Son Is Boycotting Food...

B. Welcome to the picky years!!! gosh, I don't even know how to explain you how annoying it will be! ha!!
but patience before anything! because you will need it. I have a 3 year old that is still very much picky! but little by little keep offering him food, never stop giving him veggies in his plate eventhough he will fight or not eat it. he needs to learn they will be there anyways and eventually he will eat them. try giving him chicken nuggets, spaggetti (cut in small pieces), pizza rolls,maccaroni and cheese . Good luck! let me know if you need anything else!

My daughter also went through a "pickey eater" stage and she grew out of it. To make sure she got enough nutrients our pediatrician recommended letting her drink Pediasure (Wal-Mart now has it's own brand also) instead of one or two of her milk bottles. If you're not familier with the product, it's basically Ensure for kids. It comes in several flavors so there should be one your son likes.

Good luck & Merry CHRISTmas!

I have the same problem with my one year old. My pediatrician told me to offer her a healthy meal that if she did not eat she would eat at he next meal. I have gotten her to eat tofu, I marinate it or mix it in with something else she will eat. I have also been giving her the barilla Plus elbow pasta that is fortified.

My daughter is thriving at 6 and has never had meat. Her first year I nursed exclusively then introduced veggies, miso soup and brown rice, then beans. She ate what we did just no salt versions usually. Now she loves such foods which are high in all the necessary nutrients with no processed, unhealthy foods which are filled with empty calories. You might also want to check out a very informative site: www.notmilk.com
In Peace,

You are right to drop his morning bottle. He likely won't want much to eat for breakfast after filling up on milk. But, do make sure he continues to get 16 oz of whole milk throughout the until age two. As far as the food goes, continue to offer him healthy options at every meal and snack, and let him decide how much to eat. Little one's appetites can change from day to day and even meal to meal, so as long as you are offering healthy options, he will eat when he needs the nutrition and calories. Let him learn to trust his body and his hunger cues. If he is not losing weigh or showing outward signs of nutritional deficiency, there is no need to supplement him with PediaSure (the two main ingredients are water and sugar, BTW). Be sure you are feeding him on a regular schedule, like set meal times and snack times, so he knows when he can expect to eat. I would keep him in the high chair for now. Trying to change the routine might confuse him and actually make the situation worse.

As long as he is still growing, not loosing weight, and not sick, don't worry. From this age on his appetite will be like a roller coaster. Just keep introducing the foods to him and he will eat when he is ready.

Patience, patience.
I would not offer more than one new food at a meal. Remembering that you may need to "introduce" a new food several dozen times before they will eat it and like it. I found that when I offer too much food (either too many pieces or too many different types) on the plate it overwhelms my picky eater. Stick to 3 or 4 things at one meal. Give him 2 things you know he will eat (in portions that will leave him a little hungry to try something else), 1 thing that you have introduced before that he has eaten but may not be crazy about, and maybe something new. Think out of the box, too.. not just bananas or apples, but mangoes, fresh peaches, honeydew melon, pomegranete, black or green olives, coleslaw (if he has teeth), fish, asparagus, steamed broccoli, cucumber. Offer the "old stand-bys" but offer something interesting to try too. Not too much, just a bite or two of it. You might be surprised how his taste runs...

Hi B.! Yes, it is tough. My daughter, now 2, used to gobble up ALL veggies...and now she absolutely refuses them...and is increasingly picky. Upon my pediatrician's suggestion, I give her pediasure. I give her two bottles a day. It is safe for children one and over. They offer several flavors, but my daughter loves vanilla, and it does not stain like some of the other flavors. I was a very natural mom with my daughters baby food..I made them all from scratch..so it killed me to offer her something with sugar..but the bright side is that each serving has 7 grams of protein, and a wide array of vitamins and minerals. My daughter is super petite, so I originally was to give it to her for weight gain..but I will keep offering it for a long time in the future, b/c the nutritional content is so high. The cheapest alternative is sold at Wal-mart. It is their generic, called Parent's choice Pediatric drink.(sold in the baby section) It runs $7.88 for 6 bottles. Otherwise, I think persistence is key. I have read that you can offer some foods 25 times before a child will even try them...so I keep just offering. My daughter also loves to dip..so I give her organic ketchup, sometimes ranch dressing, and even a little bit of honey. She eats more of the dips than the items they are on...but after a while she will nibble a little piece of carrot that has been repeatedly dipped. Also, does he eat mac and cheese or grilled cheese? I have the sneaky chef cookbook, and I can successfully get my daughter to eat sweet potato puree when mixed in with mac and cheese, or spread in a grilled cheese. You can also add white bean puree to the mac and cheese. Okay, good luck. And don't stress it. I think it is fairly common for kids to go through these very picky times. It won't last forever :)
A.

B.,

As a mother to 3 boys I know that this can be very frustrating. However, the best thing to do, leave him in his highchair if he is comfy there. Continue to introduce new foods to him, at least you are trying attempting to get him to try something new that is what is important. He may not always try it or even like it. Kids go through phases where they will eat only certain things, all of my boys did that. They will not starve themselves, they will get their nutrition don't worry about that and if you are worried, you can purchase the pediasure drinks. Let him noche on the goldfish if that is what makes him happy. Or you could try just giving him his milk in the morning with his breakfast, water the rest of the day, then give him lunch with water and dinner and then milk before bed. This is how I pretty much solved the problem with my boys. Well I hope this helps a little bit.

Good luck.

S.
35 y/o SAHM of 3 boys
14, 6 and 3

At 1, I would drop ALL bottles and only give him whole milk with his meals-(and water and juice in between). All from sippies. I mean he just turned one so you don't have to do this cold turkey, but I would definitely wean him now (when it is easier).
But kids becoming picky at this age--is very common (and keeps going!)
But as other moms have said--just keep offering him healthy foods--limit snacks and keep trying! I got myself some toddler cooks books (like the ones by Annabel Karmel) and though not everything was a hit--it helped a lot with ideas and I found things that both my son and husband would eat.
Also reading Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and good Sense by Ellyn Satter was a great help. My good friend gave it to me when I had my son and it has been an invaluable tool when it comes to feeding him.