Picky Eater - Franklin, WI

Hello,

I have a 2 year old that is going through the same thing, he used to eat so well and now just acts like nothing is good! And yet he will eat Gerber food if I give it to him (I dont liek to though). I have read that this is a stage and it too shall pass, so I would offer her food and if she doesnt eat, then put it up and offer for the next meal. I know it will be hard, thats what I have to do myself, and beleive me, its a challange.

Good luck!

SOunds like you are doing what you are suposed to as far as offering a variety of foods. They say it takes a child 19 times to try a food before they decide if they like it or not. I'd offer it to her, if she doesn't eat it, put it in the fridge, same for the milk. When she is hungry bring out her leftovers and offer it to her again. She will eat it when she is hungry and so will she drink her milk...leave it within reach and when she is ready she'll take it herself, just give her space so its her terms, not you "making" her. She will feel more independent that way.

Hi, A.! I read through the other responses and I go at it alot differently with my kids. During the day I let them choose what they want for lunch, but at dinner time we all eat the same thing. If they refuse to eat what everyone else is eating they go to there room. Kids at two and three start to challenge authority and that is when you really have to let them know you are in charge. My four year old now knows and eats what is infront of him even though he will cry about any veggies. He will eat most of them to avoid going to bed early. My two year old will check out what is for dinner and if she is not happy with what she sees she will go straight to her bed after saying "No thank you"
But most of the time she hears us in the kitchen and is curious and will come back out after five minutes. When she does I say to take a bite, and she does. So she at least tries everything. She has surprised herself and actually gets excited now when she sees things that she used to be unwilling to eat.
We do not make them eat, but given the choice of going to bed or trying everything on their plate they choose eating every time. As far as milk goes, I would keep offering it exclusively until your daughter drinks it and then she can have juice or water if she drinks her milk. My daughter will drink anything as long as we put it in her Red Train cup. And she will only eat using her Elmo and Zoe fork and spoon. Kids are funny, I've come to realize if I stick my foot down on what they are eating, when they go to bed, and how they treat each other, I can let them be more stuborn about the less important stuff like what cup, fork, blanket, or favorite toy they have to have. Hope that makes sense and helps a little. Have a great week!

It sounds like you're doing well offering her lots of foods and not letting her eat a lot of junk food. I don't have much advice because I have picky eaters here too, but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone and that age 2 is a VERY COMMOM age for them to become suddenly more picky. They also aren't growing as much and don't need as much food. For toddlers you are supposed to look at the foods they eat over the course of a week (not per day) to see if they are getting a balanced diet. She probably is, but it just doesn't seem like it to you. My youngest son ate really well until his 2nd birthday and it was almost like someone hit a switch and he stopped eating, including foods he had previously loved. How about trying more yogurt and cheese if she won't drink milk? I put chocolate flavoring in one of my son's milk, but I know that's not an option everyone likes because of the extra sugar. Good luck and it's great that she is eating fruits and veggies!

It really is a normal phase. You are handling it just fine, keep it up. Don't make anything more valuable than something else (i.e. "If you eat all you supper you can have a cookie.") If everything you offer is good to eat than she will get what she needs. As long as she is not loosing weight, she will be fine. At this age, their weight gain slows down, too. If she seems to be loosing weight or otherwise seems sick, take her in to see if there are other issues like an ear infection or something. Otherwise, just relax and enjoy her new stage. There will be plenty of time for food wars down the road.

'Zoo Pals' paper plates, cups, and plastic silverware are sure to be a hit. It is always nice to have bendy straws too. I suggest getting her some lightly salted popcorn cakes and drinkable yogurt (Stoneyfield farms brand is nice). String cheese and grapes are good too. The thing is, at her age, this is completely normal as she is developing preferences and exercising her power to choose. I say continue offering her the same foods that you always have and try to add something new at each meal.

This a totally normal phase. I sounds like you're doing everything right.
I'm not a big meat eater, and neither is my youngest (16 months). I just make sure we get enough protein with cheeses, eggs, beans, nuts (for me), and soy products. Tofu is a great source also and easy to hide in other food, if necessary.
When my oldest quit drinking his milk, I started mixing a bit of chocolate powder in. It adds a few calories, but it's not many. At least she'll get the milk down.
For the grains, use whole wheat or whole grain pastas and breads and consider sneaking it in homemade granola bars or muffins. You can find tons of easy, healthy, yummy recipes online. Our favorite is pumpkin oatmeal muffins.

First of all, be reassured that this is a very common age for kids to start on a phase of being very picky It is actually a biologically programmed protection for them (since they are mobile yet not able to make good decisions about what plants or other things they encounter are edible).

Keep doing what you are doing, offering a wide variety of foods at each meal and frequent healthy snack foods. Don't worry about whether she eats a balanced meal but instead keep track of what she eats in the course of a week. You will be surprised how balanced it ends up being. You can also sneak some other foods into sauces or baked goods by putting pureed fruits, vegies, etc.

My son is an extremely picky eater due to sensory processing issues as well as normal toddler issues. We have avoided making a big deal out of it, but have also experimented a bit. We have discovered that he prefers his vegies frozen/uncooked, loves homemade whole wheat bread, certain fresh fruits, cheese/homemade yogurt, and nuts. Meat is not something he will really eat although recently he will eat deli sliced turkey or ham in small quantities. He won't eat any sauces, soups, stews, or any entrees that involve food mixed together.

welcome to the picky eater stage of the game :)
I think it's wonderful you are being so encourging with offering her different foods all the time and not sticking to what she 'likes' and props to you for not offering loads of 'junk food' I always put a variety of foods on her plate, some she has never seen, or doesn't like and foods that she does like on her plate. Keep offering and eventually she'll start eating those green beans and u'll be floored with excitment!
Millet is a wonderul grain and the only grian that is a complete whole food and is the easiest to digest. I use that as a base and keep adding in veggies, olives, chesse cubes etc...with a little olive oil.
I make a lot of smoothies and fresh juice (thru a juice machine) and you can 'sneak' in many veggies that way. If she likes pasta, you can make homemade sauce as the options are endless using vegatables that are in season, steam and puree them up into a yummy sauce, something the whole family can enjoy too!
I try to think if my kids haven't had much milk to drink, maybe they had enough other dairy products, like cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese in placement of milk.
My kids eat a lot of beans, temphe and salmon so they get their protein in other ways besides meat products as well. Maybe try more legumes/beans and you can feel at east that she is getting her protein intake for the week!
Wow, I guess I have rambled on a lot here...
good luck...OH, check out this book http://www.superbabyfood.com/
Hope you got some good feedback for ur picky eater, your'e not alone that's forsure!
Blessings to you and yours!

We went through a similar thing, especially with the milk. it couldn't be a battle for us - my DD would simply not drink! So i resorted to finding neat cups with fun straws and then she would drink from it. Also i began severely dilluting her juice in hopes that she wouldn't enjoy it as well. Finally, I highly reccomend Jessica Seinfelds cookbook "deceptively delicious" with several ideas on how to sneak more veggies and whole grains into your familys' diet. (check it out at the library or glance through it at a book store when you're out) Also there's recipes in there for dips and ketchup made with veggies - my DD will eat just about anything if we let her dip it! Offer meats with colored toothpicks in it and something for her to dunk it in.The novelty of it all may help - i know it worked wonders on my nephews. Good luck!

Your daughter is trying to express her independence and as many have already said, this is common. Her growth rate is also much slower now. My 2 1/2 year old son used to eat eat eat and then it suddenly slowed way down. I mentioned it to the doctor and she said they aren't growing nearly as fast and actually need less. They also have different priorities at this age and playing comes first, before almost anything
in our house.

Foods that you could try, if you haven't already:

yogurt in different flavors - my son eats his yogurt with a spoon of the same color so lime is eaten with his green spoon, peach with his orange spoon, etc

milk with chocolate in it is fine, it adds very little sugar or calories if you use just enough to change the color of the milk - or Hershey makes a sugar free syrup if you're really concerned about that

fruit smoothies - we make these on the weekend and my son looks forward to them. 1 cup frozen strawberries, with about 20 or so frozen blueberries on top. Microwave for about 1 minute so the blender doesn't have to work too hard (now you don't need to add ice and water it down, your fruit is your ice). Add one banana, about 6-8oz of soy milk and a couple spoons of vanilla yogurt. Loaded with protein and calcium and healthy too. Our whole family enjoys!

black beans are a great source of protein and easy for kids to eat with their hands. Drain and rinse a can of beans and heat in the microwave about 30 seconds. Don't overdue it though as you may see whole beans in her diaper/potty.

Cheese rollups are a big hit in our house. Take one flour tortilla, sprinkle on some shredded cheese. Microwave about 20-25 seconds and roll. Allow to cool a few minutes or put in the freezer for a second as the cheese does get hot. Sometimes we add refried beans and/or sour cream for a more filling snack/meal

Hope that helps, be patient

Pick up "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld and "The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapine. Two great books on sneaking food to your children using purees. You can puree the meat too and your child will not even know it is in there.

Don't forget that kids need to be offered foods 15+ times before they acquire a taste for it. Keep offering and make the kid take just one bite if needed.

Also be aware that some kids avoid foods because of allergies. I would not eat any shell fish, which I later found out I was allergic too. I also avoided cantaloupe and honey dew relentlessly as a kid only to find out that there is a cross allergy to shell fish. I quit drinking milk at age 5 and still to this day (I am 30 years old) will not drink a glass of it. I will drink it in cereal or with carnation instant breakfast though. I just don't like the taste of plain milk. I make up for it by eating yogurt and cheese.

Does eating certain foods make her gassy or have a rash or get itchy? If you are positive there is no allergy try sneaking it or just keep offering it.

Grains, milk and meat have one thing in common ~ they are all hard to digest. The nice thing about a two year old is that she can demonstrate what she is allergic to without testing. The fact that she refuses these foods means they are not good for her right now ~ they don't make her feel good.

She probably has a simple wheat allergy or even Celiac's disease (please look this up on Google because if she does have it she will suffer if you make her eat these foods). Children with wheat/dairy allergies often refuse meat as well.

Also, do you give her juice? If so, discontinue the juice ~ it can make her stomach sour so that these other foods won't digest properly. Without the juice, she may return to these other foods and enjoy them again if there is not an allergy to prevent it. Juice inhibits digestion by dropping too much acid into the stomach. It is also most often moldy, which disrupts digestion as well.

Change your idea of 'balanced' to include other types of food:
beans
eggs
cheese (if she'll eat it)
potatoes/sweet potatoes
rice
veggies
fruit
avocado
smoothies made with banana, soy-protein powder and other fruits

Millions of people live healthy lives without wheat, dairy or meat. They are called "lacto/ovo vegetarians". I know several who started out this way and are tall, healthy and smart.

You may want to have her allergy-tested. That's up to you.

My second child is a picky eater like your likes most fruits and veggies but lacks in other areas although he loves toast and jam (we make our own). As far as meat goes my son did not start liking it until this last year it was to chewy as a vegetarian I made sure he ate bean legumes and whole grain rice which is a softer more easily digested protein for little ones. Cheese and yogurt are great alternatives in the dairy group my kids don't drink 3 glasses of milk a day but they do get all their servings of dairy this way. Good Luck it can be hard also remember most kids her age only eat one meal a day and the rest are snacks as long as you are providing health choices and not junk her body will get all it needs.You can try to make things fun The Betty Crocker Kids Cookbook has some great ideas also try planting a garden kids like to eat what they helped to grow my kids tryed tomatoes for the 1st time last year because we grew them.

Just wanted to let you know we are in the same situation with my almost 3 year old. So we are working on it as you are. Some things that have helped have been dangling the treat item for after a 'good meal' that consists of trying everything on her plate and eating a good amount of something, limiting her 2 between meal snacks to very small, varied amounts with only water, and providing the food item that she doesn't like or is new to her in increasing amounts with less of what she always eats. The last too ideas work together well, helping her to be hungry when she comes to dinner time and therefore more likely to try something. I have also been comforted by reading that around the age of 2, kids metabolism tends to slow down---that it is a slow growing period and therefore their appetites will fluctuate.
Best of luck to you.
C.

Hi A.,

I have a 2 yr old who's tastes seem to come and go- one week she's burnt out on bananas (or whatever) and then 2 weeks later she loves them again. She eats pretty well most of the time, and we don't give her junk food, so I agree with what a lot of the other mom's say about looking at a weeks worth of food instead of each meal to see if things balance out. But I thought I'd offer a few things that my daughter loves if you would like some suggestions:

Mashed avocado with crackers or corn chips- she loves to dip into anything, and usually just uses one ship and licks the avocado off! But she also loves it sliced and plain.

Whole grain pancakes: I use 1/2 white/wheat flour, add some wheat germ, a few tablespoons cream of wheat (dry) and applesauce, with the egg/milk. They are very yummy and moist, and full of good grains.

Morningstar Veggie "corn dogs" - they taste like the real thing (I even prefer them) but they are much better for her/you. These are my daughters favorite!

Veggie Chicken Nuggets- again, I even prefer these. (Can't reme,ber the brand- but they come in a red box.)Or the Morningstar are good, too I believe.

Yogurt and fruit smoothies (add a splash of wheat germ)

Vruit- a veggie/fruit juice that gives a full serving of veggies in each serving and isn't as sweet as regular juice.

At least if she is eating the good stuff, I wouldn't worry about her tastes fluctuating too much- they will balance out. And I think that kids are better at self-regulating than most adults, as far as how much they need to eat! Good luck!

Hi A.-

I have a 2 year old also and my son started pulling this about 6 months ago, its not fun. I give him 2 choices at each meal and if he doesn't eat either one then that's it. Sometimes it works and sometimes he doesn't eat, but don't worry. My doctor told me when he's hungry he will eat and it seems to work and not to worry about it. As long as she is gaining weight and growing don't worry. One thing I do is after dinner give him a Carnation instant breakfast shake, it's cheaper than Ensure and I know that he is getting some vitamins and protein. I used to give it to him in the morning but then he wouldn't eat breakfast since it was filling. That will help her drink some more milk too since you mix it with milk. I also warm it up a little and he usually has it finished in minutes.
Good Luck, N. V

Hi!
Sounds like you are talking about my son! He went through the same thing. We just kept offering foods...with a lot of food going to waste. Finally I just kept feeding him what I knew he would eat and my husband and I just kept eating our foods. As soon as we stopped bugging him about eating different foods, the more he was interested in what we ate. I think he wants to feel in control. He just turned 3 and is now starting to ask if he can have a bite of our food. So when he realizes he likes it, I fix it for him again. He is finally eating almost everything we do. He has decided he doesn't like milk too. I put some chocolate ovaltine in it with a little chocolate syrup. Then he will drink it. His doctor has us give him vitamins and said he will be fine without a "balanced" diet as long as what he eats is not junk foods.
Hope that helps!

Both my daughters are very picky to put it nicely. I have started to make out a menu for the week with them so that they can help plan the meals. My kids are alot older but they have always been very picky so I started when they were very young with having a wide variety of things for them to eat. If you can get your daughter to eat fruits and veggies you are doing good. I still fight my oldest on veggies but she is getting better. I even tried rewarding them when they would try something new I'm not saying it was the smartest thing to do but it did help to get them to eat new things and things that they weren't crazy about. Like I said I still fight them on somethings but it does get better. A lot of it could be age too. Good luck with this.

I am still having trouble with my 5 1/2 year old being picky with all food, except for junk! But my 2 1/2 year old use to eat everything in site but is starting to get picky, and alot of it has to do with watching her brother. But since I have the same problem as you, I can't give you advise on how to get them to eat but I do know that it would be good to give her a 1/2 a flinstone vitamin a day. I give my 2 1/2 yr a 1/2 of one and my 5 1/2 yr a full one.. The flinstones are good so you know that she will take that.