My 3 Year Old Will Not Eat

Hi E.,
I am a Wellness Coordinator, Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant. I also before I decided to stay home with my girls owned a Fitness and Nutrition company that worked with pre-school kids. Please call me. I have some great ideas for you. hm is ###-###-#### or sprint PSC is ###-###-####. If you do not feel comfortable with calling then just let me know and I can email you over eveything.

B.....mother of 2 beautiful girls and wife to a wonderful husband that makes it able for me to stay home.

If you do snacks always offer fruit first. My daughter had the BM problem. Mix the mineral oil in pudding. Works great plus covers the taste. Plus if you are worried about all of the vitamins not getting into the little guys body try some chewable vitamins. My son is almost 5 and he is still iron deficient. We have to do two chewables a day. My daughter doesn't like all of her veggies, but I keep offering them to her. I give her a little sample and ask her to try it. If she does we reward her. Just some suggestions. My son isn't the perfect eater. Try not to stress and keep a smile. The clouds will break through and the sun will shine.

S.

Hey E.,
My name is E.. My chid has some problems with that too. We tried the mineral oil too. We would put it in his juice or milk. He took it that way. I also would give him casteroil (fletchers castoria). This is another way to get him to go to the bathroom. They also make a fiber chewable tablet. Its a orange flavor. I hope this helps.

A little about me:

I'm a sahm mom of 3 boys. Also married to a wonderful husband.

That's no fun!! Have you tried making him a fruit smoothie? My boys (17 months old) LOVE their fruit smoothies! They usually have one every day. Here's how I make them:

Add all of the following ingredients into a blender...

Frozen strawberries
Frozen blueberries (actually any frozen fruit works - I'e also added frozen peaches and rasberries)
One banana
1 cup yogurt (any flavor works)
Orange juice
Sometimes I also add chocolate whey protein.

Mix everything up & serve! This makes enough for myself & the 2 boys :)

You can also try V8 Fusion. It's a fruit drink, but it has a full serving of vegetables in it.

Good luck!!!

S.
mother of Miles & Kaden - 17 months old

my kids all love to snack on raw fruits and veggies and will always eat it at meal times but that is because there is no choice. They either eat it or nothing at all. Like Amy said you can't force them to eat but you can limit their options. I simply don't buy chips or packaged snacks unless it is for a specific treat, it's not kept in the house but I do keep a nice supply of in season fruits and veggies and I don't limit access to them. Also, that's what they see Mom & Dad choosing for snack

My suggestions: cut up veggies like carrots, broccoli, celery and let him dip them in ranch dressing (or some other dip he likes). Try putting peanut butter and raisins on celery. Put blueberries in pancakes. Cut up apples and let him dip them in yogurt. You can steam broccoli or any other veggie and put a little bit of cheese on them (not too much cheese because that will cause BM problems). If he's consuming too much meat or cheese that will cause problems with BMs. You could also try morningstar chick'n nuggets or Boca products (found in the freezer section in Dierbergs or Schnucks). Those are a made out of vegetable proteins and may help with the BMs. They also have a new yogurt that is suppose to help with regularity. It's worth a try. Or prune juice but I doubt he would drink that! Good luck!

Hi E.--I am an Occupational Therapist and I work with a lot of children on feeding issues. Are there other things involved? sensitivity to textures, flavors, temperatures? Sometimes it's there are more problems going on than meets the eye. Are you concerned about his feeding skills in general? I am not trying to solicit business....but I also work closely with a dietician who may be able to help you as well. If you were a mom who came to me for therapy, I'd refer youto her for consultation. You can check out our website at www.ps-kids.com. I'm leaving on vaction tomorrow morning, but if you are intersted, call the number on the website. Or you can always email me through mamasource. Maybe we'll talk again. M.

Hi E.. I represent a whole food supplement company that makes fruit and veggie gummies. The gummies are made from 17 different fruits and veggies with no added sugars or controversial ingredients. I give them to my 27 month old every day and he loves them!

You can check out the web site at www.YourPartnerInGoodHealth.com or contact me at ###-###-#### voicemail if you would like more information.

Take care!
L.

Kids can be such picky eaters. . .here are some things that worked for me. I use my food processor and shred up zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower and such into normal food my little one will eat, like spaghetti sauce, mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwhich. You can disguise cauliflower in a lot of things if you cut it up small enough, broccoli too.

Also switching to whole grain pastas, breads, waffles, pancakes and cereals will help provide fiber like some of the other moms stated. One thing my son liked was zucchini and banana bread that I made myself. Also some kids are more intertested in fun foods, like ants on a log (a celery stick with peanut butter and raisins as the "ants"). Our son got in some fruits when he would go on his hunger strikes by us mixing them in his favorites, like pancakes with fruit in them, yogart, applesauce now comes in different flavors and individual packs at the store. My son liked the mango applesause.

Pear juice of any kind will make a child have a BM.

I am a nurse, and I would get a second opinion if my doctor had suggested the mineral oil after a two year refusal of fruits and veggies if he fully understood the length and details of the eating problem. Second opinions can never hurt, but bad medical care can.

also here are some web links for picky eaters:

www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp

www.keepkidshealthy.com/parenting_tips/picky_eaters.html

parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tpnutrition/topics/0,,4rvl,00.html

www.babycenter.com/refcap/toddler/toddlerfeeding/9199.html

HI E., You need to try to feed him natural foods that contain fiber, and drink lots of water. Oral laxatives will ruin his little digestive system. When the body has to depend on a laxative,it will cause problems later. there is things out there that you mix with his food to help him get more fiber. Ask a pharmacist or natural health food store Good luck B.

I have a 4 yo girl that goes through stages like this. Just remember that eating is one of the few things a small child can control. So he is probably just testing his limits. Be forceful w/ him, but don't stress. The more you stress the more he realizes that he is in control, which he should not be. So strong with him. I see some responses here from nutrition experts, I would totally take them up on their offers for help.
Good luck,
B.

Hi E.-
I have a tough eater, too. My trick is yogurt smoothies. I put blueberries, strawberries, etc. I even toss in canned carrots. I avoid ice and use frozen bananas, usually the half-eaten ones that I refuse to waste. As for BM issues, applejuice is a good "mover" and prune juice with a splash of sprite can be a "special treat".

Good luck

When my daughter was on baby bottles she had BM problems and they told me to mix white corn syrup (and even dark was okay) in with her bottle/formula. Just a tablespoon/bottle. You could mix that in with his milk.

I've also heard of, but haven't tried, putting powdered fiber in pancake batter.

Good luck,

J.

My advice is with the BM's ask your doctor about Glycolax or Polyethylene Glycol. This is a prescription laxative. It comes in powder in form and can be added to just about anything. There are no side effects with this medicine and it does not cause long term depedency like other laxatives can. This was prescribed to my daughter by a pediatric GI specialist at Children's Hospital in Iowa City. It is a life saver.

my mom has always told me to put a little syrup that you put on your pancakes in some milk or give him some pancakes or any other drink and i know it works because i have given it to both my kids a few times

I feel your pain. My son just turned four in June and we have been having problems since he was two also. His diet gets so unbalanced that he becomes severely constipated which results in a whole host of problems that I won't get into here. We have had many regressions with his potty training due to this medical issue.
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I have tried the prescription Glycolax powder stool softener but have not had luck getting it to work with my son's system. It caused more problems then it helped.
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Our best luck has been to incorporate a variety of different food items and presenting them in a fun way. We have found he likes lettuce, but only if we doctor it with bacon bits, walnuts and honey as a dressing! I also put flax seed in our pancakes and limit the amount of milk he drinks. We really push water as well. We also have to make sure that he is active enough. He is a thin four year old, but when he gets in a TV rut, it affects his body. I tried Pediasure for a while, and while it gave him good nutrients, I didn't notice that it helped with his bathroom issue.
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All of that said, we still have issues from time to time. We did great the last couple of months, and now he is having soiling accidents again and we're back in Pull-Ups. Part of it is because he hasn't been eating good this past week and also we haven't been as active due to the heat. I'm starting to worry because preschool starts in a month and I don't think they'll be quite as understanding of this issue with a four year old as they were last year when he was three.
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Good luck to you!

Tell me a little more about what he does eat?? Can you try and make the veggies more fun? Cut out shapes, make faces, cut them up in small pieces and "hide" them under the cheese on a homemade pizza? What about the veggies/fruits does he not like, the texture, the color??? We play games at the table (my son is 2 1/2) to count the peas and guess what colors they are. Send me more info and I can try and find you some fun "stuff" to try!!

I would try miralax, it is a powder that you put in their drink, tastless. It is a laxative by prescription, but more than likely you can get a sample from your doctor. Their is also like pedisure drinks that give them the nutritional content they lack from not eating fruits and veggies.

C.

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Don't take mineral oil! It does much harm as it attaches itself to many nutrients as it pulls things out of the body. If your son is so nutirnet deprived already, that would be very bad.
We watched a Untold Stories of the ER a couple of weeks ago about a couple who brought their son in because his legs were hurting so bad he could not stand up. This had started slowly as minor pain but now was very painful. Once the doctors found out that the boy would ONLY eat oatmeal, they diagnosed him with scury - a severe Vitamin C deficiancy. Scurvy is almost unheard of any more, but it is possible.
Do you eat fruits and vegtables? If you don't eat them and enjoy them regularly, your child is not likely to either. One way to help with getting the good stuff down them, is to always give them the vegtables and fruit when they are the hungriest. Don't allo wany sugar snacks, and only a banana or blueberries or something healthy yet yummy for a snack. At mealtimes, offer the salad or vegtable first. Even just one bite, then the rest of the meal.

Hi E.! I haven't come across this problem, so I'm not speaking from experience. But you may want to look into a product called greens first. you can google it. it is made by doctors for nutrition. you actually drink it and it has a whole bunch of veggies and fruits. your son may not drink it outright but you could probably trick him by sprinkling it into his juice or other foods. good luck!

I am currently going through a similar situation with my 17 month old. He will only eat dry foods. We think for him it is a texture issue in that he doesn't like anything sticky or wet on his hands. What we are currently doing to supplement is giving him dried banannas (the only fruit he'll eat) and high fiber crackers, multigrain crackers, and chereos. Also, we were concerned about his fruit and veg. content so instead of giving him lots of juice or milk we make sure he has one glass of V8 a day (at least). It isn't his favorite but when he realizes we will not give him anything else to drink then he finishes it quickly. We use low sodium V8 and water it down. You could also use V8 splashes to get in those vitamins. Finally, for protein we give him peanuts and closely watch him while he eats them so that he doesn't choke. While doing all of this we continue to offer him a variety of foods for each meal, even the ones we're sure he won't eat because sometimes he surprises us. Good Luck!

Hi E.!

I would definitely look into getting a second opinion for your child. If I did not have a BM in a month I would be seeing every Dr. in our city! I imagine you child's little system is going to start having other intestinal issues if this is not resolved. I think getting a nutritionist's opinion could be helpful as well. I would imagine there could be some extreme measures taken in your little one's diet that could straighten out the situation but I would get the advise and supervision of some professionals to help guide you through it. It is so challenging as a parent to stand firm on something hard for you and your child unless you have the back up of a trusted professional to fall back on. Good luck! :)

I know you have gotten a lot of responces on this one....but, I thought I would tell you how I do it with my kids. They are pretty good veggie/fruit eaters....but, I have had issues in the past with them. I did fresh fruit muffins, fruit smoothies and also letting them dip stuff in different dips. I know the dips aren't the best, but I would rather have a little bad dip and some great fruits and veggies. Try apples with peanut butter dip, or veggies with fruit dip (at our walmart super center it is right with the veggies). Another suggestion might seem kinda mean to some....but, tell them that if they won't eat the good stuff they won't have snack. Offer to re-heat it later if they say they are hungry. After awhile they will probably start eating it. As far as the mineral oil....I don't know, I would say ask another doctor. But, if that is what the doctors say.....you can't say "He won't take it", remember you are the mom.....it might be hard, but you might have to force him to take it. (sorry if that sounded bad, that wasn't my intention) Good luck. C.

my sister has a 4 year old that is very picky (does not eat very many fruits or vegetables either) she brought it up to the doctor and he gave her some "gummies" that are tasteful to the children (most of them think they are candy or a fruit snack) but they have a full days worth of fruits and vegetables in them. He eats them every day and loves them.
I am not sure of the actual name of them and I do know that you have to get them through the doctor, but I would be happy to get the name of them for you if you are interested.

If you went back to giving him baby food for awhile would that work? I know that reverting back to previous stages is not always ideal, but this way he would at least get fruits and vegetables. He definetly needs to be taking vitamins if he isn't already.

My only other suggestion is that I have seen books that show you how to make fruits and vegetables into fun things that kids will eat. ex: making animals and faces out of food. Maybe if it seems more like a game he will try it. Best of luck!

My 3-year-old daughter doesn't eat either. She is taking Carnation Instant breakfast every day as a nutrition supplement. She is also having BM issues in that she eats so much cheese and peanut butter (that is all she will eat) that she has a really hard time going. At least I feel like she's getting enough vitamins with the supplement, but you can't make kids eat. I try to get her to drink juice. I actually gave her a jar of banana baby food and told her it was banana pudding since she likes pudding. She did eat it but hasn't had the peach jar I also bought. I feel your pain because it's really frustrating! My ped suggested taking her to a nutritionist at Cardinal Glennon so that's my next step. Good luck.

E.:

What is he actually eating? Healthy eating habits start very early, once you start to give in to "junk food" he will not want to eat the healthy stuff. Have you tried the higher fiber cereals or fiber rich breads? Bethanay and Sara had some good ideas, of ways to "sneak" more fruit and veggies into his diet. If you do try the gummie vitamins, make sure that you do not call them "candy", this often leads children to overdose (thinking that the vitamins are candy).

Good luck, A.

E.,

Have you heard of Juice Plus. It's a great way to add fruits and veggies to a child's diet, and for a 3-year old, they come in gummy form. The kids at our office LOVE them (as do I), and there is great research on the benefits for kids and adults. FYI, gummies for a 3 year old are around $25-30/month. Very reasonable in my opinion.

For more information, please do not hesitate to call me at my office ###-###-####.

Yours in health,
Dr. Alyssa
First Choice Chiropractic
www.first-choice-chiro.com

E.,
My son has tried to manipulate us as well. Our rule is he has to have at least one bite of fruit and veggies before he is able to get down. Sure he always finishes the main dishes, but he is not allowed second helpings of that until he has tried one bite of the others. He has the right to refuse; however, HE is also CHOOSING no snacks at all. Please don't be upset at me for saying this, because WE All have our "push-over" moments, but the only way this is occuring is because it is being allowed by you. Of course, you can't shove food down their throat, but everyone gets hungry enough to eventually eat...even if it goes on for a couple of days, he will not die, before he decides he better eat what is offered.
If you know me it is not in my nature to be so blunt, but I also lost a grandmother to colon cancer. You don't want this to continue on throughout his life, because there are serious risks with bowel problems. Good luck and don't beat yourself up for the past. You obviously are a wonderful mother to be concerned enough to take on the advice of many other moms!!! Take care, A.

My brothers daughter had the same problem. They would mix prune juice in with her regular juice. Yogurt also helped since she was prone to blader infections. Another trick with cooked vegetable is to steam them. Steamed vegetables retain all their nutrients, they can be cooked to a softer consistancy than microwaved vegetables, and they tast better than canned. My husband would not eat anything, but corn and peas until I started serving steamed vegetable to him. My mother-in-law just about passed out the first time she saw him digging into brocolli and coliflower at dinner. So, I know you can win the vegetable war even when they get older and set in their ways.

Good luck!

P.S. - My niece now tells people that eating fruits and vegetable helps her poop better.

If I told my Dr. that my child hadn't had a bm for a month and she said to give him mineral oil, I'd find another Dr. I know I may not all of the specifics. But something else has got to be going on. Maybe it isn't and your child is "nutritionally unique" right now. But I'd want to know I had a Dr. that was willing to get to the bottom of it. Btw...Dr. Christine L. Moore in Raytown is an excellent diagnostician. She has a Family Practice and is at ###-###-####. Good Luck!

I would try to hide the veggies in food that he does like to eat such as mac and cheese.... make sure that he is also taking a vitmin or pediasure so that he gets the vitimns and nutrients that he is lacking.

I do not have a 3 year old, my baby is 4 months old. But I was a nanny, so I understand a toddlers strange eating habits. First, I would try not to make a fuss about the fact that he doesn't like to eat fruit or vegetables. Next, I would try to incorporate fiber into his diet elsewhere (and also the added vitamins of fruits and vegetables). Does he like muffins or breads? Try blueberry muffins or outmeal cookies with raisins- does he pick out the fruits? Puree them and add to your baked goods for an extra moist and yummy treat (reduce water accordingly in recipe). And don't forget the 100% fruit popsicles and frozen treats available at the supermarket and health food stores. You might also ask your pediatrician about a chewable multivitamin for your son, as he could be missing key nutrients during an important stage in his development.

Hope this helps! :)

B.

I have a 4 yr. old that had/has this same issue. She has always disliked fruits & veggies and always been a consitpated child...she loves her carbs just like her mom! A few things that have worked for us: make eating the fruits and veggies fun - ie. corn on the cob - she thinks the holders are so great! But the butter and salt are so yummy that she doesn't even realize she's eating a vegetable! Put cut up fruit on a kabob stick or cover veggies in cheese. My biggest trick was chopped broccoli in her mac and cheese...there are some instant pasta dishes called Bowl Appetites - they are "cheesey noodles" with the broccoli already cut up in it...we called the broccoli princess dust when she started to realize it in it. Or you can just buy the frozen broccoli already cut up (but I chopped it up even more). I put the broccoli in almost everything she ate...spaghetti, etc. We also tried to get her fiber elsewhere...in whole grain foods...whole grain pasta was the easiest, but there are also whole grain waffles, pancakes and bread as well to get into their diet. Yogurt helped keep her regular, but didn't always help her if she was already constipated. We bought the "Sprinklin's" yogurt...basically candy sprinkles in the yogurt (she sometimes picks out her own special sprinkles in the store and puts it in regular yogurt - but the yogurt MUST list that it contains "live and active cultures" for it to work.). Danimals - drinkable yogurt (just pop colorful, bendy straw through the foil top), or Go-Gurt (put it in the freezer and the eat it like a Flavor-Ice like a treat). She has also helped make her own food - this always gets her to try new things because she is excited about it. Another "trick" is to buy Benefiber (the powder) and put the rec. dosage in their juice every day - this actually seemed to work best and easiest. The other thing I had to do was watch what other food she was eating...cheese (the true addiction!), Vitamin D milk, etc. The dairy was the enemy without the fruits and vegetables! Watch the grease and fast food too.

I saw that someones else mentioned Juice Plus - I actually take this and ordered the chewables for my 2 daughters...but I can't get them to chew it up and swallow it. I actually tried one of the gummies and they don't taste so good, so I don't blame them!
When she was little she was on soy formula - the dr. said to use Dark Karo Syrup in her bottle...it didn't work for us and I got desperate for other answers. After an awful trip to the emergency room, too many enima's (sp?) in a lifetime, and struggling whenever she went, we finally had to start putting our foot down and insisting that she ate her fruits and vegetables. She now understands that peaches, grapes, corn, green beans, etc. will help her go and won't make her bottom hurt when she does go...embarrassingly enough, she usually insists on telling everyone around her at mealtime!

Have you tried making either milk shakes or yogurt shakes with fruit in them? I will chop them up small enought that gettting a milkshake will not matter!! Also sometimes getting some fun cookie cutters and cutting out fruit, letting the child help you works too. If you child likes to dip things buy some fruit dip and some veggie dip for the veggies!
Hope this helps!

I feel your pain. I too have a constipated 3 year old. He actually loves fruit and fiber, but hates pooping. He is very anal retentive, purposely ignoring the urge to go. He holds it about 5 or 6 days and makes a production out of it. His doctor, Dr. Brannon at Great Plains pediatric, prescribed Kristolose also known as lactolose. (which I am probably misspelling) It is a stool softener sort of like citrucel you put it in a drink. I see a little improvement, at least it is less painful for him. With my son it is more phsycological than dietary though.

It is hard getting a kid out of that cycle. Does your son like bread or whole wheat pasta? Bran muffins might be good. My son likes champaign grapes a lot. They look like baby grapes. Avocado is also a favorite. Baked beans, lentils, corn? Surely he will change his mind about these great foods.

My mom takes my son to the farmer's market on Sat. she gets him all excited about vegetbles. He takes his little grocery cart. It is fun for him.

Good luck to you. M.

You could always try those Pediasure drinks. They are supposed to be for picky eaters to get the vitamins they need. Or you could try involving the children in making the fruits or veggies. They could make them they way they want and maybe that would make them want to try it. Or you could "sneak" them into food. Like adding peas to pasta or something like that. Also daily vitamins help too. My 6 year old didn't start to eat much fruits until lately. Also she only eats veggies every once in a while. You just have to make up for the vitamins somewhere else. Hope this helps!

We used to live in calif and saw a pediatrician by the name of Dr. Sears. He was a big advocate of "Juice Plus" My 3 year old takes the juice plus gummies 2-3 times a day and supposedly they are great for supplementing fruits and veggies (or instead of in your case). They do make my son have very loose stools if he doesn't take them for a couple days or if he takes more than 3 in a day.

You can get more info by looking Dr. Sears website (askdrsears.com) or the juice plus website (juiceplus.com). I think Dr. Sears website give a little more info, but juice plus is helpful too. Hope this helps,