Consequeneces of Toddler's Limited Diet?

D., Another way to get fruits and veggies in them is to puree them and put them into things like breads / muffins etc. My mom used to do this. She would puree carrots and put them into spaghetti sauce and things like zucchini and carrots work well for muffins etc. she used to put a creamcheese mixture on top like it was frosting. we loved it. veggies seem to go down better with dips also. maybe try ranch dressing or catsup with everything. my youngest would only eat green beans with catsup.

My son was, is, an extremely picky eater. His only meat was chicken nuggets or hot dogs. The doctor said that as long as I continued to offer different foods and he got a balance of protein from other sources he would be fine. He is 10 now, skinny but healthy. You don't mention vegetables but I would make sure they get those as well. One thing to watch is the amount of sugar sinec raisins do have a high content-great snack but high sugar. They might decide that if it is not sweet they won't eat it. If they don't like veggies, you can try cooking in chicken broth, including carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli. My kids love these veggies this way.

I think the important thing is to keep offering choices, because if not tried by a certain age it gets harder for kids to try new things later (or so I've heard - I tend to think it's more innate - some people are just averse to new tastes.)

But I don't think they're in any danger of malnourishment. Or if they are, so is half the population of U.S. two-year-olds! For some kids, trying new foods is just difficult until they get older. My 5yo is just now eating lots of new things we've been offering for years (strawberries, for example.) But my other son was very adventurous early on.

What I don't like to see is parents who say "my kid hates ____" and won't offer that thing every again. Kids do change over time. (not saying that's you! I know you said you are offering many things. Just thinking of someone I know, and rambling on.)

I'm sure they'll be fine if you continue offering them healthy choices. However, it does seem like they are choosing mostly items containing a lot of sugar (i.e.not healthy). Aside from the nutritional drawbacks, this also greatly impacts their teeth and dental health. Have you tried cutting down on their milk so they might get more hungry and eat less sugary foods? For awhile my younger son was filling up on snacks throughout the day and not wanting to eat much of his meal. Minimizing the snacks helped renew his interest in eating his meals because he was HUNGRY.
Regarding the Flinstones vitamins...you may want to look into cutting those out altogether or finding a healthier vitamin that does not contain artificial flavors and colors if you are interested in improving their diets. Good luck!

I too have a picky eater....try to look at the nutritianal value of what they do eat..Great that they like the fuits. I did have a problem around 2-1/2 that my son would get every virus coming and going. What I finaly did was gave him kids Juice Plus- It's a great product that transformed the health of my family.. My picky eater hasn't been to the doctor other than his yearly exam for the last year and a half. It's not a vitamin but you can pitch the flinstones. Tons of independant research backing the product in medical journals. It is simply 17 fruits and vegtable and 2 grains. They are juiced and dried also vine ripend and juiced with in 24 hours....totaly organic. My picky eater is still picky at 4 but at least I know he is nutricianly getting what I can't get him to eat!
Good luck! www.TricoiJuicePlus.com