Trying new food?

[SIZE=12pt]Hi... I have what probably is a silly question. I am TRYING to get my 18 month old twinkies to eat something other than pancakes, blueberries, french toast, mac n' cheese, chicken nuggets, crackers, applesauce and black beans. When I give them something new... they won't eat it and will throw it on the floor. I know research suggests that it takes little ones 15-20 times to try a new thing until they like it.

My question.... if they do not eat the new stuff, do I then (after 15 minutes or whatever) give them what they will? My twinkies are small enough and I want to be sure they eat. But I feel like maybe they won't eat the new stuff if they know they wait long enough what they will eat will come?[/SIZE]

 

Mine are 3 and I am still dealing with this. So my advice from my end: Keep trying new stuff!! Give them a selection of foods with at least 1 or 2 things on the plate that you know they will eat and then new things. Keep doing it. Do not give up!

And yes - they will learn that if they want long enough the food they want will come. Don't do it! Don't become a short order chef. If they are hungry they will eat. It's normal for toddlers to not eat much at one or 2 meals and then pig out at the next. You have to look at what they eat over a week rather than a day at this age.

Good luck! it's the most frustrating thing!!

 

I read before when someone posted something similar a good idea. Try just putting a little bit of the new food on the plate with whatever it is you are feeding them. Perhaps, after seeing it several times, they will pick it up and try it but at least it is always available and "in their face" so to speak. One day they may just decide to eat it and that they like it. And don't be surprised if one day, a food they always seemed to LOVE becomes a newly rejected food You just can't with these little ones

 

Here are some tricks that work most of the time here:

1. put it on a plate and hold the plate out to them to choose off of

2. let them walk around with it (meaning they don't have to be in thier highchair)

3. let them see you take a bite or two

But what I offer is what I offer, if they don't eat it so be it, they can eat at the next meal. Mine are on the small side weight wise too, but we want to teach them healthy eating habits not just fatten them up, right?! And I definitly see the "takes 15-20 times for them decide if they like it" in action, it amazes me sometimes that something they used to turn thier noses at they gobble up a week later!!

 

Here's what I do. I make sure I give them what they really like for lunch, things like PB & J, mac n cheese, etc. and then for dinner they eat what my dh and I are eating. I usually try to have at least one thing on the table that I know they will eat, like cheese, bread, applesauce, vegetables, etc. This has worked great for us.

One thing I've noticed is that sometimes it takes them 15 or 20 minutes to really start eating. It looks like they aren't interested, but usually if I wait long enough they'll eat most of what's on their plate. And it has definitely taken 10 or 15 tries with some foods before they would eat it. For instance, tonight we had chili. I gave them each a little bit of chili, even though we've had it before and they have never eaten it, along with bread and cheese. They ate the bread and cheese and it looked like they weren't even going to touch the chili, but after about 20 minutes one of them started eating it and ate her whole serving! The other one didn't eat any of it.