Help! 20 Month Old Will Not Eat ANY Veggies!

Put some on her plate everytime. Eventually she will eat them just keep offering. Don't try to make her eat them or it will be a battle just put them on there. People are always amazed because my kids will eat everything from brusselsprouts to mushrooms and onions. Also don't let well meaning older kids and adults say something is yucky or hot. I always give my kids a dash of pepper when they ask for salt because it's healthier and 1 person(an adult at that) told my oldest it was hot so she stopped eating it after 7 yrs of being fine with it.

My 17 month old is doing the same thing right now. He use to love his veggies, but now he doesn't. But he loves spaghetti (I use macaroni noodles because they are easier to clean up!). So, I've taken my spaghetti sauce and put it in the blender with carrots, zuchini, flax oil, red peppers, etc. It completely covers it up, he has no idea he's eating his veggies!

So, I don't know if she eats spaghetti or not, but it's something to try! Also, load up her smoothies with lots of good stuff.....avocados, peanut butter, etc. I always do a banana, strawberry, avacado, peanut butter, orange juice, flax oil smoothie for Seth. He loves it and I know he's getting a lot of nutrients!

Good luck!

I think most toddlers do that. My son is 5 and I'm surprised he hasn't turned into a great big old chicken nugget as many of them as he eats. He has just recently started eating steak here and there, and will eat taco's with ground beef. He has just as big of an issue with meat as veggies, so I feel your pain on them being too picky.
It was a battle for a long time...I always hoped someone influential in science would decide ketchup was a veggie, because that was the only item remotely close to a vegetable mine would eat. My brother will often times, if he notices Matthew isn't eating well, challenge my son to take a bite every time he takes a bite. Matthew seems to think it's funny and will do it, and ends up eating more than he generally would.

The doctor told me to just keep offering the veggies, but give a vitamin in the meantime. I always tell him he has to try it; he does not have to like it, doesn't have to eat it, but he does have to at least try.
I don't think you should ever force a kid to eat, "clean their plate" or anything like that. There is food I don't like and won't eat, I wont make him eat stuff he doesn't like. Sure there are kids starving in China, but it can be just as painful to be too full as it is to be starving, or to eat something you find disgusting.
I would use caution on juices, even V8...though they contain servings of veggies and/or fruit, they also have a ton of sugar in them, and other juices are very rarely 100% juice. Juicy juice is the only brand besides Gerber that has 100% juice available, but the sugar content is outrageous. It's no better for her than handing her a Pepsi.
Keep trying to get her to eat veggies,maybe try to make a gmae out of it, but give her a Flinstone vitamin each day to make up the difference, and don't stress over it!

my son just turned two in january. some tricks i use is mixing them with his mashed potatoes. i also tell him to eat them before i do, and that makes it a game. it doesn't work all the time, only a few times actually, so i started him on a vitamin. he loves any fruit you give him, so i think he's okay. he also does eat his vegetables at daycare since he sees the other kids do, so he gets a little bit each day. i wouldn't worry as long as she stays healthy. i wouldn't try to force her, that might only make it worse. she might be discovering she can be independant and make choices over small things. give her a couple of choices and see if that might work!!!

Chicken nuggets aren't so bad depending on how you cook them. Baking instead of frying is better...it's still chicken. As far as the vegies go...you could try to hide them. You say she likes smoothies? Get some v-8 splash and make a smoothie. Try giving her casseroles, but grind up the vegetables so she can't tell what they are...be creative. You could give the vegetables different names. There's a Charlie and Lola book that I got from wic where Lola wouldn't eat any vegetables "absolutely will not eat them", and Charlie told her they weren't really the vegetables that she thought they were and he gave them creative names from outer space to get her to try them. Upon trying them she decided that she liked them. Kids are like that, believe it or not. If worse comes to worse you could always bribe her with her favorite thing like a popsicle or ice-cream if she eats all of her food. Don't rely on bribery every time as it gets real old, real fast, but in a pinch it can come in handy. Don't worry about her future eating habits so much though. Kids go through phases. This month she may hate vegetables and next month it may be bread instead. Some kids are color eaters, they won't eat anything that isn't orange one week and the next week they won't eat anything that isn't green. Sometimes something as simple as letting her pick the vegetable that you will eat that night works well. It all depends on your child as to what will work. Get creative and play around with it a bit. My 5 year old has suddenly decided he doesn't like meat. It won't last long, it's just for the moment...then he'll find something else to not like in it's place.

I think all kids hit this stage at some point. Sometimes it lasts for a week, sometimes for months. Try not to worry too much about it. If you make a big deal about it (pleading, bribing, repeatedly nagging, etc) then she'll realize that she's in charge... she can make you feel that way. Just keep offering a wide variety of veggies and fruit at each meal, prepared different ways. Put them on her plate but don't comment about them. Sometimes kids have to see something 15-20 times before they take a tiny bite to try it. It's great that you and her daddy eat veggies - that's a great role model and she'll come around eventually. You can give her a children's vitamin, but if you keep offering healthy choices (and make sure she isn't half-full from a late snack at mealtime) she'll eat them - eventually. It also helps if you look at her diet over the course of a week or two instead of one day. And remember toddler's food servings... 1 tablespoon per year so 1 tablespoon of broccoli (which is like 1 big piece) is a serving.

Good luck! My son went 3 months without touching a single vegetable right after his 2nd birthday... he's totally fine now. One day we were 'ignoring' him at the table (just talking about our day, not commenting about the food) and before we knew it, he was nibbling on broccoli! I think my daughter (20 months) just hit the "I'm only eating fruit" stage (another common stage). Oh well. Kids won't starve themselves and they'll eat what their bodies need as long as you provide a healthy variety.

Hi Leanne!

Sorry - i am not in this situation, my 20 month old will actually choose to eat peas over cookies! I didn't do aything specific, she just eats like a farm hand!

I am a really picky eater myself, so I prepared myself a bit incase my children were that way.... I remember reading articles about moms hiding veggies in other foods. Puree some sweeter veggies and add a bit to her smoothies that she likes. Or try to make it fun for her...maybe when she is a bit older, she can help prepare her meal and then maybe she will venture out a bit more. One thing we do, is not to make a big deal when our daughter doesn't eat something, we reintroducce it later and she usually will eat it then.

Good Luck!

A. Adams

I saw something in a magazine about making purees and adding them to your dishes to sneak them in. For example, a puree of sweet potato could be added to the cheese sauce in the mac and cheese. I saw another example of a white puree using a white bean, which could be addded to things she likes. Hope that helps.

I know exactly how you feel. My son will be 4 in July and hasn't eaten a vegetable for almost 3 years. He loves chicken, and milk/yogurt/cheese. He loves some fruits but I cannot get him to eat any veggies. But, he is growin the way he should be according to the doctor. He used to love carrots and green beans as a baby and then it was like one day he woke up and decided he wasn't going to eat them anymore. I feel like all the boy eats is pb&j, mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets. But, the dr says it's normal. So I just offer it to him every time we have them and let him watch us eat, and hopefully one day he'll pick them up and eat them.

You are not crazy nor are you having crazy thoughts about your daughters eating habits. I have a cousin who did the same thing when he was that age and he still continues to do that and he's 11 years old now. He only eats chicken, sometimes bread, NO veggies, junk food, turkey(because we tell him it's just a bigger chicken) and a couple of other things. His little sister is about to out grow him and it's his mothers fault. When his mom had to be away for a couple of months his dad had him eating everything, as soon as his mother got back he quit. He's a tiny bean pole, poor eye site, gets sick all the time, when he gets older he is going to have so many problems. Talk to your doctor, if they don't seem concerned talk to a nutritionist that specializes in kids. It's never to early to be concerned. I have a 15 month old that eats everything so I feel very lucky and he has only had junk food 4 times in his life(thank god!) And all of those times it was the grandparent!!! I guess that's their right :)

Someone posted in an earlier reply that children have to see a food 15-20 times before trying it. The more correct advise I was given was that sometimes an infant/toddler has to try something at least 15-20 times before determining if they like it. I'm so glad I was told this. For it kept me from giving up on my child trying new things. I see many parents give up and give in to quickly.

I also feel if you allow your child to be a picky eater and not provide them a rich variety of foods, that is what you will have. Now, my child never ate processed jarred "none" baby food, which I think helped. I just pureed or mashed new foods I introduced. My child is 4 now and loves all foods, and try's everything. She also knows she has to at least try 1/2 of something she's not sure about. Then, maybe, we make a sandwich. 99% of the time, she's eats and enjoys everything.

Remember, we parents set the tone and example. If you buy and eat a nutritious variety of healthy foods, so will your child. If you buy and eat mostly "none" foods (anything that doesn't have a mother or grow from the ground), so will your child. So, don't give up or give in.

have you tried letting her eat them frozen?
also, my mom use to use the reverse psychology trick on us. "you dont (cant)have these, these are for big ppl." will she drink like v8 type juices? what vegs have you tried. hope somebody can help more than i have.

My daughter was also A picky eater at that age. I hid small veggies like corn in mac and cheese, applesauce,etc. I also gave her A infants multi vitamin because I was afraid she wasn't eating enough vegies. Any way I hope this helped.

I am a mother to a soon to be 5 year old. My daughter use to be the same way. Now she loves carrots and green beans etc.. I wouldn't worry so much. Mine too loved chicken :-) One thing you could try is veggie drinks. Mine loved to drink more than she liked to eat. If anything give your baby veggie drink with crackers they love them. Hope this helps

According to Dr. William Sears there are 9 simple steps to getting your kids to eat health, I'll list just a few of them here to help out:
1. shape young taste buds
2. take your child to the grocery, and let them pick out one new fruit or veg. every week to try (make it a game)
3. Raise a grazer. Set out a nibble tray with fun named foods like orange wheels, (carrot) sticks, trees (broccoli), kidney beans. The sillier the better, and leave it where they can find it, and reach it, they will play a while then come and nipple over and over again, and before you know it they have had 3 or 4 servings of fruits and vegs. They also like dips!

Caution on giving your child a multi-vitiman / man made fragmented vitiman they can be dangerous! I only give my children a whole food supplement!

If your truly interested in reshaping your childs taste buds/diet, you can get a cd with these steps on them, it free through my mamasource business link.

Ok, I can relate. My kids were all picky eaters when they were little. I tried hiding carrots in spaghetti sauce, it did not work. I can tell you that they all love certain veggies now and that your little one will eventually grow out of this. be patient. My youngest ate nothing but hot dogs and chicken nuggets for almost a year. that's all i could get him to eat. as long as she is growing and healthy, don't worry.

Our 24 month old is getting impossible to feed too. She will love something one day and the next day we get the "I don't like it" as soon as i put the plate on her tray. She won't eat meat except the occasional bite of chicken, but she loves soymilk, so that'll work.

We use a vegetable/fruit gummy supplement (juice plus) for her everyday, which is supposed to give her all of her veges and fruits for the day. We pay enough for it that I hope its working...but I figure while she's two and eating so sporadically we'll use it.

Good luck and I'm sure it'll pass.

At first, my son also hated all vegetables, but there are a lot of good tips out there for getting them to eat them. You can try to sneak veggies into food. One example is to finely grate carrots inot pancake mix, and making carrot pancakes.

My friend told me that her son would not eat vegetables unless they were covered in velveeta cheese. I found out that my son would only eat raw veggies with ranch dip. Now he will eat anything in a salad, but he will not eat any cooked vegetables. I guess what I am trying to say is that you should try different options.

I know your child is still young, but another option is to involve them in meal planning. You can let her help pick out veggies and help to prepare them. It might be fun for her.

I can't relate to that, because Kaylee loves vegetables, probally more than anything else, just no califlower. But I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we introduced vegetables first as a baby food, and we kept it up from there. There are things that she is picky about though. And I know that she eats things now, that she used to never touch. You can't force her to eat vegetables, but just leave her the option every time you give her food. If it's on her highchair, you never know, she may try a bite when you're not looking. I kind of sounds like a control thing. I think you may have to stop trying and just make sure she has the option. It won't hurt her not eating them, it would just be nice from a health standpoint. You could give her a half of a flinstones vitamin once a day in the meantime. Kaylee gets one and she loves it.