My daughter is 14 months and has recently started becoming a picky eater. She eats her breakfast in the morning and has lunch and snacks at daycare. She eats all of her lunch there. When she comes home and I give her dinner she never wants to eat. She'll eat a jelly sandwich or grilled cheese but nothing else I try and give her. I don't want to give her sandwiches everyday for dinner but I can't get her to eat anything else. I know her taste buds will change as she gets older, but is she getting enough nutrition now?
Thank you to everyone for all their great advice! It's nice to hear from people that have experienced the situation themselves. I'm definately going to get her on a multi-vitamin and some Pediasure. I'll still continue to give her veggies, though, and if she doesn't want them then I'll fix her a sandwhich. But I will keep on trying!
Hey K.,
She should be getting plenty of nutrition. What kind of food does she eat at daycare? You might want to try fixing her dinner and if she eats X amount of food then give her a bite of her sandwich. Or you can fix dinner and give her 30 minutes to eat it and take it up. It will only take a few of those and she will at least start to try. Good luck!
I totally understand the frustration. I have begun looking for similar stories and found a mom that is taking a 30 day challenge to change her toddler's eating habits (natural and holistic)
www.freewebs.com/piecefullhome
I might help to see what other parents are struggling with and take the challenge also.
Hi, I'm new here. I have a 3 year old little boy and I worry about his nutrition all the time. He is the same way. He only wants sandwhiches..pb&j, ham, grilled cheese. I supliment his diet with vitamins, juices and milk. The doctor says he's healthy and is right in his size for his age. He had reflux really bad when he was small, small, I think it still bothers him sometimes and he picks what to eat according to how it makes his tummy feel. I just hope he will be able to eat better as he gets older.
Keep introducing nutritious foods to her. It can take as many a 10 tries before a child will develop a taste for a food. Try telling her that she can have her PB&J if she has a bite of vegie and one of fruit. Or try making her a grilled cheese, tomato sandwich with some meat in it as well. In the meantime give her a multi-vitiman. Just keep putting nutritious foods in front of her, and remeber, she will not let herself starve.
Most little ones go thru a picky phase. I would think that as long as she is eating, and not losing much weight, that she should be fine. However, if you are worried that shes not getting the right nutrition, you can get the cans of pediasure, which is a full balanced meal in a can, and is like giving them chocolate milk, or vanilla, they may even have other flavors now. That way, you can be sure shes not missing out on anything she needs on a daily basis.
I would definitely recommend a good multivitamin because she is not getting enough nutrition from the sounds of it. She needs more veggies and fruit and if she will not eat it then you need to supplement. I would still try to get her to eat greenbeans, broccoli or something green at dinner even if it is small, and give her the supplement, that should be fine for these picky times and as she gets older it will be easier to enforce healthy food.
Hello K.
I went through the same thing with my 4 year old son. All he wanted to do was eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I talk to his doctor about this and she said that he was still getting enough nutrition because he is eating good throughout the day, and even though it's not what you want him to it, he is eatting something. (And it's not sweets) So she told me he would be ok and I am going to tell you. SHE WILL BE OK!!!!!! <smile> She also told me to get him a multivitamin.
My son is 19 months old, I put a orange flavored liquid multi vitamin in his sippy cup with his juice. It's from the NOW company.
all kids love only those things . . .trying cooking the nutrious items in with things that she might like
My dd5.7 is the pickiest eater in the WORLD! At least I think so. My doctor has reminded me that their little tummies are the size of their own fists - pretty small, huh? He also said that young children will usually eat ONE good meal a day. JUST ONE...Well you have to think about this, do you want to spend the rest of her childhood fixing her own meals outside of the family meal. You know, in daycare they don't have choices. They either eat what is on their plate, or they don't eat.
What do I do with mine - they have to take one "No thank you bite" if it is something they don't like. Even if they do like it, we pretend that they don't and they still have to try it all. I try to have something with dinner that they enjoy, like a bread or fruit, but they can't over eat on those either. If they want mare than 2, they have to take another "No thank You bite" to get something else.
On the weekends, we have FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT, and the kids get to eat in the living room and they are SSOOOOOO excited because they don't have to take ANY "No thank you bites"!! They have there favorite foods and we all have a blast!
Just remember, if they go to bed hungry, it is ok. Little ones will not starve themselves. They will make up for it the next day...Hope this helps!
A. N
My 15 mth old is very picky also, he will eat most anything but sometimes he just don't want it. I mean I know he likes it but some days he isn't having it and spits it all out. He does however like fruit cups, drinkable yogert (I just put it in one of those tossable sippys) and he LOVES it. He also loves Nutrigrain bars. I don't know if it is bad but when he don't want to eat, I will try several different things and then revert back to these items listed above and that way he has eaten something. Welcome to the picky eaters association, my 5 yr old has his picky days too!
S.
Hi there! Welcome to motherhood! The most confusing, difficult, yet rewarding job you will ever have.
According to all of the doctors and councelors I have talked to, your baby's phase is nothing to stress over. She is eatting other various foods throughout the day, so the sandwich thing is not a big deal. They will eat/drink what they need. According to the doctors, the only time you should stress is if there is a significant weight loss.
You could always do what I did, when each one of my kids went through that...continue to offer other items, when they are ready, they will accept something else. But, to make yourself feel better, remember that by eatting those sandwiches, she is getting some of her daily requirements for grains... the jelly has lots of needed carbs as well as being a fruit :) (if you can, try to find a jelly that's not totally loaded with sugar)... and/or the cheese is her dairy. It's not much, but it helped me feel better when my munchkins went through their picky phases. Good luck!
Hi K.! Wow, I think every child goes through this picky stage. My son wouldn't eat vegetables for a few weeks but now he loves them again. I think they go through a stage where some things really hurt their gums as they're teething and therefore they choose the things they really love instead of doing the "texture" of some of the veggies and fruits. As the other Mom said, supplement - offer her a nutri drink - I gave my son Pediasure daily until he started eating more and better. Even if you give her half a Pediasure a day w/ half milk then that will give her some of the nutrients she isn't getting.
