17 Month Old and Meat

My son tends to eat the meat last too...he'll go for the veggies and pasta/rice/noodles first...to push the meat, i put it on a fork for him and he'll then eat off of it...it's almost like a game, which I don't like, but at least I know he is getting more meat...he's 15 mo.

I bet it is a texture issue. I have noticed many children really are just not into the dry texture of meat.. Some meat may bee too seasoned with salt or pepper. A little goes a long way with young children.. Many are "super tasters"..

You may want to use ground meat in foods..

I make pasta, tomatoes, shredded zucchini and ground turkey in a skillet and kids love it.. It is kind of all the same texture to them..

My first was like that, he was a major non meat eater, now he is 4, healthy as a horse and doing great! I didn't worry over it much. He eats meat now, so it's all good. I just gave him protein through dairy like cheese, yogurt etc. Gave him lots of veggies and whole grains and he has done fine. I did try meat on him a lot but he didn't eat it much. Funny thing though was that he always LOVED fish, especially grilled or baked Tilapia, so maybe try some fish on him, it's a huge protein shot and so good for their brains :) My second is 18 months and a major carnivor, so kids are just different. He will be just fine even if meat is never a big thing for him, maybe he is destined to be a vegetarian, who knows! My best friend in high school rarely ate meat and seems just great as a grown woman, so I wouldn't worry too much :D

I think it's a texture thing.
O. thing my son would eat (they gagged me to look at them) was those "meat sticks" in the baby food jars.
He loved them. And I gagged every time I fished O. out! LOL

My son just turned 18 months & has been eating meat for a while but I make sure it's pretty tender. I soak it in milk, I know it seems odd but seems to help. I also marinate it in things that don't have that strong of a flavor. Also , anything you cook in a sauce will make the meat tender & also mask the flavor. My son loves chicken in alfredo sauce w/ broccoli.

My daughter was eating everything I ate, including steak at 12 months. If you really want to get away from purees and disguising meat, just stop giving them to him and present him with a variety of foods in tiny portions, cut into bites about half the size of your pinky nail. He will learn to eat what he is given and learn to like all kinds of foods. Good luck!

My little guy will be 28 months next week, and didn't take to meat, chicken, turkey, beef, or tuna until about 4 months ago, around his second birthday. He wouldn't eat it at all at 17 months, flat-out refused it. I never gave it to him pureed, he hated foods that way, but instead cut it up for him to pick up with his fingers, then as he got older with his fork.

For him it seemed a texture thing, even when he would try a piece he would chew it thoroughly then open his mouth with it sitting on his tongue, waiting for someone to give him something to spit it in, would not swallow it. He's gradually come to like chicken nuggets or fingers that I make with boneless chicken breasts, and chicken drumsticks, too, will eat a little sliced and diced turkey or a piece of a hamburger patty, but not much, say only about a tsp & a 1/2 or 2. He absolutely will not touch steak or tuna to this day. He gagged and refused for a looooong time, and will still do the same today if i offer him something he doesn't like. Our ped said as long as he's eating other protein items, meat is not essential.

Just wait it out, offer, but don't insist, and he may come around, especially if he sees others around him enjoying it. Then again, he may not...my 7 year old neighbor detests meat, other than chicken nuggets, always has, so I feel fortunate that my guy has progressed.

We've always started with ham. It's easier for little teeth to chew and it's sweeter. We started at around 13 months, then moved on to chicken at around 16 or so. Beef was always last, but usually by about age 2.

It's all about texture and time. Don't get in a big hurry but keep introducing different textures in small portions, he'll get there :)
I was looking at a pic the other day of my son when he was about 13 mos old holding a bbq rib bone and sauce was all over his face and hands. I remember him gnawing on that bone for quite some time.

I don't remember the exact time line but all four of my kids did chicken nuggets before all. I am thinking close to five before they would eat a steak. Oh, hamburgers worked pretty young.

For the record they are all very good meat eaters now. :)

Try ground meats. That is all my 17 month old would eat at first. He only recently will now eat some cut up chicken. He still won't eat steak (I had some last night and cut it up for him he handed me back every single piece that was on his plate)

My son LOVES sloppy joes and taco meat (99% of the time I make this with ground turkey). He will only eat good quality ground beef otherwise he spits it out, but a good burger he will gobble down.

I don't think it's too early...my 15 month old only has her four front teeth, but I give her meat. Well, not steak... :)

I do ground hamburger from casseroles, tacos, etc, and she'll eat that. I give her is lunch meat (I only buy Hormel Naturals and Land O'Frost Bistro Favorites, because both are gluten free and relatively healthy), and she LOVES it. You can tear it into small pieces, and it's perfect.

Also, try fish...regular white fish, tuna, salmon, etc...that's very easy to mush, just make sure there aren't any bones.

We don't eat Turkey except for Thanksgiving...and I haven't braved chicken yet because it's so stringy.

Oh, she also loves sausage...I buy WalMart's generic brand sausage patties and do them in the microwave, and they're very soft. I guess she also likes hot dogs (I only buy Fit and Active turkey dogs, gluten free), but I cut them lengthwise, cut them lengthwise AGAIN (so, into quarters) and skin them, then slice into small chunks. She'll also eat Vienna Sausages, Spam, and sardines. Before you get the idea that we're really unhealthy, this whole paragraph is full of meat "treats" that don't happen often...maybe twice a month, I'll pick one of these and give her.