No veggies or meat ? He spits it out and I try almost forcing him.
Don't force it. If he's in a Mothers Day Out program and sees what other kids are bringing and eating for lunch that should make him eager to try new things. Don't make it a power struggle because you'll lose.
Don't force him. It's a power struggle that you will lose. Doesn't matter that you are right to want him to eat other foods. It only matters that you learn to accept that he is entirely in control of these areas: eating, peeing, pooping, sleeping.
So,
1) You take away the battle, at least to start.
2) Keep putting out good foods that you and other family members enjoy. Smile and say, "Oooh, this is so good/juicy/tasty" but don't look at your 2 year old. He'll figure out he's missing things.
3) Do not ask him what he wants for lunch or dinner or breakfast. You are not a short order cook and this is not a restaurant. You will regret, forever, giving him this kind of power. Put food out, in the center of the table. Several choices. A protein, a vegetable, a fruit, maybe a whole grain starch. Put out a small amount of each. When they are done, they are done. "Oops, sorry, we're now out of yogurt. We have spinach and apple slices." If you get an argument, then it's "Okay, if you're not hungry, you can be excused from the table. If you get hungry, the food will be here." No judgment, no scolding, no exasperation.
4) Learn to hide nutrition in other foods! Honestly, it's so easy. You can get the nutrients into him, and also subtly introduce flavors/tastes without him realizing that they are there. You can put stuff in PB and even in jelly! I put amazing things in pancakes and in chocolate shakes and in meatballs. You have no idea! Message me for recipes!
By the time you figure this out, he will be on to some other phase that will annoy you.
Kids that age are often picky eaters. Just keep offering it. Ne day he will decide to try it.
It helps if both of you are eating the same thing. If your plate and his plate have the sam food on it, he'll be more likely to try it.
That's the problem. You're trying to force him.
Little kids have very little control over their lives. The two things that they CAN control is toileting and eating. You can't make them, and they don't have to do either the way you want them to, if they don't want to.
Little children don't eat much. So they can eat just a little and be fine for a while. According to their personality, when they DO get "empty", then they either whine or get really fussy. (I had both in my household.)
All this being said, what you need to do is to offer just a little food - NOT a great big plateful. Jennifer is right about having the same thing on everyone's plates. You'll have to eat less interesting food for a while in order to accomplish this. You offer - he says no? Ignore him. If he starts throwing food, take him out of the high chair and say "You must be done" and ignore him. When he says he's hungry, offer him the same food. Continue to do this without talking about it.
You have to stop making food be a battle. That's the ONLY way to get him to figure out that he has to eat what is offered.
It takes time. He's digging in his heels and you have to give him time to decide he wants to change things. He won't starve. When he's hungry enough, he will eat.
By the way, I will tell you what happened to a family member with this SAME issue. Except this kid, an only child, was older. His mom was a hand-wringer and a whiner herself about his PB&J fixation. She sent him to spend a month with the cousin's larger family. The dad told them all that Jim didn't like to eat food other than PB&J's, but they didn't want him to feel "left out", so he would have both the sandwich AND regular food put on his plate by Mom. The dad told them that since it wasn't good to waste food, the kids could eat off of Jim's plate. WELL... that ended his PB&J fixation pretty quickly because he didn't like all those kids taking "his" food.
That won't work with a 2 year old, but it's still a great story, and Jim never went back to his ridiculous food fight with his mother...
Kids go through food phases. Mine went through a phase of wanting nothing but scrambled eggs and yogurt. Her pediatrician said not to worry about it and suggested giving her fruit juice to drink. He said that as long as diets balance out over the long run, periodic imbalances aren't going to do any permanent harm.
He will grow out of it. In the meantime, use pureed fruit instead of sugary jam. You will find it on the same aisle as the jellies. Yes, it's more expensive, but it's worth it.
Keep offering a variety of fruits and vegetables, even if he spits them out after a bite. Eventually, he will find one that he likes.
Kids need to try new foods up to two dozen times before they'll willingly eat them. Always offer him everything you eat and have him try it at least once. I use the term "try" very loosely -- a lick or even a kiss can count as "trying."
My 2 year old has been in feeding therapy for the past year due to texture issues and general picky eating. The therapist taught my son to kiss, lick, and mouse bite. First, try to get him to kiss the food -- touch it with his lips. Then get him to lick it. Then have him take a mouse bite. This gradual way of introducing foods has been effective with my son in getting him to at least take a bite of the newly introduced food.
He is fine. He'll eventually try other foods. There isn't any reason to force him to eat what you want him to eat. He is only going to rebel more. It's a battle that makes food power, and power that he'll go to every time he feels out of control. So there you go, eating disorder.
Off him the regular foods, make sure you have looked up the food pyramid for his age group. A serving of most every item at his age is 1/4 cup. That's not a lot.
When he does start eating other foods try to get him to eat spaghetti. You have tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices, and grains. It's like a complete meal in one dish.
You can hide veggies in foods too. There are whole cookbooks. Like hiding beets in red stuff or carrots in yellow or orange foods, and there's more. You just can't let them see you making it.
He gets protein from the peanut butter so no need to force meats! I didn't eat meat until I was quite a bit older - hated it - spit it out every time. I would order a hamburger with everything but meat! My grandchildren were the same way. They hated meat! My 9 year old grandson still doesn't eat much meat. Just keep trying a bit here and there, but don't force it. If you do, he'll really HATE it. I found that chicken was the best "meat" to entice them with. Also, what about yogurt - it has protein.
My older son has issues with some tastes, smells, and textures. As a little one, this was very limiting. Over time, he has branched out and widened the types of things he enjoys eating. I never made him separate meals, but I'd make sure our family meals incorporated items he liked.
That said, since starting high school he has taken the same basic cold lunch to school every single day, with only minor variation. He's hitting the food groups so if he isn't super bored eating the same thing over and over, then I'm not turning it into a problem.
It gets better so try to not stress too much. Go ahead and give him that PBJ he wants, and keep introducing other food items, but never force feed. Put things out for him along with that sandwich - little taste amounts - and just let it sit. Eventually, he will be curious. When he is around other kids during meals, he will begin to notice what they are eating too.
For most kids, these food foibles are a temporary non-problem. Parents get worried and turn it into a battle, and that makes everything worse. If you have any concerns about his health or growth, or if he starts refusing to eat literally anything, do take him to see the doctor.
Does your child like fruit smoothies? Add the veggies to the shake. You can add a few leaves of fresh spinach to blueberry, strawberry and banana shake. Get creative, you'll be surprised what you can add to fruit shakes. Also, you can get the Kidz Greenz powder shake that is loaded with veggies. Add this mix to water or fruit shakes. You can also get chewable kid friendly vitamins that are packed with veggies until your child starts to eat proper amounts of vegetables. Although he isn't eating, you want to ensure he is getting the proper nutrients and is not deficient which can lead to more problems.
