Any Advice - Cranston,RI

I totally agree with the smoothies! We make them all the time. I never use veggies in them though, only fruit. I would just keep presenting the vegetables to him and gently suggest that he try them. My son barely ate a vegetable at 3. Now he's 5 and eats a good amount....corn, green beans, peas, cucumbers, carrots (only raw), broccoli etc. Don't make it a fight because you won't win. Just offer and praise if he tries something new.

I think the answer to both of these issues might be the same. Sounds like you're ready for you and his father to get really clear about who is the boss in your family. Letting your little boy decide what he eats and where he sleeps clearly isn't making you happy, so my advice would be to stop letting him decide. Easier said than done, I know. If it's important to you you'll have to really stick with it cause if you give in after telling him no, it will take a LONG time to undo.

I've never (as a mom or teacher) been one to "trick" or threaten kids into doing things. Children should trust their parents to make healthy safe choices and should do as they say because it's the right thing to do... not by accident or out of fear.

Tell your son he needs to sleep in his own bed. Get him a sticker chart and hang it on his bedroom door. Let him decorate it etc. When he comes to your bed in the middle of the night, walk him back to bed. After a few nights you should be able to just tell him to go back to bed. Either way, put a sticker on his chart EVERY morning that he wakes up in his own bed. Set a goal like five nights and then take him for ice cream or something. Then move it to ten nights, then 15 then a month, etc.

As for fruits and veggies, I'd talk to him about healthy eating. Maybe get a book or dvd about healthy habits. Make fruits and veggies the only food you offer for snacks. Get him involved in preparing food or make them fun to eat (ants on a log, apples dipped in peanut butter, orange slices then "play" by putting the peels on your teeth etc.)

You might talk with your son's pediatrician about this as well and see what (s)he says about appropriate behavior modification for these issues.

Hope this helps.

T.

I won't offer advise on the sleep issue.
With the food:
Start (if you aren't already) serving well rounded meals. Protein, veggie, fruit. Don't give him anything else. Don't try to sweet talk him into eating. Just put it on the table and make it normal.
Serve fruit and veggies for snacks. Don't buy junk food, chips or kiddie crackers. It makes it easy if you chop up the vegetables when you get them home from the store or buy the precut. Keep a couple of containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge for these things. Try blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, grapes. Put a dish of apples, pears, peaches (whatever is in season) on a low shelf that he can reach on his own. When he says he's hungry show him what a big boy he can be to pick out his own snack.
I have noticed that if "daddy" doesn't eat his veggies, the kids won't eat them. I had a talk with my husband and now he makes a point to talk about how much he likes "the crispness of the lettuce" "the crunchiness of the cucumbers" whatever. Kids listen and will follow your example.

Not sure if your son is in a toddler bed, but I would recommend getting him a regular bed, it's more comfortable for you. Start sleeping with him in his room. Give it a few nights, then just stay in bed with him till he's sleeping & go into your own room. If he gets up in the middle on the night, don't let him into your bed. Go into his bed with him & either sleep there or wait until he's sleeping & go back to your bed. I did this with both my children from the beginning & they never want to sleep in my bed. If they have a bad night, They want me to sleep with them in their room. Good luck.

.

Hello,

Hmmm, with regards to fruits and veggies have you tried smoothies? Presented like a milkshake it's a big hit. I started We make them here and it's an amazingly FUN way to get fruits and veggies into them. If he's ever interested, you can incorporate him in the smoothie making process. My 2.5 year old loves to push the "on" button and pour ingredients into the blender.

Best of luck!
T.

I wanted to add that I also have been serving my son salad since he could eat it. He always picked out the croutons and that was it - not even a murmur of eating the actual salad. One day I mentioned, in passing, that giraffes eat leaves and he now eats salad every night - eagerly!! I've managed to sneak new veggies in now too. He hated avocado and now he loves it. Keep trying and you might accidentally say something that sticks! :)

Why not pump him up about his own big boy bed with a new set of sheets and a comforter? Take him to Target or Walmart and let him choose something inexpensive and make a big deal out of it? Sometimes, letting them pick out something gives them the control they need to make a new transition.

Keep offering the fruits and veggies and make sure he sees you eating them too. Does he like applesauce? It could be a texture thing, just keep trying!

Getting a child to sleep in their own bed can be hard. Occasionally our kids will wake up in the night. With our son I tell him its still night time and that he has to go back to bed in his bed. (he's 3 1/2). For our daughter I'll lay with her for a little bit (spare room) and then put her back in her bed. She sometimes wakes up when I'm putting her back down and I tell her to go night night and then close the door so the rest of us can sleep. She will cry for a minute and by the time I'm back downstairs and look at the monitor she's quite and going back to sleep.

It must be hard that your son won't eat fruits and vegetables. I get the veges, but fruit? I can't keep my kids out of it. They share a banana every day with breakfast and get grapes, strawberries, apple, pear, cuties mandarin oranges for an afternoon snack. They would eat fruit all day if I let them. Have you tried eating it with him at the same time? That might help him. Veges are trickier. Our kids love corn, sugar snap peas, carrots, and cucumbers, daughter only likes green beans. I will cut up brocoli, cauliflower, asparagus, occasionally brussel sprouts and mix them with rice, potatoes or pasta. It usually works. The brussel sprouts are the hardest. My oldest does catch me sometimes and he will pick around the asparagus/brussel sprouts. They do eat the brocolli and cauliflower. Make sure you offer it at every meal and that you are eating it to. Don't give an alternative if he doesn't eat the fruits and veges. I don't know where he is on the charts, heavy or thin, so that could possibly be part of it. If he's ok weight wise then once he's done with what he will eat and after you are done eating, clear the table. If he complains of being hungry later on tell him if he eats more of his dinner then he won't be hungry. The next night remind him if he doesn't want to be hungry then he should eat/try more food on his plate. Another trick when we have french bread in the house is I tell him once he has 4 bites he can have a piece of bread. Once he does I tear off a piece of a slice of bread and give it to him. We also have to hold his milk and give it to him throughout dinner. If we just give it to him it'd be gone before he had 3 bites so we do the same with the milk. This gets him to try more on his plate and have milk through the end of dinner like his little sister does. Good luck, hopefully it gets better soon.

Sleeping in your bed is his routine and it will take time a patience but just be consistent and keep bringing him back to him his room, calmly, through out the night. Once you start, don't give in or you will have to start all over again. As far as the fruits and vegetables, try to serve them at every meal so he sees them all the time, even if he doesn't eat them. Maybe let him pick out a few at the grocery store and make it a game. When my son was little, he didn't want to try anything new, ever. I showed him his tongue in the mirror and told him he grew new taste buds everyday, and he needs to keep trying things to see if he grew in that taste bud yet. He fell for it and still does at 7 1/2. Start with something like sweet like watermelon or even use a new candy he has never seen before. Just to get him to taste something new and find that he likes it. My little guy hates sweet potatoes and he still tries them every time they are served. Good Luck :)

buy some blueberries or grapes and eat them like they are candy and see if you can trick him that way. try putting some watermelon on a popsicle stick and freezing it and have him eat it like a popsicle.