Do you have a picky eater or a difficult toddler?

I don't have a picky eater so I'm really just trying to put myself in your shoes, unsure if this is helpful. But You said she doesn't like the high chair where you are traveling so she is avoiding eating. You might already be doing this but have you ever just left snacks in random places and let her discover them herself? Like put a slice of banana bread on a plate on the floor, read some books near it and let her discover it just like any other toy? Maybe she will eat just on her own terms? My daughter will sometimes tell me she is all done and wants to get out of her chair but I can tell she didn't get a lot of food in. I'll put the rest on the ground near her playing and she almost always goes back for more. I do believe that children are deeply intuitive eaters. She might be eating just what her body needs but I understand your concerns whole heartedly! I hope things improve for you all!

My son is also 17mo, but he’s far from a picky eater. Though I do hear it’s quite common at this age and beyond for a while. Don’t panic most pediatricians will tell you as long as they are eating and developing not to worry. If they eat gold fish and that’s all for the day at least they’ve eaten. For my son I try do still offer lots of options. Throughout the day I’ll put snacks he enjoys on the coffee table fair game. Yogurt covered raisins, dried fruit, cheese cubes, etc. I also pay close attention to the things he reaches for first in meals. He always goes for fruit and veggies first, then pasta and carbs, then meat. So I try to make sure he has a little more of what I know he loves. Extra asparagus slightly less chicken. I do also still give him small portions of things he dislikes like pizza though if they’re picky picky you have a chance of them seeing it and not eating at all.

I’ve also taught him how to communicate he wants a snack. He will point at us, then walked to the fridge and hit it once or twice. He’s obsessed with gogo squeezes and I have them on a shelf low enough he can have the independence of choosing his own whether it be the veggie, applesauce, or yogurt kind as well as the flavor it is. You mention she hates her high chair, if she’s feeding herself, have you tried just feeding her on the floor? Some days my son wants to throw his food out of his seat. So he just sits at the table normal or I put his plate on the floor or coffee table and he can eat it from there wether he wants to stand sit play. I also do not allow tv, phones, anything going while meals are being eaten as it was my biggest distraction as a child. I myself am a picky eater. If my food touches, my pasta is slightly over cooked, if I see or taste an ingredient I dislike, if it looks bad, etc I won’t touch it. Even as an adult I would rather starve than eat some things.

And please remember catering to a picky child isn’t spoiling them. Forcing them to sit at a table or eat something they dislike will only build an unhealthy relationship with food. I wish you the best mama 🫶🏻 you got this!

I have an incredibly picky eater, she’s 2.5 and has been a bad eater since about 1 year old. I’ve tried all the tips and tricks, I’ve bent over backwards to try get her to eat a little more variety, nothing has worked for us 🤷‍♀️ At this point I’m just going with it, and offering her our own food alongside her usual stuff. Maybe one day she’ll try it.