Picky Eater - New London,WI

I was like this.. look into selective eating disorder. Seriously. I would only eat fried chicken, chicken nuggets and corn on the cobb when I was that age.. I still battle with it but knowing what's going on has improved it ten-fold.

Most of my kids, and grandkids didn't take to meats other than chicken until they were a bit older.

Beans, and peanut butter are great sources of protein. If she will eat those, then don't worry about the meat. She will develop a taste for it soon enough.

I conduct Healthy Workshops and one in particular is Mac N Cheese Again?! It focuses on children's health.

So, here are suggestions: If she does not eat what you have on her plate (other than chicken nuggets or hot dogs), then tell her that is fine and the next meal is (and the time of day you are having it). It won't hurt her to miss a meal and if she is only willing to eat those foods, she isn't getting the right nutrition anyway. Keep introducing good food to her in small portions. The right serving for her is a handful (her hand) of veggies/fruit. Does she drink water? Does she have snacks? If she is eating snacks too close to meal time, that may be why she doesn't want to eat. Drinking too much milk will impact her appetite as well.

Also, have her sit with you at dinner no matter if she is eating or not.

Getting vitamins in her is a good idea. My kids took a tasty chewable vitamin and it is good for the teeth (they are 17 and 14 now).

If you would like to talk more, reply to this and we can chat.

I have a picky eater who is now almost 8. My advice is to not give her the hot dogs and chicken nuggets all the time. Just give her the same lunch/dinner you are eating each time and if she does not eat she does not eat. Then don't let her snack on snack foods and fill up. Honestly, now I would be tempted to heat up the uneaten meal (make it appetizing) for the next meal (or snacktime). But if that is too strict for you just keep serving her the regular healthy foods your whole family is eating and she will eventually eat what she needs.

My MIL had a famous battle of the wills with my husband (who was probably a toddler or preschooler). She asked him how he wanted his eggs, he said scrambled. She cooked him a scrambled egg. He then said he wanted it hard boiled, or some other such thing. She decided to stand her ground. She took it away, and offered him the same scrambled egg for lunch, then dinner, then breakfast, until ultimately he relented. He never again balked at eating what was served.

She wasn't being abusive, I think he was allowed 2 crackers and a cup of water at each "meal" he refused that scrambled egg. He was in no danger of starving.

My mother went the other route in response to my picky eating. She endured life as a personal short order cook for the bulk of my finicky childhood.

You can choose either path, or you can fashion your own middle ground.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

My son is a picky eater but here's the thing, what he loved a year ago he no longer likes.

I attribute it to the fact that are taste buds change.

When I was a kid, I distinctly remember hating tomatoes (& my mom got us to eat them). As an adult, I love them!

So again, taste buds change.
Introduce them.
Try again later.

Don't despair what she likes now, she may change & not like in 6 or 12 months.

Re-introduce it later & try new things now constantly.

We have a protein shake that he likes so we have that sometimes.

I make fruit smoothies when it's warmer.

He loves those.

My son loves meat.

Takes a children's multi vitamin.

When he craves something (it's his body telling him), I go get it.

His current craving: peaches, rice, beans & salad etc.

His tastes change w/his changing taste buds. I work to introduce new
things all the time. I do not force him to eat things (still hate lima beans to this day because my mom & dad forced me to eat the). :)

While my husband & SD are picky eaters, they have grown to eat more things because I cook a zillion diff things.

A.:

Welcome to mampedia.

If you only give your child those things - that's all she will eat. present her with different foods. Don't keep junk in the house. Model the behavior you want - try a lot of foods yourself...

We have our kids try at least ONE BITE. If they don't like it - they can at least say this tried it.

The more you fight over it - the bigger the deal it becomes. Present food, ask what she wants - give her a choice of two things that you want to cook and that's it.

If you think it's a health thing - then talk to your pediatrician about it. As some people don't like textures, etc.

At 2 she's old enough for a multi-vitamin-that will help. And chicken nuggets are protien. :)

I'm a picky eater and my son is too-my daughter not at all--so I'm from the camp of don't make them eat it if they don't want to. That being said-for some kids it's just a phase and as long as you keep introducing them to new things they'll expand their pallette...or, you can try being sneaky..like meet in the spagetti sauce-smoothies to get their fruit, etc.

This is the time to take care of this problem! At this age kids start to develop their individuality and preferences with food. However, you are the one who should decide what they eat and how much. They should eat everything you've serve for supper for the family. Start with one spoonful of everything and when that's done, they can have more, but they have to eat everything on their plate.

Chicken nuggets and hotdogs are for celebration/party food. Not for daily eating! This is the time to shape your child's eating habits and overall health for the rest of their life! Fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes (beans), nuts and lean protein (not processed meat!!!!). Remember all food has protein, so if she's not into meat...don't push it, just keep her foods varied and whole grains and legumes and nuts, and she'll get all the protein she needs!

Best wishes!

My daughter is the same way. I just keep trying to get her to try new stuff. She won't right now, but hopefully if I keep trying, she will outgrow the picky stage and become more adventurous. It is hard not to worry about them, though. Just hang in there and keep offering up different things. I try to give her one thing on her plate that I know she likes, plus something else she either hasn't tried or hasn't liked in the past, but has been a while since she tried it.

My daughter did the same thing. At around 2 she would BARELY eat meat and it seemed like she ate less too. I freaked a bit, but after some research I found that it's normal and lots of kids do this around 2. I just started giving her high protein foods when I could. I also would make smoothies a couple times a week for breakfast and put a scoop of whey protein in it just to be sure she was getting enough. She would never touch those pediasure things, but for some reason a smoothie worked well. Strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and/or bananas mixed with yogurt and a little protein powder.

My daughter finally did start eating meat again. We always gave her a small portion of whatever meat we were having which she almost never ate. Then, at some point around 3 or 4 she started not only eating it but asking for more. I have a few friends who dealt with the same thing so I guess it's just a phase. :)

Edit: I didn't cave and give her chicken nuggets and hot dogs all the time, though I did keep them in the house for when we had something that she obviously didn't like (like chili). Mostly we just gave her smaller meat portions and more veggies/beans/dairy of whatever we were eating.