All She Wants Is Cereal!!!!

You did'nt say how old she was. But feed her what you want her to have. She has to learn. She can't eat that all the time. You just have to be patient with her. She will cry. But she will eat what you give her.Keep us posted.

Don't worry too much. About 75% of us moms deal with this with at least one child. I let them have their control and make smoothies. Will she drink smoothies? PB and banana smoothies are great. Add juice or milk to thin it. I toss in a handful of spinach, carrots and 1/4 of an avocado. I also make berry smoothies (fresh or frozen berries with whatever raw or frozen veggies I have on hand). I still fool my 4 and 7 yr old! They have no idea.

how old is she?

I don't know much about this as my son is not a picky eater. But our son is always required to take ONE bite of the 'yucky' food to taste it because "You don't know that it's yucky if you don't taste it." Half the time he realizes he DOES like it after that initial taste. Every time, every plate, he must take one bite to taste it, as children's tastebuds will change.

Also, making the food look fun makes a difference. Make a face on the plate with an avocado nose, pineapple chunk eyes, black olive pupils, red bell pepper lips, and so forth. My son loves it when I say "Oh no! Don't eat my eyes!" Even putting food on the plate in a neat pattern with toothpicks makes it more fun/appealing to taste.

How old?

If she is a toddler this is very common. You just have to keep trying and eventually hope she overcomes it. My pediatrician always said just keep trying and don't cave to other things. I always made a conscious making something they liked in the meal along with things they didn't, so they would at least have something they liked. Eventually, they come around at least one of them has. I'm still waiting for my other one. But, I was, and am a picky eater always have been. My parents forced me and I found LOTS of ways to get around eating and feel I pushed it away more because I was forced. As I've grown into an adult I gave more foods a shot....even though I would still be called picky, I am much better. I hardly ate any meat as a child. Now I like almost all meat...

My daughter had serious trouble gaining weight due to heart issues and her cardiologist wasn't as concerned about her diet as long as she was gaining weight. I guess that made me feel better about letting her eat what she wanted and not be too concerned about getting veggies at every meal. I know that's not the case for all kids but don't beat yourself up if you're struggling to get her to eat.

In the morning my 2 year old has a smoothie every day which consists of frozen strawberries & mangos, a large handful of spinach, naked juice or v8 fusion and 1/2 & 1/2 (only because she's still on the lean side.) I don't worry too much if she won't eat veggies later in the day because she always has a large portion at breakfast.

Try veggies in different ways. My DD loves guacamole but won't eat raw avocados. She loves canned carrots, steamed asparagus and "baby trees" (broccoli.) Spaghetti is another good place to stick in veggies - just grind them into the sauce.

I find that if I can get her to try new things I am often surprised by what she'll like - she's a huge fan of pad thai for instance. Spaghetti is another good place to stick in veggies - grind them into the sauce. Good luck!

How old is she? Many toddlers get on a one food only cycles. Just keep introducing it to her, even eating them with her.

She may never like then, she may eat them for a while and then hate them. Be prepared for any reaction

what about with dips or some kind of salad dressing.. you can see if she will eat carrotts or celerey or whatever veggie if she has something to put them on.. have u ever made her ants on a long.. u fill a piece of celery with peanut butter and put a few raisins on top of it .. wen i was little that was the only way i would eat celery otherwise i hated it .. or how bout soup... wen veggies are in soup they just taste like the soup.. try chicken noodle

She'll grow out of it and be fine. When I was about 4, all I ate for a long time was either cheese slices or fritos and milk. I don't know why. I did outgrow it though, with no bad repercussions. Just keep doing what you are doing to offer things and never let her see you get stressed about her eating and it will get better.

She would pair perfectly with my 3 year old son! UGH -it's frustrating! My 6 year old son has always been a great eater (including those chopped avocado finger-food pieces). He'll at least try foods and he regularly eats a whole host of fruits and veggies. The 3 year old basically eats what you named and wants cereal about 4 times a day. I feel like the peanut butter is a saving grace and at least he eats Cheerios and Chex, so the sugar is kept down and the cereal is fortified. The milk is good for him too.

The killer for me is he eats ALL of his food at preschool -nasty, institutional vegetables included. At least he does get some fresh fruit there, and I ask him about eating it at home or serve it to him -and he won't TOUCH IT! I watched him (excitedly) eat a banana at preschool one day and orange segments another time -and he refuses to even TOUCH them at home. I think it's a game to him at this point. He eats it because everyone else is -and even though we sit down for dinner and he sees his older brother eating good foods, I guess it's not the same.

He's not malnourished and he takes a multi-vitamin and is growing well, so I guess at some point his palate will hopefully expand. Good luck with yours!

I wouldn't worry -- sounds totally normal to me. Make sure she is taking a multivitamin, and just keep trying with the fruits and veggies. My son despised vegetables for a long time but then one day he just started eating them happily. Of all things he loves broccoli and cauliflower and even salad, which we rarely had before. Now we have them all the time! Try pairing up apples w/peanut butter, strawberries with a little sugar sprinkled on top, vanilla yogurt with diced peaches mixed in, and things that are fun to eat, like watermelon, and see how the fruits go. They are sweeter and easier to get in kids' mouths! I basically use the tactic of putting out a fresh fruit or veggie for my 3YO at every single meal. Sometimes it goes untouched, but sometimes he eats it all. Good luck!

I wouldn't be too worried. But I would continue to offer it to her. My daughter only ate peas to start with, but now she LOVES broccoli, mushrooms, and tons of other veggies. We did require that she take one bite of any new food she didn't want to eat. Sometimes she at more, sometimes she didn't. And of course, she always saw us eating the vegetables we offered (no way I'm "making" her eat something we won't eat or try). About half of the time, she wants to try something just because we're eating it.

Not sure how the vegetables you give her are prepared, but steaming works great for us. Or a slight sautee with some seasonings. I like the idea of making a "veggie face." Another idea a lot of moms with picky eaters use is putting food in muffin tins. Fun presentation sometimes helps kids "get over" some food issues.

My daughter just turned 3. Every night for dinner she has 1 of 3 things: salad, cereal, or yogurt and cheese. She will barely touch any kind of meat, no vegetables. Occasionally she will eat plain pasta. I bought a juicer trying to outsmart her, and she wasn't fooled. I worry about it too. I just giver her a vitamin now:) I don't have the patience left at the end of the day to fight with her over it. So if cheese and cereal makes her happy, then cheese and cereal it is.

Keep introducing and expecting a taste. Some kids just need to try something 6 - 12 times according to one website. Make sure it will always be a normal, casual (no emotions involved) expectation at the table. If it's not eaten, just say, "Maybe you will be more hungry at breakfast (or whatever the next meal is). Did I say no emotions? It's tough but after a while it gets easier. Act like it doesn't matter to you if she eats or not. Stop making it an issue.

You will also need to stop giving in to what she does want. When a child is hungry, they will be apt to try more things. They will not starve themselves, though a strong-willed child like my daughter (now grown and healthy) will try to get you to believe it is life and death. Practice showing no emotion.

My nephew, around 7 would ONLY eat Fruit Loops with whole milk for 3 weeks. A few days in she called the pedi, he said to try to get him to eat other things but not to stress, it will pass - he said if he has not gotten over it in a month (yes, a month) to call again. He would eat other things here and there but mostly fruit loops. Kids do weird things food wise and we often just roll with them!

She sounds a lot like my 2 year old son! In fact, he just licks the ranch off his carrots and other veggies too. His pediatrician said that it doesn't matter how they get their fruits and veggies, as long as they get them. It sounds like you're doing a good job with the smoothies and she's getting a balanced diet overall.

I puree veggies as a sauce over rice, pasta, chicken, or some type of casserole, and he eats everything just fine. I do put a small portion of something he wouldn't normally eat every other dinner just to test the waters, and every once in a while he'll surprise me.

I'm hoping this gets easier with age. Good luck to you!

Do not worry too much, but be firm about being in charge of what goes on her plate and when. For example, if she loves cereal, then find one meal each day when she can regularly look forward to this.

My 'rule' is simple: I serve a plate with three choices on it, two of which I know will be readily eaten and one that's a 'wild card'. For example: peanut butter sandwich, some cheese slices and a couple carrot sticks. (Two known entities, and one she might not like but needs exposure to.) I found that being super-consistent on this helps.

My other suggestion (which some will disagree with) is not to force children to eat anything they don't want to. In our house, we jokingly call this the 'no bite' rule. I say this confidently--kids do grow into a more sophisticated palate as they get older. I didn't force my son to eat veggies (he loved frozen peas and corn at that age, but nothing else) and just kept serving them in small amounts. He's almost five and now also eats salad, carrots, celery, red peppers, and bean sprouts--enough variety to keep it easy for me; plus I send him veggies in his lunch, too.

Another suggestion is not to offer to seconds of the starchy/favorite foods right away. Let's say she eats the sandwich and the cheese....great. When she asks for more, be busy for a few minutes. Finish your own lunch or whatever else you need to be doing for a few minutes. Give her time to contemplate what's left on her plate. She doesn't have to eat it, but she does need to be patient for a minute. At this age, I don't talk too much about how yummy a food is or try to sell them on it. I just model eating it.

I also found that very young kids can get pretty bossy/choosy about food. They may verbalize what they want and then change their mind. It's maddening. I learned to defer those special requests for a later meal, and not to fulfill them when asked. "Yes, blueberries sound great. I'll be glad to give you some at snack time." This keeps you in charge of the meal at hand and will help children understand that mom is not a short-order cook. I don't see a tip jar on my kitchen counter, and I'll bet you don't either! Good luck!