My 17 Month Olds Diet

I have problems with my son eating, I have been working with his doctor. As long as I offer him the foods and he sees mom & dad eatting the right foods he will try them. I will make one item he likes for dinner or meal. With my older kids, when they were school age I made the take two bites and reminded them that there teaste changes all the time. And as adults they still do the same thing.

Don't worry he will not starve.

Have you tried to see if he will drink soy milk? It is non acidic and full of nutritional value. Try giving him that with meals so that if he doesn't eat what you make for him atleast he will be getting something good.

Hi Tabitha,

Welcome to the almost terrible two's. It is not unuasual for children this age to go thru what is called a "food jag". This is where they want only a couple of items and nothing else to eat.
Here are some things to keep in mind.....

1. Liquid servings should be no more than 4 oz. servings. No more bottle, unless water only. Milk should be limited to 20 oz. MAXIMUM, and 100% juice to 12 oz. MAXIMUM in a 24 hour period. The reason for this is.....it can create a picky eater, because the child is full of liquid calories or you can run into weight issues consuming all the extra calories. If the cup sizes are larger than recommended, try filling them with ice rather than diluting the juices/milk.

Make sure distractions are limited during meal time. I would suggest that everything that is being offered for dinner be put on his plate. This is wether he eats it or not. Do not try to monipulate him into "just 1 bite". This will only create a struggle. As he gets older allow him to place the foods that he doesn't like on a napkin. This allows them to be in control and it also makes them touch the food, which is the first step to tasting a new food. DID YOU KNOW IT TAKES A CHILD ABOUT 15-20 TIMES OF LOOKING AT A NEW FOOD BEFORE THEY WILL TRY IT?

Some things you can do to sneek food into the diet......puree veggies and add them to sauces (pizza). Try uncooked veggies. My daughter is 9 and she did not eat a veggie until atleast 2 years old. She could have lived off of juice and water. One day she was outside at Grandma's garden and started eating uncooked green beans, baby tomatoes ect. She to this day will only eat cooked corn. However, when we go grocery shopping, she will ask for grren beans. The first veggie she ever ate for me was uncooked carrots dipped in ketchup. (YUK!) but it worked for her.
I was forced to clean the plate as a child. I have been over weight all my life. To this day my Mother will get mad when I pick the peas out of my fried rice. I tell her she tramatized me the time my father made me sit at a table for 3 hours finishing my peas. I bet I could swallow them whole for a million dollars, even chew them if I had to for the million, but that is about the only reason I will eat peas to this day.

Serving sizes. Did you realize that 1 tablespoon of fruits/veggies is a serving size for his age group. A serving of meat is about 1/3 the size of a deck of cards, or as small as a book of wooden matches. We would like to see 2 servings daily. this could even include peanutbutter, eggs, beans, tuna, chicken. Try cutting the meat smaller, it takes too long to chew and his job is to play and have fun. Who wants to take the time to chew?

Oh yeah.....If your child is still on the bottle, please wean him before the new baby is born or he might still be on the bottle another couple of years. Monkey see/ monkey do!

Ok, now that I have given you all this info. What next? Listen (smiling) to everybodies welcomed and unwelcomed advice, then decide what will work for you. You ultimitly know your child the best. We are just offering some things that have worked for other people.

I have also worked for WIC for almost 14 years. This is alot more common than you think!!!!!!! You are a great parent. I can tell you this just because you are a concerned parent. Keep up the good work and write me back if you have other questions.

H. B.

Hi T.. Ok this is what happened the other night. My son was getting fed, right? We were having chicken, mac-and-cheese, and spinach. He wouldn't eat the spinach right? So I slipped a little in with his mac and feed it to him. He looked at me like he knew I did something...but he didn't know. So I gave him a couple bites of spinach-mac-and-cheese, and soon he was eating it with no problem. Then, I gave him a bite of plain spinach and TA DA!! He ate it with no problem. Remeber, your the momma. So be tricky if you need too....good luck! Best Wishes, T.

I have a few suggestions and a bit of personal experience - both as a mother and from when I was a kid.

My experience with the "one bite" rule. It works. I have never had a kid it didn't work on (when I worked in a preschool and baby-sat) - it worked on my daughter, and it worked on me when I was little. Here's the catch: DON'T FIGHT WITH THEM! Give them the choice, but make it a kind of "my way or the highway" choice.

With my daughter, who did this a bit at close to the same age (she was a little older), I told her what my mother had told me when I was little: if you take one bite, and don't like it, you don't have to eat it. I'll take it off your plate (and, if it's the only thing on the plate or if they try everything and don't want it, replace it with something else). Otherwise, that's all you're getting. Children will NOT starve themselves (generally) and they learn really quickly that you worry about that. So they'll refuse to eat it and after a certain amount of time they know you'll give in and give them whatever it is they want. They're tricky :)

This also means that if you serve them a couple things they'll eat and one they won't, they may just eat the couple things and leave the one and not be hungry. Don't force them to try that one bite, just refuse to give them anything else (ESPECIALLY dessert of any kind!) until they take that one bite. If they say they're full, then they're full and shouldn't need anything else. If they're still hungry, why look! There's a bunch of green beans sitting right there on their plate! :)

If this hard-mom tact isn't for you (or if you want to only do it for a couple days, and then serve something you know he'll like), try making one of his "favorites" as dinner for the whole family - with a few additions. Take the "mac and cheese" fanatics of the world. Grab a box of Velveeta Shells and Cheese (which has a more "grown up" taste than the traditional Kraft Mac and Cheese) and follow one of the recipes on the side of the box - like the one which tells you to add tomatoes, onions and peppers as well as some sort of ground beef. Then serve it to the whole family. This will send your child the message that he is NOT getting special treatment - he's still eating the same dinner as everyone else - but just because it IS the same dinner as you doesn't mean it can't be something he enjoys.

Another issue you may want to look into is whether or not this acting out has anything to do with the upcoming baby? (Congrats, by the way :) ) Is he perhaps acting out in response to this change in his life - or to the move you just did? Many children react to a change in their life by trying to exert control over something else - in this case, their food. Perhaps, if this is the cause, talking with him about it will help him deal with his feelings and then you can figure out together something he can do to make him feel more in control of the whole thing (and, even, his dinner!). If it's the baby, let him go to the store and pick out a special toy/blanket that HE gets to give the baby. If it's the move, perhaps let him pick out a special poster that he can put up on his wall/door of his room. For his food, let him choose between two kinds of veggies for what everyone will have that night (ie Should we have carrots or green beans with our dinner tonight? You pick!). Perhaps these things will help him get over any feelings of loss of control he may or may not be experiencing.

Whatever happens, I hope things work out for you - without you wanting to pull your hair out (as many of us do when dealing with those terrible twos... and threes...).

Best Wishes.

Kids this age are notoriously picky eaters. Offer him what you have for dinner, but make sure to include something you know he likes. Let him choose from there. Being picky and refusing to eat new foods is, from what I have read, caused by two things. First, all the colors and textures of different foods can be overwhelming. Second, it is their way of exerting control. They don't have control over much else at this point. My son, almost 3, has always been a very picky eater. He has just recently started trying a few new foods. This really used to bother my husband and I, we tried very hard to coerce him into eating different foods. All this accomplished was making dinner time stressful and miserable for every one. We finally gave in. We offer him some of what we eat, and give him a few things we know he likes. I did find that he likes Carnation instant breakfast, chocolate of course, and that is very high in protein and calcium. Good luck! You're not alone. :)

T.,
It is all based on what you are eating too. You know your kids will want to mimick you and if you are eating good then more than likely your kid will too. Try to give him some strawberry yogurt or maybe some carrots with peanut butter on it. Healthy food does not always have to be nasty. Make it taste good and most of all make sure you are consistent. If he gets use to a program of nuggets and corndogs, of course that is all he will want to eat. It is best to get him eating healthy now so that he can eat healthy forever!!!!! I have an almost two year old and she loves fruit. Sometimes she has a problem eating green beans or salad but if she sees me eating it she dips her little fingers right in! She loves smoothies. I make them for her every morning. You should try it!

alot of kids eat what they need... it is said that if we crave somethin its our bodies needing that food. somethin in that food is what the body needs. but as to get kids to eat more veggies have you tried putting cheese or butter on the foods? your kids will still be getting the stuff they need from the veggies your just adding something yummy with it. or try to make food fun. and encourage vitamins. well I hope this helps. and try not to stress too much, if your child is hungry enough they will eat anything you put in front of them. take care!
--M.

I would try to make the food fun, mix in colors and arrange it in fun ways and make a big deal of it, how great it is. My son was like that but it got to the point where if he wanted to play he had to eat... at least half. Tyr cutting the broccoli into tiny peices and mixing it in with the mac and cheese and other things like that.

Hello,
With my daughter (who was a very picky eater for a while) I finally decided she needed to eat what we ate for dinner. Not an unreasonable request. With new foods I required her to eat just a few bites, but I gave it to her everyday for a few days so she could get used to it. She used to spit the food out if she didn't want to eat it, but I would pick it up and put it back in her mouth and make her eat it. I think the reason most kids don't eat is because they want to be in control. I don't know how you've decided to disipline, but I would implement disipline in order to get her to eat. Now I'm happy to say that even though she won't eat everything she has a well rounded diet.
Most recently I introduced cereal to her. I got her to eat it because we call it penguin cereal. It's just cheerios, but it has a picture of happy feet on it. She loves eating it now because she calls it penguin cereal. Little things like that, making food fun, might help him eat more.
It is just what I decided to do, it might not work for everyone.
A.

I wouldn't worry too much. I like the idea of trying to put vegis into thing he already eats, but if he won't do it, i wouldn't worry too much. I have read lots of articles on this. It will balance out eventually. He eats fruit, which is a good thing. You would have more to worry about if he didn't eat fruit either. About the only thing I can get my 2 1/2 year old to eat in the way of fruits OR vegis is mashed potatoes or french fries. If you want your son to eat what you eat, only serve him what you eat. Don't give him any other option. If he is hungry enough, he'll eat. And if he doesn't eat, he won't starve. My son rarely eats much for dinner because he doesn't like what we have, but he has learned that that is all he is going to get. It did take time and patience though, so be prepared to not give in to tantrums. Good luck!

Steamed broccoli with mayonaise for dipping. I know, gross, but kids LOVE it.

Sounds like you are doing pretty good to me! My son is 19 months, and WAS scarfing down everything in sight (except bread, he won't eat bread). Now, in one months time, all he will eat is pizza, mac&cheese, and fruits and veggies. We are lucky there, he loves his veggies and fruit, but he needs other stuff too. He won't touch meat with a 10 foot pole. Not even teryaki chicken. Or veggie dogs. Oh, he will eat chicken nuggets, but only from McDonalds. Yeah. Nice. You are doing ok. :o)

Wow, you get much more variety then I can get for my almost 3 year old son. He only eats Chicken Nuggets, noodles, Corn Dogs, Turkey meatballs, and cheese. At least you can get fruits and veggies. Here is what we have done to help balance. Each night he gets a Pedisure, we call it special treat. He likes it and we can be sure he is getting some of the essentials. Because despite my best efforts I am not able to get fruit or veggies in him at all.

Good luck!
PS the Target in Manhattan Beach sometimes has sales on the Pedisure.

try pedia sure or those new pedia snack bars they look and taste like granola bars (those ones by quaker) they come in chocalate , pb&j , strawberry. my 4 year old likes them as well as a friends 6 and 10 yr. old.
or try letting him pick which COLOR food he's gonna eat that day. like: orange. so he has to eat only orange foods.carrots, oranges,squash. use food coloring when needed.

hopefully he out grows it. my 4 yr. old one day loves broccili the next hates it. but he has to try 1 bite of everything on his plate, always has.
i hope i've given some ideas.

Try concentrating on what he will eat. That is what I did. My daughter is three now, and eats fairly normally at the family table. Of course, she prefers rolls and fruit over the veggies... but it's working out alright.

If he wants PB&J... buy whole grain bread, natural peanut butter (NOT JIFF... it's loaded with processed and trans fats) and natural or sugar-free jams.

It might sound cruel, and it is a personal choice, but my little one reached an age that I said, "You either eat what is in front of you, or you don't eat. I stopped giving in. She went to bed hungry a few times (and I went to bed crying, feeling awful) but she eventually realized that she would get treats once in a while - but that's just what they were: TREATS! Special things! Not every-day meals.

Try chicken breasts lightly seasoned, or with a little sweeter marinade... Scrambled eggs with a sprinkle of cheese... Good ways to try to get him to eat protein.

T.,

My son was the worst. It had to be chicken nuggets with range and that was it. We thought he was going to turn into a chicken nugget. lol They can be real stubborn. The V8 slash is high in sugar. I would recommend the V8 V Fusion. This is fruits and vegetables together and all natural. Water it down with 1/2 juice and 1/2 water. This will give him a good start. Make sure his snacks are wholegrain. That is a good source of fiber. The next thing I would try is the baby carrots with ranch. They are much sweeter and fun to hold. If he likes peanut butter and jelly, put it on celery or use the celery as a spoon that you eat. Yogurt smoothies are fine and one a day is good. Let him have is chicken and hotdogs right now. The hotdogs I would save for once a week. Mac and cheese is good too but make it yourself not the box stuff.

I think you are doing fine. Don't force him to like something. He will come around in time when his taste buds develop. Stay away from fast food and my last suggestion is a good multi vitamin. You can get one from me at www.herbalmom.com. Dinomins are chewable and Kindermins are a liquid for infants with no teeth.

Hope this helps and good luck with you new arrival. Email me if you have more questions.

L. C
Nutritionist
www.Herbalmom.com

you can try peas or carrots with a little bit of spray butter

I wouldn't worry about this. Just keep offering a large variety. If you stop offering other food he'll never want to eat it. So long as he gets some fruit and veggies every day he'll be fine. My son is 3 and he still won't eat any meat (unless it's a hot-dog or chicken nugget which we don't do at home) and he doesn't like most fruit. If I left it to him he'd only eat bread and white rice. I serve a large variety even if I know he won't eat it. Another thing that I've noticed is (your some might be a little young, but this will work soon).. IF YOU GET HIM INVOLVED WITH MAKING THE FOOD HE'LL BE WAY MORE LIKELY TO EAT IT. I've seen my son eat things like raw spinach with homemade lemon vinaigrette, pickled carrots, and marinated pork (he never eats chunks of meat) when he was involved with the preparation of it. It will all most likely pass soon. :)

hi T.,
my name is D. and i have 3 kids of my own. so i know what your going through. my 4 year old is alot alike , a very picky eater but at 17 months you just go with the flow.. when you sit down for dinner put a little of what you are having to eat in front of him to introduce it to him if he eats it then kool if not then dont fret. have a back up for him. as far as doing cut outs for him with other foods that is a very good idea to try with other foods to see if he will eat them. my son is real big on dinosaurs and cars so that is what i would try to do when he was that age. figure out what his favorite type of toy is then use that as a basis for your shapes. they are more likely to eat it if its something they like. i would also sugesst getting some pedialite for him .
best wishes
D.

I'm having the same problem as you except my son won't touch macaroni and cheese. The only way he'll eat cheese is a grilled cheese sandwich. The only meat he'll eat are chicken nuggests and fish sticks. I can rarely get him to eat any veggies or fruit besides apples. My son is 15 months and I did just talk to the pediatrician about this a week ago. The doc said just be sure to give him a multi-vitamin and keep offering those foods you want him to eat. My son has had a multi-vitamin with flouride since 6 months of age because our well water has no flouride. The pediatrician prescribed it, so you may need a prescription or at least talk to your doctor about a good multi-vitamin for a 17-month old. Also, FYI, I don't care much for giving juice, it's not that great for anyone but I too was concerned about my son getting vitamins and minerals, so once or twice a day I give him a small cup of the V8 Fusion watered down a little. This drink is supposed to have a serving of fruits and veggies in one 8-oz serving. Hope this helps.

The best advice I can give you is to stop preparing separate meals for your child and only offer him the foods you are eating. If he chooses not to eat then cover his plate and put it in the fridge. The next time he asks for food offer the same plate of food (warm it up if appropriate) do this as many times as necessary until the next meal. At the next meal prepare a plate of the food from that meal and do the same thing. A child will not starve to death if offered healthy food choices. Eventually even a child who at first will not eat the food will begin to eat. Soon your child will eat everything you do. Once your child will eat at meals and you don't have to wrap the plate for later (or if he finishes - or at least eats some of the food from say lunch and it's not yet dinner time) you can add back in snacks between meals. Good luck - I hope this helps.

There is a a liquid vitamin you can get at health food store that is made for children it has both fuit and vegetable nutrients in it and can be mixed with juice , it tastes like fruit so he wont even know the differance, its all natural and a little goes a long way.Try that for now and keep trying to introduce new things into his diet , even if hell only eat certain fruits or veggies thats okay its a start .Also there is pediasure . Until he grows out of this fase do what you can do as long as hes getting certain things like protein and certain fruits and veggies he should be okay.Is he gaining weight or growing ?Thats all you really need to worry about at this point, if not consult your pediatrician.

Since your son likes to eat mac and cheese try mixing stuff into it. Like ground beef, or chicken. You could also try putting broccoli and cauliflower in it because those are great veggies with cheese on them. Or you could just try putting cheese sauce on the veggies. Since he likes PB &J's make ants on a log. Just put some peanut butter on celery and then add raisins.