Pickiest Eater in the World...

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Shane. The only reason people have "picky" eaters is because they didn't offer a variety when they were first eating table foods or they offered once, kid didn't like so they just moved on. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to offer the same thing several times and make the kids eat just a couple of bites so they can develop a "taste" for it.

I would not make this a battle. I would very matter-of-factly make dinner, fix him a plate with very little on it so it doesn't look overwhelming and then he either eats it or doesn't. If he doesn't, he doesn't eat ANYTHING else that night. No substituting for one of the things you know he will eat; if you do, he will NEVER eat anything else. Why should/would he?

Who is the parent here? This can be a power struggle. Right now he is in power because you are bending to him.

Give him some food he likes and one food he doesn't like at every meal. He can not leave the table until he eats two bites of the food he doesn't like. I was the mean mom who had kids falling asleep at the table but they learned to eat whatever I put in front of them.

Honestly.... Wait a year.

From apx age 2 to apx age 5 the brain does this "Gag! Yuck! Spit it OUT!!!" Response to new chemical signatures.

Meaning, ESP with the "toddler food" craze, that a lot of 2-5yos only eat about 11 things.

Then sometime between 5-6, the brain shuts off the response, and they can eat anything (that wasn't forced on them, and tagged as yuck/poison).
Hence why the doc is saying DONT force. Forced foods tend to get tagged as gag/yuck until age 20.

Yes, it means "boring" for up to another year... But unless your child is SPD or Autism Spectrum... It will wear off sometime this year.

You can try 'blending' foods (a hated food with an okay one), but WARNING: it only has about a 50% success rate. Meaning half the time they'll eat the new food, but the OTHER half of the time... The previously okay food gets put on the YUCK! List.

This isn't a willfulness thing, by the by... It's a brain thing. The same response that makes us thing dog poop smells AWFUL. His brain will keep making _______ smell / taste as bad as poop until the response wears off sometimes this year.

My kids went through varying phases of pickiness over the years too, especially my son.
Don't worry about it.
It never affected their health or their friendships.
Just buy and prepare the foods YOU want your family to eat, and keep trying and offering new things.
If he doesn't eat, or doesn't eat much, it's no big deal. Ignore the whining and complaining and just say,
this is what we are having for dinner, if you don't like it you are welcome to make yourself a sandwich, or grab a granola bar and a piece of fruit, something like that.
That's what I always did.
He's not going to starve (I assume he's not underweight, or not growing, right?)
And I imagine if my kids had a choice between eggs and pop tarts they would choose the pop tarts too!
Like I said, buy and prepare only what you want to feed your family. YOU are the mom, it's YOUR choice.

My 2 year old is the exact same way! I have no idea what to feed him. The only things he will eat is fish sticks, chicken nuggets, french fries, fruits, yogurt, applesauce, pbj sandwich, potato chips, certain cookies,waffles, cereal, oatmeal, meat and thats just about it. His list of things he wont eat is the EXACT the same as yours. I was also concerned about him (health wise). Im not worried at all about kids or parents thinking he is strange. Who does that? Thats silly. His doctor said to just give him a vitamin and small snacks throughout the day. He said that kids usually grow out of that. So I give him Flintstones, small snacks throughout the day and VFusion. About twice a week I make my own VFusion.I blend up spinach, carrots, applejuice, orange juice, a fresh fruit and a tblsp of sugar. You cant taste the vegetables at all. It just have a nasty green color. So I put it in a colored cup that have a lid. Good luck!

Go with your pediatrician on this one... keep introducing new foods, but pair them with "prefered items" as well.

Ex: Chicken nuggets, french fires and carrots... two "likes" and one "dislike". Make the expectation that he has to have a "no thank you" helping of the disliked item.

I understand your pain. While my 5 year old daughter is picky, she will try anything and eat most of what we make for her and the things she doesn't like/eat - guess what? We don't like or eat them either! So no wonder why she has no interest. I mean this is a girl who thought a snicker bar was gross! I could not believe it. A snickers? LOL What I have been trying to do is to offer veggies or fruit first (if I'm making dinner and she is STARVING) and give healthy options. She can have 1 serving of mac and cheese but before she has seconds - she has to eat all of her veggies or applesauce. Also try to sneak it in some foods if there ARE sauces he likes!! Good luck mama!!

Feed him what you know he will eat then try introducing a new food, too.
Something simple like carrots & Ranch on his plate not lima beans.

Trust me.......his tastes will change as his taste buds change.
Kids tastebuds change quickly & often leveling out as they age.

As a kid I remember disklikeing tomatoes, green beans etc & they are all my favorites now.

He's not the weird kid that won't eat anything. He has particular tastes.
Those tastes will change. It's like the ocean tide.......an ebb and flow.

I hated pb&j as a kid and didn't like them until I was 13.

When SD was little she didn't like the taste & texture of eggs but loves them now!

Sounds like he likes the daycare food (catered to kids' tastes) so maybe try making something kid friendly for dinner. Or at the very least, making something in addition to what you're making.

I hate spaghettios. I tried it when I thought my child might like it but it was disgusting. Most kids don't like cheese or casseroles (too may tastes & textrues...it's like goulash to them).

Try making your dinners simple & bland so his tongue isn't bombared with the explosing of flavors & textures.

He'll grow to like other things as he ages. Give it time, feed him what you KNOW he will eat & add a new thing here and there. Not all at once.

Hang in there.

My son had a hyper-sensitive gag reflex at that age! He had gotten so he could walk by the table and see a food he didn't like and would throw-up. If you forced him to try something, he would throw-up. He grew out of it.
My rule was you had to try three bites and could make yourself a peanut butter sandwich, but you had to try. He's 16 now and eats a large variety of foods.
My 9 yo SS is very picky. When you finally get him to try something, he usually likes it. He has sat at the table at our house for well over an hour by himself while we wait him out to try dinner. His mom only makes foods he'll eat or takes him out for fast food so its a real challenge at our house. He does love feta cheese - weird I know, but he loves it on pizza.

Keep introducing new foods and he will find things he likes. It may be a texture thing with him - a lot of the things he doesn't like are kinda "mushy". I don't like things I don't know if I should chew or drink.

My son is now 6.
He has been a picky eater since he was 6 months old and starting solids.

We never force him to eat.
We never punish him to eat.
We never reward him to eat.
We never nag him to eat.
We never make it a big deal.
We never make eating a battle.
We never call him "picky" in front of him to others.
We never withhold food from him, and we never use food as a weapon to get him to eat.
But:
He does not starve
He is very healthy and has always been this way.
He does not have any hang ups.
He ONLY eats, per his body's cues: ie: he eats when hungry, and stops when full.
He does not gorge eat.
He does not eat for emotional reasons.
He does not eat because he is bored.
He eats, when he is hungry. He stops when full. And actually, eating according to your body's cues is the most healthy.
I cook what I cook, and my son eats. There will always be something he will eat.
But, my son is ALSO very independent and able... to make things in the kitchen too. Himself. IF he wants a different sauce on his chicken for example, HE will go and get it himself from the fridge. He won't just sit there and grumble or not eat. He will go and get a sauce from the fridge.

Over time, my son has NATURALLY expanded his palate and he eats more things now. He even likes, asparagus and artichokes.
At his annual check up recently... the Pediatrician said that his height/weight/and BMI is "Perfect. He is growing so well and long!" My son is tall. And solid. But very lanky.
My son's Grandma, was ALWAYS "complaining" that my son "doesn't eat enough... he is so skinny!" and she would always NAG my son to eat eat eat. So I told the Pediatrician... and the Doc said, Grandma is wrong, that my son DOES eat healthy because he goes according to his body's cues and his percentiles are PERFECT.

I am just glad, that my son does not eat for dysfunctional emotional reasons. Because, even at this age, some kids do.

Here is a good link for you:
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/extremely-picky-eaters-st...

I never really did understand the picky eater concept. No offense to anyone, but in all the instances I've witnessed, it's mostly due to parents catering to the child.

My kids always just ate everything. They knew I wouldn't give them anything gross or anything that I wouldn't eat myself. In fact, my son is a very adventurous eater. He eats things I would never eat, like chicken hearts, gizzards. He will literally try anything. My daughter did go on a brocolli strike once after finding a green worm on her cooked brocolli, but it didn't last that long because it's one of her favorite foods.

As moms, it makes US feel better when our kids eat something. It's completely natural. However, kids will eat anything if they get hungry enough. Or at least be willing to take a taste.

It's my very strong opinion that kids who won't eat healthy things that get prepared for them should have zero access to things like pop-tarts, chips, sugar cereals, cookies, etc. Kids don't need sugar. They DO need nutritious foods.

From the time my kids were very, very little, when I went grocery shopping, the first area we went to was the produce section. I told my kids they could choose anything in the entire section and I'd buy it for them. The only deal was.....they had to be willing to taste it. The produce section is a wonderful place to learn about colors, different textures, aromas...and that's before you even get the stuff home. They got to make their choice which got that out of the way. They didn't get to ask me for other things throughout the store. It's a habit I got my kids into, it worked pretty great, and they were much more willing to taste things that they had picked for themselves. As a result, my kids tried, and liked, a huge variety of fresh produce. One time, a man approached me and said, "Excuse me....did I just hear your little kid begging you for eggplant?" Yep.

I think the key is in exposing kids to a variety of things. How can they know they don't "like" something if they've never tried it? The answer is that they can't. My kids certainly went through phases of being hooked on certain things. They might go on a mango or brussel sprout kick. Fine with me. They didn't eat that INSTEAD of anything else.

Your son is 5. Get him involved in helping you pick things out and prepare them. You know he likes chicken. How about having him help you bake one? He likes potatoes. Give him a masher and let him help you make mashed potatoes. Expand on his horizons a little.

I agree with not making it a battle. He can eat what you make or not. That's giving him a choice.

My mom made bizarre things for dinner sometimes like scrambled eggs and oysters. I just brushed my teeth, put my nightgown on and kissed everyone goodnight because I knew I was going to bed with no dinner if I wouldn't eat it. My choice. Better luck tomorrow.

Get rid of the sugar, tweek the things he likes, and let go of thinking that ANYTHING he will ingest is better than nothing at all.

Just my opinion.

Try reading the book "Coping with a Picker Eater" by Dr. Wilkoff.

Good Luck!

The pickiest eater in the world is the woman who eats almost nothing but french fries. There've been articles about her.

I would continue to serve something he'll eat, something he might not eat, and something he probably won't. My DD won't eat most soups, for example, but she'll happily eat pasta with butter. I tend to give her more leeway at lunch. I really doubt your son will be excluded as weird for having distinct eating habits. Teach him to be polite and say no thank you vs ew, yuck! Teach him to try foods he's never seen before. My DD won't eat pizza, but she will eat plenty of other things. If the party will have pizza, I give her a snack on the way so if she eats nothing but cake and chips all afternoon, it's not a big deal. I found with my DD that if I can give her an option that's not mixed up or doesn't have sauce, she's more likely to eat it. The other week she tried raw broccoli and prefers it that way now. Um, okay. I save some for her when I steam mine.

Last night we had salmon, butternut squash and salad. DD ate the salmon and some salad (did not like the cilantro) and had leftover rice and pear instead of squash. Another night we had tacos, but she doesn't like the meat, so she had a slice of turkey lunchmeat, the tortilla, cheese on the side and salad out of the taco veg. What do I care if her taco is deconstructed? I don't consider it being a short order cook if it's just a minor (and quick) substitution. Would that work for your son? I wouldn't make a meal JUST for him, but if he eats PB&J every night (teach him how to make it) then maybe he'll get bored and try your dinner. Be matter of fact. These are your options. If you don't eat, there are no snacks later. Choices within adult parameters.

You can also get him involved in the prep. My DD loves to cook and will sometimes try it if she sees the process.

We do a lot of Standard Process SP Complete protein shakes and even our pickiest eater will drink it since she helps make it. When she isn't looking, I add zucchini and spinach.

Well..I don't find that bad at all. Because of my sons SENSORY issues and anxiety ( not my bad parenting) he will only eat fries, chips, yogurt, brownies, apple juice, chocolate milk, buscuits, and goldfish. And they are brand specific....very bland diet. That is it. Trying new foods he literally has a panic attack...not temper tantrums. We are finally getting help for his through an OT....but it's been a battle to get help. Luckily he takes vitamins....because you can see there is no protein and very little calcium.

I did read somewhere you need to have a child take one good sized bite of something everyday for 2 weeks and then he can decide if he likes it. Then introduce another food. This is what we are going to start with the OT.

Oh...and my other three kids eat a big variety of things and are all willing to try. Some kids are just this way....and as long as the menu is varied a bit...I wouldn't worry too much.

Stop making special meals just for him. Just make a family meal. If he eats it, great...and if he doesn't because he's decided to be picky, he won't starve. Eventually, he'll get hungry enough to eat what you serve. And if he decides he doesn't want what you serve, he should sit with the family at dinner anyhow. Don't fight him or try to coax. It's a power play. When you take the power out of it (by not allowing yourself to be frustrated, and not making it a his will vs. your will scenario) the entire situation becomes less interesting to him...and he'll fight mealtime less.

Also....Pop Tarts are LOADED with sugar. Of course he likes them. I refuse to buy them.