Do You Have A Picky Eater...

I am so super frustrated at my DD due to her picky eating....
She will basically eat fruit,bread, fish sticks, waffles and chicken tenders only...
Anything else she doesnt like the feel of(pasta, meatball, grilled chicken, steak) she will just throw.
I have tried using a fork she will spit it out
Same goes for veggies....she will not eat ANY vegetables!

I am pretty much out of ideas......
What do your picky eaters actually eat??

 

Right now, my picky eater is on strike. He will eat graham crackers. I think he has a stomach ache and he is getting molars so I am not that worried. On a normal day, he eats: carbs (bread, crackers--all types, goldfish, etc), apples, strawberries, bananas, meat (chicken, beef, pork). All of those things have to be served as themselves, not in a casserole, sandwich or mixed with something.

 

We are on a bit of an eating strike around here too. The past few days have been horrible! They are normally not picky eaters and will eat just about any vegetable and piece of food you give them. For the past few days they have been eating lots of cheese, yogurt, ice cream, bread, ham, pasta (any kind they can put on their fingers), and fruit. They are not big snackers, so I have no suggestions there. Good luck!

 

We just had a spirited conversation about this very issue at a parenting class I am attending. Picky eating among kids is completely normal and they will go through all kinds of crazy jags in what they eat. Our class instructor advised the parents to look at the entire month worth of eating - not each day and certainally not each meal. She also advised to let kids serve themselves family style at the table (as age appropriate, but my 2 year olds can do this - use a small spoon not a great big one). For one meal they may eat only noodles or only peas. Tonight one DS ate only tofu and another ate everything except tofu - go figure! I personally find it easier to look at a weeks worth of eating. In general, don't sweat it. Put good food on the table and your children will eat good food. I have also been told by several early childhood educators that children eat the most in the mornings (breakfast, morning snack, lunch) and past that is just a bonus. If they refuse to eat anything you have prepared as part of the family meal - you could offer everyone an additional menu choice (as if you had left it accidentially in the kitchen) "you may also have either yogurt (not sugary) or cottage cheese" (or whatever your two healthy choices are) - but everyone may have some.
Hope this helps! If anything - don't make eating a battle ground or power struggle.

 

I agree with alpinegal. Picky eating is normal especially during the SY. What I used to do is when I (or my DH) made a meal is put one thing on the plate they were sure to eat and then the rest of the meal and if they ate that too, great and if not, better luck next time. I would keep offering a little veggies with the meals you have them with but perhaps also with a little fruit that the kids will eat. One they will eat the fruit and two they will also begin to see that "oh, we do have veggies with dinner."
Hang in there!

 

I also agree with alpinegal. It's totally normal, just roll with it and they will grow out of it! One of mine was a huge picky eater but now he'll at least try anything and 9 times out of 10, he likes it and will eat it. You just gotta hang in there and let them eat what they'll eat for awhile. Believe me, they can survive on nothing but goldfish crackers for a long time! :laughing:

 

I also agree with alpinegal, except for the breakfast thing; my guys usually pick at breakfast and eat a *huge* dinner, so that's when I introduce a lot of new and seldom-eaten foods because they're hungrier and more receptive.

Just keep offering a varied diet, even if they won't touch certain things. Make sure to have one or two items at meals that you know they'll like, and always offer everything you're serving even though you "know" they won't eat it.

Nate is a world-class picky eater, but I'll tell you something that should give you some hope. He would not touch any green veggie (or almost *any* veggie) for more than a *year*, no matter how we served it (drowned in cheese, cooked in butter, salted, raw, soy sauce, etc.) We always offered, never pressured or even really encouraged him to try them. 2 weeks ago he deliberately picked up a piece of broccoli and ate it! :shok: 3 days later he ate 3 or 4 pieces, and now he'll pretty consistently eat at least a bite or two. Experts say it takes 15-20 times of offering for kids to accept certain foods; I can tell you that it sometimes take 100, but they will try it eventually! They may not ever like certain things (I personally have never liked brussel sprouts!), but you can't help that.

As far as not eating veggies, don't stress about it. All the reading I've done say that fruits are almost the same nutritionally as veggies, so serve lots of them and keep offering the vegetables. :good:

 

I don't know where my good eaters went either! I was so proud that my boys loved veggies, now all they want is string cheese and marshmallows! :headbang: Do they go back? DH and I were really strict with their food until recently because we didn't want them to get a taste for junk. I still offer healthy food first, but they don't eat it and an hour later they are hanging on the fridge door, or pointing to the pantry and crying "moa?" Even if kids go through a picky stage during the SY, can they still have a taste for healthy food later in life?

 

My little man is a terrible eater!! For him though a lot of it is a texture thing if its soft and mushy he wont eat it. He wont eat any veggies cooked no matter what but he will eat some of them raw. Ex. Cucumbers, pickles, red/yellow peppers. I have been making them smoothies with spinach, blueberries, strawberris and bananas. You can't taste the spinach and its a great way to hide the veggies and they love it!
I haven't mastered the meat things yet. He doesn't really like any meat at all but we keep trying. The boys dietician told us that the little mirowavable packages of oatmeal are a good source of iron so when he refuses to eat anything else we go to oatmeal. I also have pediasure on hand and give him that when he isn't eating well. I found a great cottage cheese crepe receipe that he will eat which give him a lot of protein that he otherwise wouldn't eat.
Some of the things he does like: grilled cheese, french toast, any kinda bread, oatmeal, raw veggies, some sandwich meats, chicken fingers(I have been making my own) minute steak(because its not too thick)yogurt, any kind of fruit. I hope it gets better for you soon. I know how frustrating it can be!

 

Mine will only eat yogurt, mac n cheese, bread slices, sometimes deli meat, cheese sticks, crackers (animal, graham) and milk...lots and lots of regular whole milk.

I want to try and incorporate me meats and get a better variety then just the "yellow" stuff that I would only eat growing up. But at the same time as long as they are eating at this point I think it's ok.

 

I guess I don't understand the whole picky eating thing. If you put healthy and tasty food in front of them, and offer them a variety of good meals, they will eventually eat it. I have experienced it first hand with my kids. All three of them eat everything. I never forced them to eat anything, but I also refused to be a short order cook giving them only what they *would* eat. I got this advice from someone else and it's the best parenting tip I ever received!

 

I'm not a short order cook either and I have really good eaters. They usually eat anything you put in front of them, but you also have to factor in things like teething, growth spurts, tummy aches, etc. Every person is picky in some way when it comes to food. It's human nature - you can't possibly like everything. Toddlers are so busy that they "forget" to eat or don't want to eat because they want to play. I wouldn't worry about it because they won't be like this forever.

 

I can only speak for myself, but it's very hard not to worry when you have children that are so small and are not even on the growth chart. Jack was IUGR and even Nate was SGA, and I felt for a long time that I had to work to get them on the growth chart. I did find when I relaxed and stopped pushing food on them they actually started eating better, but it was a huge mental leap to let go.

I still have to remind myself *daily* that I can't make them eat anything; all I can do is offer and model good eating habits!