best friends baby is 12 months old and has 10 teeth and eats like a adult..she chows down. Any advice will be very appreciated.”

I just checked the jucie bottle and its only1 gallon not 2 gallons like i posted. and i do still water it down and it is organic so the only thing in it is pure real apple juice..no chemicals or sugar. he does not take a passy so his cup his is security also. thank you all so much for the advice.