Picky Eater - Marietta,GA

My 3 year old can be picky too, but we have a policy that she eats what we eat for dinner. I don't fix anything too crazy, but we have a variety of styles, flavors and nationalities of foods. If she is hungry, she will eat. Occasionally she goes to bed without eating dinner, but she has learned over the last several months of doing this that she'd better eat something or she'll be hungry until breakfast.

Generally speaking, 3 year olds that are normal can go without a meal here and there with no problems. I assure you that after you put this policy in place, within a few nights, your child will try something new because he is hungry. It will be hard on you because he/she will throw some good fits and whine and plead with you, but you should do this for your child's benefit. They need to learn to eat foods that are good for them now! Don't force your child to eat anything, but calmly remind him/her that this is what is for dinner and if he/she doesn't eat this, there won't be any more food until breakfast. Sometimes we finish our food and leave the table and our daughter clears her plate as soon as she doesn't have our attention to whine and complain.

Just give it a try. Be strong knowing this is good for your child.

One of my girls did the same thing and you just have to keep giving them veggies over and over until they start to give in. It wastes a lot of food and your time but it works eventually. Also, try putting cheese on top of the veggies. Mine started eating the frozen broccoli and cheese sauce first. Also, try coating some thinly sliced veggies in bread crumbs, crushed corn flakes or even crushed cheerios to give them some crunch. Then bake them and serve them like chips with a variety of dips to try.
You can also try sneaking veggies into the mac and cheese like sweet potatoes. Also, if there is someone in the family that the child idolizes then have them be a good influence. My daughter worships her Daddy so she will try anything that is on his plate just to impress him. Good luck!

B.
www.babybearsden.com

What I did w/ my daughter was tell her "just take a bite" and you know, now that she's grown she eats everything and she has actually thanked me for doing that for her and not forcing her to eat. I think the idea of just one bite is not overwhelming to a small child and many times they will find they like the taste of something. I hope this helps and best of luck to you and your child.

Try to get him to eat rice, but add a little bit of sugar. And find vegetables that you can come up with a good story for him to eat them. With my 5 year old, we tell him that broccoli is trees that get chopped down in a fairyland that makes you grow big and strong. Try something like this and let me know how it goes :)

I'm sorry, but if you don't make him try anything new, he won't eat anything else.

I've never had a 'clean your plate' rule, but ALWAYS had 'you have to at least try it' rule. It's been proven that it takes 15-20 tries for kids (and adults) of a new food to get used to new smells, tastes and textures. You are developing his tastes. Also you and your husband are role models. I know I am very lucky, but my husband always eats what is served. He knew/knows he is a role model and if he won't eat something how can we make the kids.

My kids, now 21 and 17 are great eaters. Even my mother in law used to comment when they were younger how good they ate and the things they would try. At an early age they were eating broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, peppers and even asparagus. Granted, when they were much younger, I'd make cheese sauce for the broccoli and cauliflower but then one time I 'just forgot' and they ate it. But the point is, they had to try what it was. It was just a bite each time and pretty soon I wasn't asking, they were just eating it.