Picky Eaters

My 3 year old did the same thing. We have started make him sit at the table until everyone is finished with their meal. Since he is bored he has started trying new things. You might also try not giving them their sippy cups until meal time.

Have them help you cook, make their plates. That may peak their interest. I get my son to eat his vegetables by dipping them in fat free ranch dressing, or melted cheese. We have a rule that we set from the beginning. You have to try everything once. One good bite. If you do not like it, OK, but try it. Let them graze throughout the day on healthy snacks. Put their veggies or fruit on toothpicks for added fun. Just be careful of the pokey end. Graham crackers, granola bars, fruit bars, anything. They will eat when they are hungry. They will not starve. Parents magazine and Familyfun.com have some neat kid friendly recipes to try.
Good luck.

My oldest daughter became very anemic for the very same reason, because milk does not provide some of the necessary nutrients. They really only need 2 or 3 cups of milk a day. You might have to tolerate some crying and whining, but if you cut back the milk, they will be more hungry for other stuff. I also learned during this time to feed them when they were hungry and not make them wait for meal time. Little ones don't eat much at one time because their stomachs are too small, but they will graze on stuff all day long if they can. Cereal is a good source of vitamins and iron, and even sugary ones like Lucky Charms are still full of grains and nutrients.

This is what I did when my kids were drinking all their calories: No milk or juice between meals including snack time (which I limited to one in the morning and then we ate dinner earlier in the evening)They could have as much water as they wanted and after one glass of milk or juice at a meal I offered water. I love the "Deceptively Delicious" book and now our meals are much healthier. Once they get used to a more rigid food routine with less juice and milk I relaxed a lot about it.

I'm a mom of a 17 month old and 4 year old boys. My favorite new thing that I can't wait to tell everyone about is Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook "Deceptively Delicious". It's all about hiding veggies in foods that kids like to eat. Check it out! My 4 year old who has not touched a single veggie since going off baby food at 12 months old is now eating carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, and peas, and he has absolutely no clue!! There's everything from breakfast foods, snacks, desserts, and main course dinner meals.

Yes, my two lil ones do the same thing. I don't worry about it. I offer the healthy stuff and as long as they do eat one decent meal a day, I don't worry about it. I can tell when they are growing because they will eat 2-3 great meals a day...

I have cut the milk back to see if that helped and it does. I also, cut out the morning snack and now they usually eat lunch better. I don't think they need to eat as much all the time. I figure they will eat when hungry. Unless having developmental issues or growth issues; I personally don't worry about it. I just offer three meals a day and an afternoon snack and that is it.

Your child will eat when he gets hungry. Some of us let them drink and snack and they are not hungry at meal time. Keep in mind it is important for the child to drink. We can live day without food but not long without water. Stop the snacks and see what happens. Stop the milk and serve up water. I bet when meal time comes your baby will eat.

B Armstrong

Hello, my name is S.. I don't think that you have to worry about them starving, kid's will eat when they are hungry. They go through growth spurts when they eat all day and tell you they are still hungry and then there are times when they are not growing much and they hardly eat at all. Just don't give them any junk! That will definitely curb their appetite for good nutricious food or they will hold out just long enough for you to cave in and offer those cookies!don't teach them how to manipulate you! Let them eat only when they want to and only god food! No fever no worrys! Milk may be all they need for that meal !

My son is 2 and a half and he is the exact same way. It all started around 20 months and is still continuing. All I can get him to eat meat wise is chicken nuggets from Mc Donalds, nothing else. He loves to eat fruit, but only when he wants it. Other than that he is all about chocolate milk and JUNK!!! I spoke to the doctor and he said that all children go through this phase and if they are hungry, they well eat what they want. I hope that this helps!

You better believe it. It happens all the time. May I please introduce you to "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld?! It is a cookbook and how-to book for moms with kids who are picky eaters who won't eat what's good for them. Make sure your kiddos are getting too much milk. Try sneaking in some water. Capri Sun has a naturally fruit flavored water that my son loves. It is a nice treat for him as I do not serve him juices.
Best of feeding to you.
M.

N.,
I have posted similar questions to other moms on this site and have been so blessed to get such great advice! If you search through the past posts on eating, you'll be able to read a lot of similar posts. Recently, I found that my 19 month old LOVES the dried fruits and veggies that are sold at Whole Foods. Her favorite are the dried peas! They have apples, mangos, strawberries, bananas, raspberries, corn, carrots and a mixed veggie one. They are sold in the produce section, near the bananas, at the Whole Foods on Coit in Richardson. I am sure that other Whole Foods stores have them as well. My daughter loves the "crunch" of goldfish and Cheerios. Upon advice of another mom, I found that she really thinks this dried fruit and veggie mix is more of a "cracker", which she enjoys! They travel well too! Hope that helps!

You're not going to like what I'm going to say, but here's my take on picky eaters. Moms with "picky eaters" lable their kids as such and will use that excuse to the point where the kids believe it and will continue to demonstrate that trait. I believe it is a learned behavior that should and can be corrected early on, at the exact stage that you are at. You have to think about the fact that kids in less fortunate situations do not have a choice and they end up eating the foods that are placed in front of them. They do not have the ability to be picky eaters bc they rarely get a chance to eat. With that said, you have to, as a mom, do your best to not introduce just basic foods; i.e. mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, fries.

If all they are wanting is milk, then limit that to only a certain number of times per day; at breakfast, and at dinner and it is presented with their meals not as a "snack". Make the food that you want them to eat, put it on the table. Give them as many choices as possible on the table , but no more than you are willing to prepare. And kids at this age do not know how to tell you want they want to eat bc they have not been exposed to enough food to know what they want to eat. You make the meal time decision, have at least 3 options available then let it be. If meals are not eaten, then move on. Do not enable the matter by allowing them to have that milk if they do not eat their meals. 2 cups of milk per day is more than suffient. In between meal times have good snacks ready to go; carrots with ranch, edamame beans are great, plum tomatoes are sweet and they pop in the kids mouth. If you introduce them to these items early on, they will grow to love it. You yourself have to love it and you have to be diligent in introducing new foods to their tastebuds. Even if they turn them down the first time, try it again. It might take 4-5 times b4 you should really say they don't like it. My kids love pot roast but I don't make it often and when I do, they always look at it and go, I don't like this. I say yes you do, try it, and they do. They don't get dessert if they don't finish what I think to be an efficient amount. Your girls may not be old enough for desserts yet, and that may be a good trend to not introduce desserts to the equation.

And especially with girls you need to teach them good food habits so that they don't spiral into bad eating habits later on. And trust me that road may sneak up on you sooner than later. You'll have one that may be overweight and just wants to eat junk food bc that's all she knows to eat. Or you'll have one that refuses to eat bc she does not know that keeping your body fed with good food is better than starving it and being thin. Trust me if you don't teach them good eating habits and setting a good example early on and sticking with it, you are setting yourself up for much more difficult times down the road.

Hi N.,

We used to have this problem in my household. My son's favorite food groups were chicken nuggets and candy. I used to worry all the time about him getting enough nutrition. Then we discovered a product that puts real, whole fruits and veggies into capsules for adults and gummy treats for kids. It's been about two years now and I have so much more peace of mind knowing that all our nutritional needs are met every day and whatever fruits and veggies he does eat are a bonus. We are so much healthier now as well...we rarely, if ever need to visit the doctor. Let me know if you'd like to know more.

____@____.com

my 4-y-o STILL isn't that big on eating ... food just isn't a big deal to him in general (like his dad). that's so hard for me to compute!! i LOVE food. but the less pressure i put on him, the better. i remember between 1-2 years, gosh ... i was lucky if he'd eat two bites of grilled cheese.

i'd stress & stress ... and my ped noted that my job was to present him w/the food, and his job to eat it.

he went thru a huge, long phase where all he really wanted was vegetarian sausage patties. so strange. anyway, he's still amazingly picky, but better. this is his 'thing' ... i can accept it now.

My son fits this description to a T! My mother in law is buying me "Deceptivly Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. So we shall see how that works out... *sigh* my doctor says they eat when they are hungry. end of story.

_N

take away the milk... milk makes them full so they won't eat. i had the same prob with my one year old... i had to cut him back on his milk intake... i make him eat first and then i give him the milk.

I agree with the previous poster in the sense that you shouldn't worry about it. If they're hungry they'll eat.

I do have one suggestion however...whatever you do, don't cave and make then whatever they demand. It won't get better over time. My bil would only eat hot dogs, and carrots. Guess what he's having at our house on Thanksgiving? Well, he'll get carrots, and that's about it. If he wants hot dogs he'll have to make them himself...because I'm not a caterer or a short order cook. Train your children right when they're young so they don't grow up like this!

Milk is a filler, so drinking too much of it will curb their appetite. Limit their milk to 2 cups per day and that should help increase their food intake.

All I can say is keep trying and supplement!!! I have a 5 year old daughter that eats only 5 foods. It is crazy. We supplement with Juice Plus to make sure her nutrition needs are met. www.juiceplus.com/+jh72997 It is fruits and veggies in gummie or chewables. I was so thankful to find it!!