General Chat

I have two nieces let’s call them Lily 35 months old and Laura 20 months old. One is my brother’s daughter and one is my sister’s but I have never seen two children with such different appetites. My parents had Laura yesterday and Lily today. Breakfast Laura two slices of toast and a banana. Lily a slice and a half of toast. Lunch Laura toast, scrambled egg, baked beans, tomato and cucumber. Lily Warburtons Thins provided by her mum. Granny put ham in them at Lily’s asking. Lily then pulled the ham out and just ate two thins with butter on. They both had dinner in their own homes.

I find it strange though that my nieces have such different eating habits. My parents have looked after Lily one day a week since her mum went back to work when Lily was 1 and this is their first week looking after Laura as mum has now gone back to work.

Even with siblings there can be quite a varied diet and different appetites.

Both girls are eating, so I wouldn't really call them fussy eaters.

Laura seems to be eating more than mine would have done at her age, but that's not to say that she might not need it.

They seem to be eating quite well to me. Great Grandsons are both fairly fussy, breakfast is or was last time we saw them, hit and miss whether they had anything and they are allowed to walk around eating. lunch tends to be things like tomatoes, cucumber, grapes, other fruit small sandwiches everything cut up But they are eating. One doesn't like carrots the other will eat carrots but loves parsnps.

Years ago little boy next door would only eat weetabix, biscuits and sausages. He is now a strapping young man of 23/4

The best thing to do is to let them get on with it. No problems with our great granddaughter, she will eat anything going. In fact I think she eats too much but not for me to say she is four and wears seven year old clothes.

When my son was two, with a new baby brother, he decided to stop eating everything except weetabix at breakfast.

I gave him a bit more weetabix and put his other meals in front of him as usual, then just removed them at the end of the meal. I didn't comment at all (and I certainly didn't follow what was then common practice of putting the same food back time after time until it got eaten - or went off!).

If he was doing it to get attention he failed dismally, and after a couple of weeks he just started eating again, much to my relief. :-)

Laura was in clothes for 9-12 months at 17 months old so I’d love to know where she puts it. Lily doesn’t have a very varied diet but she might yet grow out of it.

When our son started secondary school he became incredibly fussy, wouldn't eat pork chop rind or anything with visible fat, the whites of eggs, the list went on and on so one day I told him that will only put on his plate what I know he will eat, that day it was boiled potatoes, no gravy or other vegetables and on a saucer, after a couple of days he went back to normal.