I'm worried about my 18 month old son. He seems like a happy little guy most of the time. He has lots of energy and seems normal except when we try to feed him. Most days he refuses to let me or his daddy feed him and we have struggles to get him to just eat a few bites of food a day. How much should we expect him to eat? How much does he need to eat? Can anyone give me suggestions to get him to eat more? He has followed the growth chart OK at 50 -25 percent but we still worry that he isn't eating enough. Can you tell me how much milk he should drink and how much other food to eat and juice he should drink every day please.

Roughly 16 ounces of milk is plenty... giving too much will cause him to take in less foods and he would get less of some nutrients. At this stage most of his nutrition should be coming from foods and less from the milk. If you feel his milk consumption is effecting his food intake, cut back a bit on the milk and see if that helps. He won't need to eat too much however, several bites from a variety of foods at each meal, with a couple of snacks between, may be all he needs right now. Have you tried letting him feed himself? Mashed or soft foods that he can pick up on his own would be good choices. Avocado is a great finger food, banana cut up, pears peeled and cut up, scrambled eggs, pieces of toast, peas, cut up and softened sweet potatoes, pasta, cooked carrot slices, small soft chicken pieces, etc..
Keep the juice minimal, a few ounces a day is plenty. Offer milk and water with meals and snacks.

OK thanks. I was just searching and reading online about a proper diet for my baby and I'm finding out his new behavior of refusing food is pretty common. I thought maybe if I took away some of his milk he might eat more but I worried that he will lose weight if he doesn't eat more. I think I'll try giving him more finger foods like you suggest and see what happens. Usually he just throws his food on the floor and gets very annoyed if we try to put it in his mouth for him.

Yes... it can be trial and error to find what works. His appetite will fluctuate just as an older child's will. You may find he will eat only certain foods for a period for example, then will go onto something else.

The key is to at least offer a variety, often letting him feed himself since he is in a stage of wanting to exert a certain level of independence. If you cut back on the milk, you will see soon enough whether it has any effect on his food intake. At this point, offer the food first, with milk afterwards. You will obviously have to adjust his milk intake accordingly to what he eats. Try not to get too bothered by how much he is eating as it may not seem like very much to you. Keep mealtimes relaxed and stress free. As long as he is not consistently losing weight, and is a content and active little guy, he is likely doing fine.