Seeking Advice for a Picky Eater

Hi my name is A. and I'm in the same boat as you. i'm glad you asked this question. i've tried the" i'm not making you anything else until you eat what i've made" method many many times...many many people have told me..if she's really hungry she will eat what you fix. I always end up giving in and fix her something else. but it's getting really old! so i'm going to try starting tonight. and in a week i'm going to write you and tell you how it's going for me..and if you try the same thing you can tell me maybe with a little support from eachother we can battle this together!!! gl

I know that this might not sound like the best idea, but my son eats almost every meal with a bowl of applesauce. He calls it his dip and things he would not eat before, he eats now with his "dip." He, too, is 5, and is now a pretty good eater and the fact that he is into soccer now has built an appetite that we have not seen before.

Hey K.,

This may sound cruel, but do not give into only fixing foods you son will eat. Fix a nice, healthy, pretty well balanced meal and if he eats he eats...and if not oh well. Your just going to work yourself to death if you make a good meal and then make a totally seperate meal for him. I know for a fact that my two would eat french fries every meal if I let them (which I won't). Also, do not let your son drink while eating. Nine times out of ten children would rather drink than eat. With my two, I have told them time and time again..."If you don't eat, you don't get a bedtime snack and it's a long time till breakfast." That works most of the time. If not, I just throw their food out to the birds and all they get to drink the rest of the day is water. By the next time meal time comes round they will usually eat something. Best of Luck!!

I also have a picky eater of did. What has helped me is letting him help make the meal, and if that didn't work we bribe him, for example if he wants dessert we put dessert in front of him and tell him to take a bite of veggies then he can get a bite of dessert then veggies then dessert now he actually asks for veggies. I have also been told not to make special food for your picky eater they have to learn that what mom makes is what they eat or they don't eat I have heard it works but it seems harsh. Good luck!

My picky eater is only 16 months, but I've heard "fun food" achieves great results for older children. I don't know any titles off-hand, but I know there is a good selection of children's cookbooks out there.
By "fun food" I mean making a salad into a face, hotdog men, etc. It helps them to try new things, then, hey, what do you know? they actually like it!

My daughter 21 month old is kind of the same way. Except she will eat anything. But I cant get her to eat it all the time. Say we order Pizza, well ill give her a slice and some sour cream to dip it in. WEll shell only eat the sour cream. I know she loves pizza, but just dont want it. She is like that all the time. I have talked to her doctor about it. She said that she will eat when she is hungry. And if i feel she isnt getting enough vitamins then to give her the Pediasure to drink. She said it was expensive, so i should try the instant breakfast powder drinks. I shop at krogers, and i buy the kroger brand, and my daughter loves it. Try that as just a little extra reassurance. But also keep trying out foods. Me might not like certain things till he is older.

My 3 year old is almost as bad. When we ask the doctor, he said that introducing new foods for him now is the same as when he first started eating. They have to see something 8-10 times before trying it or liking it. That's what we do. Make sure that he gets what I know he will eat, & introduce a new food a week. It's a very slow process.

Don't force him to eat anything. At this age he is really testing his power over you. If you tell him to eat he is never going to eat it. All you can do is offer the meals and hope for the best. He will not starve himself!

1. Dont let him eat any junk food. Snacks should only be given if breakfast lunch and dinner are eaten when served. And snacks should be something good like string cheese (dairy), Yogurt (dairy), Peanut butter crackers (protein), fruit, or veggies.
2. if he does not eat the meal when you serve it, he does not eat until the next meal.
3. What I do with my picky eater is...if she does not want the food I am serving she has the option of eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead. This give her the carbs and protein that she needs. But this is the ONLY alternitive she has. I refuse to be a short order cook!

Feel free to email me anytime....I have been dealing with the picky eater thing for along time.
thanks, D.

My daughter is the same way. I try to *sneak* good foods (veggies & fruits)into her meals by pureeing them and adding to sauces, etc. or making homemade versions of her favorites. She LOVES mac and cheese, so I make a healthier version of it and add dried spinach seasoning. I buy blocks of cheese and cut it into fun shapes using mini-cookie cutters. I find that if she thinks the food is fun, she's more likely to eat it.

Good luck!

S.

Picky eaters aren't hungry. Let him go without a few meals and see what he'll eat then. Big mistake enabling him.

My son is 8 years old and has been a picky eater ever since he has been on solid food also. meal times used to be so stressfull...so I stoped fighting with him, after all there are bigger things to worry about as long as he does eat mostly healthy things. I am lucky my son like healthy things..he just only likesa hand full of things. So, Instead of making him a diff meal as the rest of the family, I make sure that there are at least one or two things I know he will eat, but before he can eat the things he likes he has to eat a small bite of the other things. After a while..he learns to like things he did not before. I once read an article that said it takes kids up to 20 times of trying something to get the taste for it because there pallat is not yet defined. I have seen this to be true with a lot of things. Just dont give in to making him try at least a bite of the other stuff before he digs into what he likes. Hope this helps.good luck..and remember to try to keep it light..if you stress over what he eats he will pick up on it and be less likey to want to try new things. also, my kids are more likely to try new things if they get to help make it.

I am in the same boat my son is picky too. My suggestion is to let him eat something he likes (hea;thy stuf) for lunch and breakfast, then to give him your dinner (exactly the same). if he doesn't eat it he will still have the chance to eat at breakfast... then eventually he will eat what everyone else is eating. This works sometimes and sometimes not. My sister broker her kids from making her a short order cook this way and at dinner time everyone eats the same thing. I take a third off my plate and put it on my son's plate and give him a fork. This doesn't always work for me and sometimes he gets 1/2 peanut butter sandwich too but he gets to try what we are eating. Good luck I know this can be hard since no one wants to see their kids go hungry.

I agree with everyone below who says don't give in!! Kids love to see how far they can get with their parents, and how they can manipulate them. Remember when we were kids? Didn't we try to get away with eating what ever we wanted? I have this problem with my 20 month old. I myself enjoy eating almost anything except anchovies, so I called my mom to see what she did with me. She said, cook only nutritious food, and offer only that. If your kids don't eat it, that wrap up the leftovers and serve them again for the next snack/meal. They can't have anything else untill it is gone. (check for spoilage of corse). If they are really hungry they will eat. Also, make sure they don't have milk or juice before meals, it will make them feel full. It worked! Caitlin eats a pretty good variety now. Thanks Mom!!

To get my son to eat veggies he puts parmesan cheese on them......he eats them up like crazy

Try cooking very simple meals and give him ketchup, applesause, ranch dip, etc to make it fun. My son will not eat cut up grilled chicken, but will eat it cut into strips with something to dip it in. Same with carrots, apples, etc. Kids don't like a lot of spice or too many differnt flavors. Keeping it simple helps at lot at our house. Frozen veggies are great too. My son LOVES peas...so sometimes he gets a bowl of peas and some meat or whatever we are eating on the side.

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