F.W.
Question: When did this behavior start? Did he eat a variety of foods before moving to table food?
My son will be two in May and I am having a lot of trouble with his eating habits. He refuses to try anything new and only wants to eat waffles with peanut butter or butter. I have tried introducing new foods at nearly every meal but he just shakes his head "no" and won't even put it to his mouth.This has been going on for some time but seems to be getting worse instead of better. He does gain weight and is healthy. I'm at a total loss. He'll eat some yogurt, some fruit (apples & banana) but no meat, veg or potatoes. Anybody know how to at least get him to TRY things.....I've tried everything I know.....
Thanks for all the answers, although too be honest I still haven't had much success. I have been insisting that he at least TRY the food before getting something else. For the most part he won't. I remove the food and then try again at the next meal. I know he is hungry, and he's crying and in very bad mood (which is really unusual for him) and I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I've tried the routine of giving him a little bit of something that I know he likes plus other new foods. He only eats what he likes. I've explained that if he tries the other food I will give him more of what he likes - but he won't budge. Am I being too tough? I really am a "no-nonsense" parent and don't have any other problems with him or my daughter (she will eat absolutely anything).
Question: When did this behavior start? Did he eat a variety of foods before moving to table food?
I fully agree with Dana! We have always fed our kids exactly what we are eating and sit down and enjoy our meal with them. If they are hungry they will eat. Dont give in to the crying and whining bc it just becomes a game to them that they will start to win more often than not and you end up making whatever makes them happy but not healthy. Good luck I know that it is tough.
We have always fed DS what we were eating (just in a form he could handle - pureed initially then chopped). So if we were having whole grain waffles, berries and bananas for breakfast, so was he. If we have chicken and dumplings, broccoli and pears for dinner so does he. I explain to him that this is the meal and when the next meal is. We do not fight with DS about eating each thing. Pretty much he eats. He might eat a lot of broccoli, all the dumplings, not much chicken and all the pears but we let that be his choice. We do not offer other foods that are not on the table at meal times. In 5 years he has skipped one meal which he asked for about an hour later. They eat if they are hungry. Good luck.
I have a 2 year old as well that is very picky and reluctant to try pretty much everything. I also have a 4 year old that knows that he has to at least try what is given to him and if he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to eat it again. I don't cater to my 2 year old, he gets what we get and if he doesn't try it, he'll go hungry. The only exception to this is that he has "dinner" at daycare around 4:30pm so sometimes he only wants a snack and not a full dinner in which case I will give him yogurt or fruit and some milk. I am not a believer in sitting at the table until the food is gone or force feeding, so I figure if he's hungry enough, he'll at least try it and he is growing and gaining weight fine. I think it's a phase all 2 year olds go through, since my 4 year old did the same thing and now he at least tries new food.
Hey T.,
My almost two year old is the same way. In our house we require our kids to eat 1 bite of everything that they are served. It is our rule and everyone must follow. So in our view if our child will not do it, it is an obedience issue. (some will argue and hate me for this, but it worked)
So because of this rule, we had what I lovingly refer to as the broccoli wars. My almost 2yr old refused to eat broccoli one night (she refused everything else as well at this time). So we told her that if she didn't eat 1 broccoli she would not be able to get down from the table. After 3hrs she hadn't eaten it. So we said ok...go to bed and you'll have it in the morning. She refused to eat the broccoli for breakfast, lunch, dinner and breakfast and lunch the next day (don't worry she wasn't starved, we still had some places to go and she got small snacks at those places but they were given when Mommy was not around). Finally for dinner that night she caved and ate 1 piece. We then heaped on the praise and let her eat her favorites that night! Since then she might balk at taking a bite but she eats at least 1 bite of everything and has discovered new foods that she likes.
Hope this helps. It was a hard and frustrating 2 1/2 days but it was worth it in our eyes.
Tell him that after he eats a couple bites of whatever you're offering him, then he can have his waffles and peanut butter. Increase the amount you want him to eat each time. Don't let him get into the habit of eating only a certain food. It takes practice to like healthy foods and to eat different things. Have him eat healthy first then he can have his favorite foods. =) I've had different issues with my kids and I was able to slowly get them used to eating good and healthy. It takes consistency. Good luck!! =)
He needs an oral motor program designed from an OT or speech pathologist. He needs his mouth woken up sensorally.
make sure he's not drinking too much milk/juice.
give him a partitioned tray with 1/2 the foods on the tray being foods he knows and you know he's likely to eat, and the second 1/2 should be foods that are newer.
if his milk/juice intake is low enough it'll force him to pull his calories from food. Just keep offering variety, and maybe involve him in his food choices. ie "Son, would you like to eat pasta for lunch, or would you like grilled cheese?" let him choose...
good luck! kids all go through phases, sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and wait it out! =D
I'm also a fan of letting him reach out to try food that you're eating. The other thing is yogurt is not a food, nor is it healthy, it's made from concentrated cow's breast milk! Ok, I know you're thinking I'm crazy now but if you were meant to consume cow's breast milk, you'd have been born a calf. Also, meat isn't healthy either. We are not carnivores, nor do our canines have the ability to tear through the skin of an animal and tear the flesh, that's what true carnivores are able to do. They also have much smaller digestive tracts, therefore the meat doesn't rot in the intestines for up to 2 weeks as it does in humans.
Offer him fresh vegetables, lovely grains (quinoa is really yum and a complete protein), some fruit and beans. You can make him some dips with veggies or fruit, they are fun to eat with hands too.
smoothies made from coconut water, lots of fruits and some kale are really healthy too. You can put in some nuts and seeds to for some calcium and protein and vitamins and minerals too. There is a powder by Amazing Grass you can get the kids formula and add it to the smoothie, really nice and healthy. My daughter loves it.
Save some wear and tear on yourself-he is healthy let him eat what he wants. Keep him away from sugar, and he'll be fine.
best, k
I wish I knew...this started when my son was about three and I didn't know what to do about it. He now can tell me that he is scared to try new food and the food might be horrible or 'hurt him'. I am going to ask at his well child in a few weeks because I am learning there is actually food therapy out there for issues like this. I let it go on way way too long because I didn't know what to do.
I, too, am with Dana. My kids eat what we eat. The rule in my house is that you MUST try everything I make. If it physically makes you gag to eat it, I will never ask you to eat it again, but not every meal has to be what the kids demand. I am the parent, not them. One time only when my son was about 6 or 7 years old he was just pushing his food around on his plate. I asked him if he was finished & he said yes so I told him he could leave the table. When the rest of us were finished I cleaned everything up & dumped his food in the trash. He came back to me about an hour later asking where his food was & I told him I had thrown it away when he told me he was finished with his. Well, he cried & carried on that he was starving & I just explained to him that he should have eaten his dinner when it was on the table & the next meal would be breakfast. I assured him that between 7pm & 6 am he would not die of starvation. Neither one of my kids have tried that trick again. Now, don't get me wrong, my daughter will still occassionally refuse to eat all or a portion of what I'm serving for dinner, but she understands that she's not going to be fed something different so it's a conscious choice she's making. On the upside of that, a few weeks ago I make Butter Chicken with sticky rice, steamed broccoli & naan for dinner & my daughter told me how happy she was that we didn't always eat American food as she calls it!