Picky Toddler - Tulsa,OK

My toddler is also very picky. I have been somewhat successful with the "when she's hungry, she'll eat" philosophy, and she's also old enough now to compromise (she's 2 1/2). There is usually one item that she will eat, and it may not necessarily be the healthiest item on the menu. But, if she agrees to take a couple bites of something she doesn't want, she can have more of the food she wants. This usually works. And we have to be willing to pick up her plate if she won't eat anymore of what's healthy. Sometimes that's hard when she's only had a few bites of food. But this is the only way we've been able to get her to try some new things. We also don't worry if she doesn't really eat at dinner because she makes up for it at breakfast.
Oh, and I'm all about sneaking healthy foods into brownies and such, but I also want my daughter to grow up knowing she's eating broccoli or whatever, and to hopefully continue some of those good habits into adulthood. I'm afraid that if I sneak healthy foods into brownies and popsicles, she will continue to eat those things and guess what, I won't be there to sneak nutrition into them when she's 25 and has terrible eating habits.
Good luck!!

My son does this sometimes. Like some other people said on here, we give him vitamins everyday, and he likes those. And then if he throws a fit about the food, we either send him to his room until he can calm down or take away a privilege like the tv or a toy b/c a lot of times he doesn't want to come eat b/c he's playing or watching tv. Usually, after either of these he calms down enough to try it and usually likes it.

good luck!

I was actually at a lecture for nutrition and eating habits last week. It was done by a child nutritionalist and a speech pathologist. It has changed my life with my picky eaters. First of all get her on a good "complete" multi vitamin. Secondly, you must introduce each new food at least ten times with 2 weeks. So almost every meal. Get her to take at least one bite. Tell her if she doesn't like it she doesn't have to have any more. With both of my picky eaters they almost instantly started eating more because they discovered they liked it. Well here's the big part that changed my life! You only give your child 1 tablespoon of each food per every year of age. So in your case, 1 1/2 T. The speech path said that giving a kid too much food can overwhelm them where they give up before they even start. I started this idea with my 2 & 4 yr olds and almost instantly they started cleaning their plates and asking for more!! Hope this helps. Please feel free to message me if you want more info. These women had so many great things to say. Good luck!!

A.

There's lots of good suggestions here, but I'm skeptical about long term on some of them. The popsicle idea works great, as long as you're always at home. What happens when you go out, will she pitch a bigger fit when she doesn't get a popsicle? We go back and forth with our son. Some days he wants certain things, and nothing but that. He does much better with feeding himself though. He would absolutely refuse to eat, but if we hand him the spoon/food he goes right to town. Also, we discovered that there are some things that he will always eat: fruit for instance or chicken nuggets. He goes from loving some foods, to not wanting to touch them the next week. So keep trying, you never know when it will change. I also agree with the 10 times, but I always say 12 bites, and it still changes, the next month/year could be different. Casseroles are also great places to hide veggies and things. Good luck and keep trying.

I know exactly how you feel. I have an extreamly picky 3 year, almost 4 and I also have a 17 month old who is a wonderful eater. My oldest became a picky eater around 16 months old and it has only gotten worse. I have asked my son's doctor what should I do and she said I could give him Carnation Good Start, she said it is pretty much the same thing as Pediasure, but a lot cheaper. You will find it in the breakfast asle, you can get it in choc. and vinilla and all you have to do is mix it in her milk. I give it to him every moning at breakfast time and I also give him a glass of ovaltein at night to make sure he is getting his nutrients, because he will not take a vitiamn. But I am still trying to figure out what to do about the picking eating. I hope this helps you out a little. Best of luck.

I agree with a lot of those responses. For my daughter (now just 24 months), she just went through different phases. Sometimes she wanted to feed herself. Other times she would only eat if I fed her. I thought it was really wierd, but she ate and that made me happy. We don't eat at our dining table, but we do eat together. If she sits down to eat before us, she gets frustrated until we get there and only wants to eat with us, so the family meal time is important. Her seeing you eating it helps. Also, we try things like this:

1) Tell her yum, yum so she gets an idea it's supposed to be good before she tries it, then let her decide, but you may need to encourage her a few times before she'll actually realize she likes it, so don't just give up.

2) My turn, your turn. Sometimes we show her things are good by taking a bite and then offering her a bite and vice versa, she likes the game, so she eats the food; then learns she likes it so she'll eat it again later.

I know a lot of people aren't into playing games with food, but you have to do what works for your child. At this age, it's likely they're not going to eat a large variety of foods, so you have to fit what you can into that small variety until they're older and you can stretch it out more. I put broccoli into mac&cheese because she likes mac&cheese so much and she gets broccoli, it works great. ;)

And don't be afraid of fatty foods with kids - they need it (my doctors orders). Just don't overdo sugar cause it's bad for their teeth (and their mental focus, I think - e.g. not going to bed cause their wired).

GL
Bran

Hi S.! My son is 20 months and I have this same problem. Did you try letting her feed herself? I know their are certain things that my son likes to eat and he will act this way even with those foods. If I tell him he can hold the spoon or fork and feed himself he forgets about the fact that he doesn't want to eat.

I was thinking that u could use baby food mixed in a shake to help her get her nutrition. This way she does not know that the food it their. U could also make smoothies at home to help.

S. it takes like at least 10 times giving her a food before she will try it. Make smoothies, parfaits. Also we have one rule in our house you have to take a "no thank you bite."

Well, I bet she won't say no to popsicles :)

Get a set of Tovolo popsicle molds (they're BPA-free) from, say, Amazon.com. Then, stick stuff in your blender. It will taste good, won't set off any meal-time fight alarms, and will be very nutritious if you do it right.

Here's a recipe: 2 cups cooked, drained, and cooled white cannellini beans (or I guess cans of them, rinsed thoroughly and drained)

1 cup almond, soy or rice milk (vanilla)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large ripe banana

3 tablespoons maple syrup (or agave nectar)

1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract.

(You can hide beans and vegetables in lots of things like this. Spinach and Swiss chard are great because they're very mild. Carrots, too.)

Blend, pour, freeze, enjoy :) This way, she gets her protein from the beans and milk, some fruit, and cinnamon is good for her, too.

Get a juicing recipe book, and simply freeze what you juice instead of drinking (or of course give the juices to her to drink). There's a great one by Victoria Boutenko; I think it's called Green for Life. She has a lot of juice recipes.

Also, make *snacks* healthy. Her nutrition doesn't have to come from mealtimes alone. If you can give her nutrient-dense snacks, you can do a switcheroo. Essentially, she will think of her snacks (cereal) as meals, and she "wins" by getting what she wants for "meals," and her mealtime nutrition will be snuck in through snacks. Instead of cookies and crackers and candy-like jelly "fruit" snacks, give her hummus, apples, yogurt, etc. Make things fun by making them look like faces. Do "ants on a log" (carrot sticks or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins). Things like that. Just be casual about it and make sure she doesn't see how much you want her to eat that good, healthy stuff.

For snacks, consider leaving out a nibble tray (ice cube tray) of all kinds of healthy treats. That way, she can choose. Studies show that toddlers choose what their bodies need. So let her pick from a great variety. Include things like quinoa, millet, amaranth, or some other nutrient-dense grain, flavored creatively with something not too salty (try watered-down sweet potatoes! Thick soup! Etc.). Have lots of veggies. Have some kind of dip, like a healthy salad dressing or avocado or guacamole.

Never be a short-order cook. If she rejects what you put in front of her, don't go find something "yummier." This sets you up for failure. She'll learn to reject pretty much everything.

Maybe let her catch you enjoying healthy foods. When she demands a taste, be like, ok, here, and if she likes it, gloat secretly to yourself. If she doesn't like it, no big deal.

You can find some really great recipes in Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. Your kid will be vacuuming up good, healthy foods before you know it.

I would tell her than from now on she has to try a bit of every thing put on her plate,. She also will be getting a time out of she toss it on the floor. I also make try to burrow from the local library a cook of the cookbook Tom Cruse wife make about hiding vegetables in things like brownies so , she will get the vegetables in way she will not even know it.

Hey I know how you feel. My son is the same way. He has been ever since i took him off baby food. My son also does not drink milk. The only way I get any nutrition in him is with Pediasure. I asked my DR. about it and she said it was fine. The only thing you have to worry about is that it will fill them up like a meal. Ask your Dr. about it. See what they say. Good Luck.

Continue to offer her different foods and do not buy what she wants. If it is not in the house she can't fight until she gets it. Show her it is not there, tell her it is "all gone".
When she throws a fit she gets one warning to stop the behavior, if she doesn't stop, put her in time out with a timer.
After the timer goes off and she has calmed down return her to the table and offer her the same thing you did before she went into time out. Even changing the meal to a different healthy option sends the message to her that her behavior will change her meal, she will then keep trying to change it to what she wants.
Don't make her meals different than the rest of the table, just bring them down to her level. She eats what you eat and you sit down and eat at the same time. For example if you are having salad, cut up the chicken into tiny pieces, almost shredded, a little shredded lettuce, minced tomato, shredded cheese, and dressing. The same thing applies for breakfast and snacks. What she eats you eat and you do tihs at the table.
The continuity you create also teaches her what meal time is supposed to be like and help her to develope healthy eating habits. This technique will take disapline and fortitdue on your part but will solve the problem in a few days if you are consistant. I have used it several times before.
If you are thinking she is too young for this, you are fooling yourself, she is smarter than you are giving her credit for. Also rember that disapline is the right hand of love and if you do not teach her the right way she will develope bad habits that can last a life time.
Good Luck

This age is about learning that "I am me" and that "I am not my parents." This includes asserting a will that goes contrary to what you want. Our 23-month-old would eat pretty much anything, and then in the past two months has become rather picky and refusing to try new things or even to eat things he previously ate. We're trying to find a balance between feeding him things we know he'll eat, and still enjoying the variety of dishes we prefer. We try not to make a big deal over mealtime, and not to cater to our toddler. ("Please take a bite??") If we serve dinner and he has a fit because he doesn't want to eat it, we take him away from the table and tell him "this is dinner" and if he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to eat it, and he can go have a fit in his room. If he's hungry, he'll eat, and he won't starve if he goes without food for a meal - truly. However, for being picky, our son does like to eat healthy snacks - fresh fruit, whole grain crackers, yogurt and cheese, etc. - and it's also true that a toddler will eat what he needs. Sometimes he hardly eats anything all day but drinks a lot of water; other days he doesn't seem to drink much but fills up on nuts and raisins. We never really know. But he's healthy and happy and very energetic and super-smart (no, I'm not biased!) and so I don't worry too much. This is a phase that will pass, if you don't make too big a deal about it. It's impossible to know if you're catering too much or being too firm, but I'm certain you'll do just fine and your daughter will start eating a variety again relatively soon. :)

And I was a super-picky eater as a child. It seems I had very sensitive taste buds and an aversion to some textures. However, 20 years later I started branching out and now I enjoy all sorts of foods, including Indian cuisine! Sometimes it just takes a while. :)

S.,

Just wanted to respond to you in reference to your picky toddler. They can be that way, somewhat normal. I have a 22 month old granddaughter, so I am somewhat familiar with little toddlers. And you have a right to be concerned about her not getting the proper nutrition. We all want our little ones to be as healthy as possible. My granddaughter has been taken Juice Plus gummies since she was about 11 mos old., and they have really made a difference with her, has not been nearly as sickly as she was prior to taking them. She loves them, first of all, and secondly and most importantly, she is getting her fruits and vegetables that she needs just by taking them on a daily basis. I am a distributor for Juice Plus, and would love for you to visit my website, and learn more about the products that are offered, not only for little ones, but adults as well. My website is: dsylvesterjuiceplus.com. This will give you my phone number as well as my email address, and give you lots of information about the product. Look forward to hearing from you. Think if you take time to visit website and learn about product, you will realize that it could be something that your toddler could really benefit from.
D.

have you tried making the food fun? Little finger foods can be inticing to little ones. Sandwiches cut into fun shapes, veggies small enough to pop in her mouth, variety of colors and tastes might be more appealing?

Also, we've hidden foods in smoothies before for my children. We'll put milk, banana and honey in the blender and then hide some kale in there and some cod liver oil as well.
Is she still nursing?