Changes I Felt After Improving the Nutritional Status of My Picky-Eating 2-Year-Old Son

Thank you for visiting. I am a science-loving mom raising a 2-and-a-half-year-old picky-eating son and a 3-month-old daughter.

I consulted with a nutritionist about my son who won't eat, and it has been a week and a half since I started putting their advice into practice. Changes have gradually started to appear in my son, so please let me summarize the "things I practiced" and "my son's changes."

I hope this will be of some help to moms and dads who are currently worried about picky eating.

Things I practiced

Based on the advice from the nutritionist I practiced the following three things.

1. Not quite weaning, but...

Although I was told to "just wean him!", I couldn't make up my mind (oops!), so I ended up limiting breastfeeding to 1-2 times a day, which is a mini-weaning approach.

At first, he cried and screamed and it was tough, but after explaining it to him, he has gradually been able to endure it.

2. Increase follow-up milk

I increased the follow-up milk from about 100-200ml to 300-400ml per day. Furthermore, when preparing it, I make it thicker than the standard so he can get as much nutrition as possible.

By the way, for follow-up milk, I give him "Gungun," which contains zinc. Apparently, in addition to iron, zinc is also important for development. Some follow-up milks do not contain zinc, so it is worth checking.

3. Zavas when in trouble

Only when I am really in trouble because he refuses to eat, I give him half a pack of Zavas.

When the nutritionist recommended it, I was worried about whether it was really okay to give it to a 2-year-old, but he drinks it surprisingly happily. It's better than him not eating anything...

Changes in my son

Now, for the main topic of my son's changes...

1. The probability of him eating meals has increased

This is the effect of the mini-weaning, but the probability of him eating meals has increased!!

Until now, he refused breakfast every day, and I would either force him to eat or give up... I would get angry every morning, and I was frustrated and irritated from the morning (I have to say irritated twice to feel satisfied, haha).

Then, on the 3rd or 4th day after he stopped drinking breast milk in the middle of the night, he picked up a fork himself and ate his breakfast!! I was truly moved.

Even now, he still leaves most of his school lunch, so not everything is solved. But, it's a significant improvement!

② The time spent mindlessly watching YouTube has decreased

This is the biggest change I'm happy about. My son, who used to want to watch YouTube as soon as he was home, has significantly increased the time he spends playing with toys.

My son never used to play with focus unless I was with him, but recently, he has started playing with toys for quite a long time even by himself.

In addition, his range of play has expanded, such as doing sticker and scissor work, and using crayons.

③ He has started helping out a lot more

☑︎ Bringing diapers and wipes during diaper changes
☑︎ Putting taken-off clothes into the washing machine
☑︎ Hanging up laundry (simple items like socks)
☑︎ Making pancake batter

He has started doing these things when I ask him to help (or on his own initiative).

When he was watching YouTube, he would be so focused that he would "ignore me when I spoke to him" or "get angry if I tried to get him to do something else because he didn't want to be interrupted," but since his YouTube time has decreased, I feel that his motivation to help out in his spare time has increased.

Nutrition really is important!

I was truly surprised that such changes would appear after just one week of trying to improve his nutritional status.

Honestly, I used to think that even if he "didn't eat much," he looked energetic, so (even though it frustrated me) it probably wasn't much of a problem for him. (After all, he was choosing not to eat on his own.) I have deep regrets about that.

To all the moms and dads raising picky eaters, follow-up milk is really good. I hope there is at least one less person who regrets not having them drink more of it from an earlier age...

Let's do our best together! (And if they still won't eat, well, what can you do?)

Best wishes.