15 mo. finger food problem -- is the window of opportunity closing?

[momtomax]

Hi there,

My 15 month old ds won't eat any finger food that's not crunchy.  He'll eat all kinds of different crunchies -- Cheerios, white and wheat crackers, goldfish crackers, graham crackers -- but if I put anything else on the tray, he just moves it aside and shakes his head.

I have tried chunks of pear, banana, avocado, and mango and smashed peas.  These are all things he likes when they show up on a spoon.  I have tried cheese many times and toast with butter or fruit spread many times.

Aside from this problem, he has been a very good eater until now.  I used to be able to load up the spoon and then give it to him to put in his mouth.   Recently he has taken to turning his head away immediately when we start a meal, and he won't take the spoon from me any more.  I'm able to get him to eat with a little distraction, but I'm really worried that he's going to start refusing the spoon more and more as he gets older and then the only thing he'll be able to eat will be crackers and Cheerios.

Has anyone else conquered this problem?  I have been just offering him whatever's ripe at the moment, and I suppose I have been doing it sporadically -- sometimes at breakfast, sometimes at dinner.  Should I start offering him non-crunchy finger food at every meal?  Should I try the same thing a week at a time, or is it better to offer different foods throughout the week?

Thanks for any help you can offer,
Jenni

[Fiona (Leah & Kians Mom)]

My dd still has a problem with anything that is "slippy" so fruit and veg are out, still. I got her to eat chicken and fish, by slicing it thinly, coating in egg and breadcrumbs and frying- she would eat breadsticks and crackers hence the breadcrumbs idea. I also got her to eat mini pizza and quiche, all of which are bread based. Mind you she wont eat them as often as I would like 

[jubee]

Have you tried letting him use a toddler fork (smaller, not sharp).  Our ds (19 months) eats with one, not a spoon.  He doesn't care for the spoon as much.  Also he is a little wary of having sticky hands so sometimes he won't pick up finger foods that are sticky and would rather use his fork.  Maybe thats why your ds will pick up crunchy things, because they are dry.  Just an idea? Hope it helps.
Julie

[momtomax]

I usually give him a shorter spoon to hold during dinner, but I haven't tried a fork yet.  He picks it up sometimes, but he hasn't started loading it up himself yet.  My main concern is that he's turning into one of those toddlers who just want to eat with their hands, even though there's such a limited amount of stuff he'll eat with his hands.  I'll try a toddler fork and see if he's more willing to eat with that than the spoon.