My Son Won't Eat! - Tampa,FL

J.,
Hello my name is D. and I have three boys...11,6 and 5. Two out of the three are picky eaters! My youngest would live on chicken nuggets if I would let him. The only veggie I can get him to eat is corn. I started giving them Monavie original. It is a little pricey but just one ounce in the morning and one at night and they get like 13 fruit and veggies a day. Plus it has all the antioxidants that they get no more colds etc. If you want more information just let me know and I can get it for you. Hang in there, it will get better!

Hi J.,
There is a great book out that would help ever so much. It is called Deceptively Delicious and was written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife.

S.

My son has a very similar problem. From the time I started feeding him cereal, he didn't like it, and finding what he would eat was difficult. One thing he loved was bread, so I learned how to make homemade bread with fresh ground grain, it is full of protein and calcium. He is now 8, and his taste buds are starting to change, so we are introducing a lot of other foods, but he ate sandwiches for the next 6 years! But I didn't make what he liked only sandwiches, and he is getting bored of PB&J! boys will eventually want to eat. Finding the way isn't always easy, but getting them past 7 when their tastebuds change is helpful for me. Good luck.

J.,

I just went to speak with my pediatrician about this last week. My 22 month old son use to eat more than me now he just stopped eating. She said it is 1 of 3 things or a combonation of them. 1) appetite slump (which is normal for this age), 2) They start to be fussy about their likes at this age, 3) 2 year old molars may be coming in. She said to offer heathly snacks through out the day and he will come around and not to worry it is normal.

Have you tried to disguise foods as chips, cookies and french fries? Maybe you could slice some veggies or fruit to look like a hand sized snack with a fun dipping sauce.
Maybe even make cookies that are full of bran and raisins and even a little chocolate chips.
My 2yo DD LOVES Diego, so I tell her that she is eating a "Diego yogurt" or a "Diego sandwich" and she eats it right up!
Only if I call it something appealing though!
Be patient with you little one and this too shall pass!
Make sure that you can respond to his hungriness with a prepared snack as soon as he asks and with a smile on your face, offer it to him again shortly after.

A question, does he watch commercials with french fries, cookies and chips and want them, or has he been introduced to those foods somewhere besides home?

I know my kids have never had Frosted Flakes, but they ask for them and say they love them, because of the commercials!

I hope this helps.
Have a great day!

M.

My 3 y/o can be irritatingly picky as well. She will not eat fruit, so I puree fruit and hide it in pancakes, which she loves. Sometimes I just throw a jar of apricot babyfood in there.

I also puree vegetables and put them in meatloaf and spaghetti sauce. I also bake my french fries in the oven or do baked sweet potato fries.

Jessica Seinfeld wrote a book called Deceptively Delicious along these lines. She has a killer brownie recipe in there made with spinach and carrot. You would never in a million years know.

HTH!

i have the same issue in my house. I have a two year old daughter whom eats "nothing" the girl lives on yogurts. I stressed and went to different pedetricians and have come to same conclusion "finger food" leave different food out where she can grab it does help. fries, onion rings, pizza......

Do you all eat together? I think this REALLY helps. Just have lots of things on your plate and don't even offer them to him. He might want to try things on his own and just steal some. I too have a picky eater and have tried all the tricks. I guess only time can change them and probably will! I have spent so much money at the store trying things and having him pick out stuff. He is so excited and then he won't even try it! I feel your pain and I hope he becomes a eater sometime soon.

J.,

Wow that sounds just like my 3 year old. She has been like this since around 2. My cousin introduced me to the "No Thank You Bite". I love this idea. They have to try one bite and then they may say "No Thank You". My daughter actually is starting to discover foods she wouldn't try otherwise. The other thing I have been doing is asking her to help me cook/make our meals. She helps stir etc. Because she helped make it she tends to want to try it.

Hope that helps!! Beth

My son went through the same thing. He is 26 months and finally eating different things. Plus, he started taking stuff off my plate too. The more he sees on our plates the better. I really believe it is exposure. I do give him treats/desserts after he eats good and praise me lots!! If he doesn't eat good, then no goodies. Having him around other kids eating different things helps too. Consistency helps. If he doesn't eat what I am giving him then he has water till the next meal which I try to make a little earlier. My son can't handle snacks either or he won't eat at mealtime. He was trying to control meals and us. Hang in there and good luck!

I think Dr. Phil said it best, When a child gets hungry enough, he will eat the healthy stuff. Kids are smart, if they get away with not eating and eventually get what they want because you're afraid he will starve, he will do it. He will hold out for the food he wants. Don't give in, he will eat the healthy food, he won't let himsef starve and maybe to make yourself feel better make sure he gets milk and other healthy drinks. I use the food my son likes best as his snacks, then I tell him if he doesn't eat his meal (the healthy stuff) he won't get any snacks at all that day. It works most of the time. But I always follow through, if he doesn't eat his lunch/dinner well, he does not get ANY snacks the rest of the day. Sometimes it's hard, but it's worth it and really you are doing it for his own good, to make him a healthy child.

Is your son under weight at all?
My son started doing the same thing around age one and stopped eating all together. We found out he had a bad case of acid reflux but didn't have a single symptom. He ended up having to get a tube for eating because he associated eating with pain. After 2 years of therapy the tube came out and he is finally eating normal.
If the issue continues you may take him to the doctor to get more advice and make sure nothing is wrong.

I will have to say 2 year olds don't eat a lot and are picky too.

Try anything new. A friend of mine said to do this - just go through the grocery store, and buy anything you don't normally buy.

Try the almost familiar - graham crackers to wean him off cookies (or even a less sweet cracker) and maybe offer potatoes (maybe even oven bakes - cut potato into fry shape, bake on greased cookie sheet at 400 until browned. Or toss the potato strips in oil with some salt, etc.).

He'll eat. The less fuss, the better (and I know that's hard). Try feeding him in the stroller or in front of a video.

E.

Hi J.,

Have you tried getting him involved. I have a son who wont eat a lot also. He eats more when he is involved in the process. Let him create his own lunch by giving him good choices and leting him pick from your list of good things to eat. Make him apple fries instead. Cut them to look like fries and make it fun. Maybe have him help you go shopping for the groceries. The more hands on he is the more he might want to eat the foods he helped with. Make it fun, the more fun he thinks it is the better he will enjoy his new diet.
Good luck.

N. J

Wow - J., you have received some great responses! I am not sure how much I can add, but I can say this - it will pass. My son never ate much until about 6 months ago - he will be 5 at the end of the month. Now he is eating me out of house and home!!! He still isn't a veji person at all, but I can give him things like spagetti or believe this one or not, cabbage and rice. He loves cabbage over rice with lots of juice from the cabbage. Shocking, I know!! Just keep trying new things. Pastas are good even if it is just elbow noodles with butter on them - my boys have loved that since they could eat it and my Pedi told me about it. Anyway - good luck and remember what the Special Ed teacher said - they will NOT starve! Every Dr. I know has told me the same thing!

Hi J.. My daughter was a great eater until she hit 2 and then all she wanted was junk! So I forced her (and myself!!) to go cold-turkey and remove junk from our house. It took a few days of crying and hunger but eventually she got back to her better eating habits. I slowly introduced the junk back into her diet but only after she ate her meals. It worked but ultimately - if she had a choice she would eat french fries and 'treats' all the time too. Good luck!

hello! I work in pre K special ed. and have dealt with many kids likes yours! 3, 4 and 5 year olds. The good thing is, no child will starve themselves!!! It may be a VERY stressful few days of no junk but keep offering the healthy choices. I am in class now and discussing this with coworkers, one is a behavior specialist. It takes an average of 15 tries of a new food sometimes for a child to accept it. So dont dispare! he will eat!! Also tricks i have tried with picky eaters here is... one bite of a healthy food equals 1 chip. then 2 bites, over a period of a few days.. GOOD LUCK!!! letme know how you make out!

My son has a lot of sensory issues and one of them is food. He had a very limited diet for years (a little better now but still picky) Try tricking your son with things that look like chips but are made w/veggies. slice up some sweet potatoes really thin and drizzle w/olive oil and salt & pepper and roast in the oven til crispy. Find a recipe for a heathly oatmeal raisen cookie and see if he goes for it? Mine won't eat veggies so I sneak em into stuff like carrot bread. I grate the carrot really fine and he loved it. Above all don't make it a power struggle,that was my mistake and it cost me a few years of him refusing to try anything. I also use pedia sure as our court of last resorts. They have chocolate and strawberry flavors and you can give it to them as a snack any time of day. Does he like juice? V8 makes a drink called Fusion, it's a bit pricey but it has a full serving of fruits and veggies in it. Even my picky guy likes it. There is no funky taste or texture. If he likes Juicy Juice, he should like this. Good luck and try not to stress. I've been there and it does get better.
H.

Try giving him "smoothies", the V8 fusion has 1 serving of fruits and 1 of vegetables i 8 ounces, I also add about an ounce of whole milk for some fat and protein. Keep holding out on not giving him the junk food, because once you give in, it only gets harder. I give my 2 year old a smoothie in the morning and at least start the day off with some good calories in him. Yes, the V8 fusion has sugar, but no added sugar and they get suger when they eat fruits naturally.

My pediatrician recommended the PediaSure shakes. Balanced nutrition, yadda yadda yadda. There are several flavors, I bought the chocolate. I think they are nasty, but my 4 year old will drink it. Don't forget a multivitamin for him. Even though the gummy ones aren't supposed to be as good, I'm sure he'll take it, they taste like candy.

As my doctor told me don't give in. they will eat eventually. I just kept giving her different things. Even things I didn't like. She now eats an avocado a day. Strange but very good for her. I also got a little creative with food -they say if it looks good they'll eat it. Good luck

A nutritionist told me to place food in a container, such as an egg carton or ice cube tray, with small portions of things like apple sticks, veggies, crackers, ham, cheese, ect..., out for him to "graze on" during the day. Give him a couple of dips such as caramel or ranch in different sections of the container to experiment with, then leave you child alone to try it. It worked with my kids, and now they eat all kinds of things. We also have a rule that while you don't have to eat everything, you must taste everything on your plate, even if you've had it before and decided you don't like it. They are allowed to leave one thing on their plate, but must eat all else. Don't give in to the junk food. Another thing is that kids look at what their parents eat, so make sure all others in your house are giving him a good example. It's kind of difficult to expect a child to eat veggies and drink water when the adults are munching on cookies and drinking soda.

Step one is to not buy chips, cookies, and french fries so they aren't in your house. Eventually the desire and battle about things you don't deem proper will end if he repeatedly and consistently doesn't get his way. Especially if they aren't available and not in sight. Maybe designate Friday night dinner to include french fries as a special treat, or eat them only when you go out for a special lunch or dinner. He will eventually eat :) As with so many things with kids, hang in there, stick to your guns, and this too shall pass.....