My 2 Year Old Is a Picky Eater.

V. I am in the same boat also. My son Ashton is 2 1/2 and he only likes pizza, spaghetti, chicken nuggets and fries. He loves bread and eats it all the time. He wille at fruits. But my son will drink water and milk. I give him those gummi vitamins cause I am always worried. The doctor says hes healthy. So I never know what to do besides keep offering new foods over and over.

As long as you can get your son to eat some things he is doing good. Just give him the things he likes for now. Still introduce new things and see if he likes them. On the milk issue maybe try putting chocolate or strawberry syrup in it. He seems to like juice so maybe the strawberry syrup will work. I hope that this advice helps you.

When one of mine had problems like that the Ped told us that 100 years ago there was not as much variety to our diets and we would just eat what there was and it wasn't a problem. The vitamins would balance everything out. At least it sounds more healthy than our daughters choice of bolognia and cheese slices, not even real cheese. The doc did advise just to get the best quality of bolognia we could find. Good luck.

If he likes juice...how does he do with fruit? Do you use 100% fruit juice? That will at least get some nutrition in what he will eat. Have you tried adding brocolie to the mac&cheese? (We had to do that when my son would'nt eat the mac&cheese but he loves brocolie!) Could you add little bits of apples or bannana's into his oatmeal? Some kids go a few days wanting only a few items, and after awhile they get tired of it and change. Although my 3 year old is a good eater, he HAS to have his peanutbutter and jelly daily. If he does not get it at lunch, at bedtime snack he asks for it. I was, and still am, a very picky eater. I remember driving my mom CRAZY. She would put food on our plate and bribe us to eat at least 5 bites of everything...a sticker chart with a prize bucket or a special lunch with his favorite foods might help him want to eat more also.

Best wishes!

most people dont realize that children will balance out their nutritional needs... You are giving him vitamins witch cover a great deal of what kids need. your body will naturaly crave what it is lacking. The rule for childhood is training for future good eating habits. You could pickout A good cookbook from the Library that shows methods of cutting Friuts and vegs into fun and interesting shapes. My kichen table often hosts a fun assortment of radish mice and mushroms, carrot flowers, celery pom poms, and much more. Find a way to make the food fun! Plus as an experiment try cutting his vitamins out for a week, it wont hurt him in that short of a time span but you may be suprised to see that he'll look for foods that cover those nutrients!

Hi, V.. I'm really lucky, my 2 yo son is a good eater. I have found, though, that he is a GREAT eater when he "helps" me cook dinner. The other night I made a pasta dish with bowtie pasta, frozen spinach, can of tomatoes and a can of garbanzo beans. He dumped all the stuff in the pan for me and then stirred it. Occasionally I would say "Taste it and see if it's good." I kept the heat very low while he was there and eventually sent him off so I could really cook it. When it came time to eat, he ate his whole plate!

Also, he loves his juice, too so I still cut it with a lot of water. He seems okay as long as it has the flavor of juice.

You could also try giving him a chewable vitamin...
All that aside, I've repeatedly heard that kids get what they need and not to worry as long as they are eating.

Good luck.
L.

My daughter is 2yrs too. she only will eat chicken nuggets, hot dogs and plain lettuce and broccoli(trees she calls them, lol)she is a very picky eater too. I try to get her to eat but won't eat anything either. I was told to give them strawberry milk or chocolate milk to get there dairy in. atleast they are drinking there milk that way. If you are really concerned call your pediatrician or w.i.c. program and talk to a nutrianist there.good luck and I will ask around for you. If I find anything else out I will write back.

My 3 1/2 year old is super picky and refuses to even TRY anything new. I get frustrated, but the stuff he does like...he'll eat like crazy. (chicken nuggets, breads, pancakes, pizza, pb&j, grilled cheese, etc.)I can't get him to eat fruit, so I do yogurt. Veggies are a whole other issue...I try to get him to eat what we're eating...and even call our salad spinach b/c he love popeye...but that doesn't work. I thought for sure I had to only kid on earth that won't eat mac and cheese or spaghetti-os!
I guess I don't really have advice...just to say that apparently there are a lot of us with picky eaters! Oh..and we also give my son vitamins. I may try taking them away for a week and seeing what happens as someone suggested.

well V. i am in the same boat i have 3 kids 12 year old son 6 year old son wit down syndrom and hes a very picky eater and a 2 year old daughter and she also is a picky eater and there doctor put them on pedia sure you should try it and see if he likes it ask your doctor to give you a perscription for it and get it from wic they have banana strawberry chocolate orange and vanilla flavors he might like them they are a good source of vitamines cause like you said all mine want to eat is nuggets apple sauce mac n cheese beans and spagheetti n chicken and thats it well thats all my daughter will eat my son though hell eat fruits my other son he eats me oout of my house lol my daughter has turner syndrom also so its rough on me trying to feed them there under weight the docs say even with them drinking thepedia sure they just wont gain weight but your son is fine right so he might like them if you have any worries about his nutrtion but ask ur doctor to make sure ok write back and let me know ok my name is H. and im 29 from the west side of cleveland soon to be 30 in 3 months going through a divorcr and engaged to my daughters father

I too had a very picky eater...He would only eat chicken nuggets, scrambled eggs, and french fries...I asked the doctor about his diet and he said to give him what he wants. But try to add different things but don't force him. Just give him little bits of new things to try. And as far as juice is concerned. Try the Juicy Juice as it is 100 percent juice. If you are worried about the calcium issue. Ask his pediatrician about special vitamins with the calcium in them. At least he's eating. If he eats what he likes he will continue to eat. But if you try to make him eat other things without introducing them with the regular favorites, he might not eat enough then and that wouldn't be good either. You can always ask his pediatrician what he thinks too. If that doesn't work try to talk to a dietician at one of the local hospitals. Hope this helps..Good luck and don't worry.. My son is now 10 and he's very healthy and happy. And i can get him to eat most anything now. It's just a phase they go through. Good luck and God Bless

You might want to have him assessed by an allergist. It sounds like he *may* have some sensitivity or allergy issues due to the fact that his body craves bready foods. It sounds crazy, but someone with food allergies tends to crave and gorge on the very foods that their body may be sensitive to. Like a cigarette smoker--they crave the nicotine, even though it's bad for them.
I just mentioned this advice because it sounds very similar to what we went through. If you can't see an allergist, you might want to try removing all wheat/bread/gluten products from his diet for at least a week. Just beware... any behavior problems will get worse before they get better. (It's the withdrawl effect.) Just stick with it. I bet you'll see a big improvement after a week goes by.
Good luck.
S.

My son was and still is a very picky eater. What I do is make him try what we are eating. If he trys just a few bites and truly does not like it..he can have his PB&J. Another thing that really made me feel better about the nutrition issue when we were going through this with my son was the nurtrion driks you can buy. I think they are called "Pediasure". Mejier makes these also and they are a bit cheaper. They provide quite a bit of the things your child needs and my son loved the taste.

I have a picky 21/2 year old eater also. Our Dr told us that they are not growing as fast anymore and don't NEED to eat as much as he used to. He said if you can get him to eat at least one good meal a day you are lucky. He said don't worry unless he is off on his growth curves.
Our son also loves to eat yoplait, custard style yogurt, cucumbers, strawberries,apples,pizza. We just try new stuff with him all the time. Some stuff he likes some he hates. Just keep trying.
Good Luck!