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When my son was under 11 months old, he ate a lot, but I don't know what changed when he reached 1 year old. It seems like he doesn't like to eat. When we give our son food, sometimes he tries to taste or eat it a little, but then refuses to eat it. I heard from a neighbor that the he may be bored with the food, so we served him different food, but he still doesn't seem to be interested. We also tried to change the way we gave the food to our son, but that didn't solve the problem either. One thing that keeps me a little more calm is that lately he more often asks to be breastfed. Maybe this is caused by his eating less solid food.

I've heard that this phase is pretty normal for all children. What has actually happened to our son in this phase? What makes him not want to eat the food we give him? He has asked for food, but then doesn't eat it. Is it enough that we focus on giving him more in breastfeeding? Because when he doesn't eat as much solid food, he asks for breastfeeding more often.

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Get him checked for stomach worms. Ensure that he drinks "enough" water per day. Also, I have heard that iron and vitamin B12 deficiency may be a cause of lack of hunger. – user462608 Sep 28 '12 at 11:01

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If he won't eat he's probably not hungry. Around one their growth slows down and they eat a bit less, and if he's still getting breast fed then he's probably getting enough calories from that he doesn't need solid food. So if you want him to eat:

  • Stop breast feeding and bottle feeding so he will be hungry for solids
  • Introduce a variety of foods, and make some of them finger foods so he can eat them himself
  • Don't try and force-feed, that will put him off food. Kids that age want to take more charge of their eating, so encourage him to eat himself
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I would add, that you let him eat finger foods and foods he can serve himself as often as possible since that gives interest for him and practice in developing his fine-motor skills. If he starts losing weight, see a doctor. – balanced mama Nov 28 '12 at 17:50

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