Almost 3 Y/o W/very Limited diet-HELP! Need Support/advise Getting Through This

My older son would only eat mac and cheese and it had to be kraft. He would only he yams, oranges, crackers. So this is what I made. I did not want to battle him. he is now 21, he eats everything under the sun! healthy man. So give him what he likes. I never really did exactly what the dr. said. And believe me if the dr. kid was hungry and only ate one certain food, he would give it to him also!

Did read all of the responses, but wanted to add this. For a picky child, many Occupational therapists and dietitians will tell you that you should put a new food in front of a child consistently 10 - 15 times before you should expect them to try it. You are in for a long road, but you can do this.

Good Luck.

If it were me I would remove all dairy products for a week or two and see if he's more open to new things. I might also consider removing gluten (wheat, rye & barley) for a period of time.

I had the pickiest eater I have ever seen and did the above steps when he was about 10 years old. Within days he was eating broccoli, salmon, etc. Now I frequently get comments from other moms about what a "healthy" eater he is.

During this time period I did spend about 10 hours in consultation with an excellent nutritionist. She was the first people to bring to my attention that children with severe food intolerances often crave the very things they are sensitive to. She also taught me how to get nutrients (calcium, etc.) from other food sources than the ones we typically consider (i.e. cow's milk). Small children need good fats too (for their brains).

You are wise to recognize that this is not a "phase." It pains me that I didn't take the above steps when my son was MUCH younger. Do, however, consider a good nutritionist [edit: sounds like you are doing this], as well as other experts if necessary - so that you know you are giving him what he needs. Mainstream peds have been very little help to me.

If you are wondering what we eat - it typically is a lean meat (organic if I can afford it), a vegetable, and a starch (either potatoes or rice tyically). And I get him hemp "ice cream" (though there is no dairy) at Whole Foods for dessert. He also loves their organic fruit bars.

It has thrilled my husband and I to see this child blossom from a sickly, stressed child to a kid about to get his black belt in karate - and who can run two miles in under 16 minutes. Seeing is believing.

Good luck to you and your little guy. And great job on the awareness!

Hi Brenda, I can imagine how frustrating this must be. I would give hem new foods everyday and tell him he can have a bit of his favorites but he has to try the new foods first. We have always done the one bite rule with my son. Explain to him that he grows new taste buds everyday. Have him look in the mirror at his tongue so he can actually see what you are talking about. And he needs to try a food to see if he has grown that taste bud yet. He will not starve, if he gets hungry enough he will eat twigs, lol. Just keep at it. Don't let him see your frustration. Let him help you prepare the food, even if it's just stirring something in a bowl. Make sure you set a good example by sitting down to eat with him and having a variety of foods on your plate.

Take a deep breath and remind yourself "I am the Adult". Your son has gotten in to some bad habits and it is going to be a little painful to fix them. He will not starve but he just may go on a hunger strike for a little while. If he is otherwise healthy, stick to your guns and offer him age appropriate, healthy meals. If he doesn't eat, smile, put the food into the fridge and next time he says he hungry, pull out the plate and offer it to him again. Eliminate foods he truely hates, but not before he at least trys them (you can try those foods again in about a month). It will take time, patience, and asprin. And the sympathy of all of us who have also fallen into this same trap.

Hi Brenda,

I would have a "feeding team" evaluate your son at your local children's hospital. The feeding team is a group of professionals (g&I doctor, speech pathologist, psychologist and occupational therapists) that evaluate what is going on. It is usually a two hour evaluation. They can rule out many things like "sensory issues" for one. I recommend that you read a book called "Food Chaining" which explains all the phases to be on the look out and whether it is a phase or not. This book helped me a lot. My son has gone through the feeding team at our local hospital for over a year (through the speech and pathology department) and although his diet isn't as I'd like it to be (he has food aversion and getting him trying new foods is more of a process) he is now eating meat and vegetables which is something he hadn't done before. Just a suggestion for you to check because it seems you are "very" worried and sounded like me when I spoke to my pedi who told me it was a phase. It wasn't as it turned out. Best of luck.

Wow. 3-5 yogurts, 2-3 ounces of cheese and crackers!!!! This kid has got to be having some major constipation issues. I am assuming that he drinks milk also. Wow.

I would either remove completely from my home for a while or limit the yogurt and cheese to 1 cup and ounce. Fix him meals and he can either eat them or leave them. He will eat when he gets hungry. My daughter (34 months) isn't a big eater either, but she will at least try a little of everything. She usually doesn't eat more than a couple tablespoons of food at a meal plus her 1 cup of juice a day and 3 cups of milk a day. I limit the dairy and bread products due to constipation.

I have forced new foods into my kids mouth before and they decided that they liked it. My 4 year old and my 9 year old are REQUIRED to eat the vegetables on their plate like it or not. They are just not given an option. They can sit at the kitchen table all day, I don't care. I don't require them to eat anything else on their plates, but that usually is not a problem.

I say do just what the nutritionist tells you to do and don't give up or give in. It will be hard and you are going to feel guilty, but he really will eat when he gets hungry.

Hi Brenda
Sorry about your stress.
I have a three year old as well who has a very healthy appetite.
I would advise if at all possible try to stay relaxed and not to be making food such an issue around him,try to normalise eating meals.Try to show him that mealtimes are fun happy times not full of stress.Dont give him all the attention,chat to the rest of the family while to a degree ignoring him while his eating.I would keep his normal foods for the time being and each day add a new food and then gradually you can start taking out the bad foods.
Oakbran for breakfast is good,maybe with toast and jam and some juice.
Maybe try putting his favourite cheese on some bread or toast for lunch and then adding some meat on the sandwich.
For dinner,try some pasta,noddles or rice with some chicken cut up small.A great way to get veg in is to cut it up small and put it in the tomato sauce for the pasta.
Instead of chips you could slice potatoes with a small olive oil and in the oven for 25MINS,they still look like chips but your homemade version.
Children like sausages(try good quality ones from your butcher)with beans and homemade chips.
As he likes fish,try introducing healthier versions.
A good soup-boil lots of veg and some potatoes in a put with a vegetable stockcube.When cooked drain some of the water and add milk and liquidise.Serve with fresh french bread.
For fruit ,try at first giving him the fruit with a little icecream on the side,some chopped up banana and strawberries maybe,or else make a nice fruit smoothie.
I hope this helps,as I said above try to change the atmosphere around food when he is around,natural and easy going.
Have your stress attack to your hubby/partner/family/friend/ when his out of ear shot.
Best of luck
B.

I think you should listen to your nutritionist. I have always fed my daughter what I am making for myself, period. In my classroom we all eat the same lunch. Yes, there are times when my child or students won't eat anything or limited items from what is served, and that is okay. They will not starve. I just offer again as I serve myself and respect their choices. As long as I am serving a balanced healthy meal, I am not worried about it. And I do not over serve one component, like I will not allow them ten servings of fruit because they won't try the protein. When I cook I only make enough to have 1-2 servings of everything for each person, so there is not an opportunity for that. I am a firm believer in not being a short order cook, and am totally against junk food. I think that if babies and toddlers weren't exposed to highly addictive processed foods to begin with, there would be no problem. I also think that some parents(not you necessarily) need to evaluate their own eating habits as they feed their children. They eat junk for themselves and then wonder why their kids don't like veggies. The formula is really simple...feed them what you make for yourself, model eating that food by having a consistent mealtime together, and only make nutritious, healthy food for yourself.

If I were you I would stop trying to make his food "fun" and just serve him what is for dinner. He won't cry forever, and he will not starve. I promise.

This is a nerve-wracking problem for most parents at some point with at least one of their children. A neighbor child couldn't be convinced to eat a single vegetable for about three years, and only one or two types of fruit. On the advice of a pediatric nutritionist (apparently a different one that you consulted!), his parents backed off completely on pushing foods at him, and quietly but visibly enjoyed their own more varied diets at every meal. In a matter of months he was asking to try their foods, and by the time he was six, he would independently order salads for lunch or dinner in a restaurant.

I have known generations of parents with similar experiences. Once they stopped urging food at their children, the kids had a new freedom to become curious about what they were missing. Because that indicates that a battle of wills is at the root of their food rejections, I find it a little alarming that this nutritionist advised you to harden your position. Seems to me this is resulting in your son hardening his position in return. Yes, it could work. He probably will eat eventually, and maybe he simply won't have an eating issue any more. Could happen.

But there are studies showing that too much parental control can result in dangerous eating disorders later in life. Food remains a battlefield, but it has become a less conscious and controllable process for the child. I'd want to do some more research of my own if I were in your position. For example, when I google "causes, eating disorders," the very first scholarly essay, heavily footnoted, states that eating-disordered families are "enmeshed, intrusive, and negating of the patient's emotions needs, or overly concerned with parenting."

Of course, from a concerned parents' perspective, "good parenting" can seem to require intensive interventions. But from the child's perspective, he may experience this as leaving him too little space to choose according to his needs, which are emotional as well as physical. And based on what you've found so far, following this nutritionist's advice, it could be that a dynamic that your son finds terribly intrusive has now become more so.

As incomplete as it seems to you, your son's food choices appear to represent a fairly balanced selection of foods, with plenty of calcium and protein. Will he eat a chewable multivitamin? If so, I think I'd take a few deep breaths, assure my son that his wish to try new foods is just around the corner (my grandson became much more interested in other foods when he was about 3.5), and tell him it's up to him to decide what he eats.

Then DON'T offer him other foods for a few months. I'll bet he'll forget this struggle when he becomes convinced you stop trying to "make" him. At which point I've personally seen (or heard from families I know) that the child does start voluntarily expanding his food choices.

Ok, first if he is hungry feed him!!

There is a piece missing. Has any one looked at why this is all he is eating? Does he pee and poop ok? The nutritionist decided it was a mind game, but why? How did she reach this conclusion.

The reason I ask is my son had a similar diet, but he ate a wider array of fruits and veggies. But we had trouble with constipation, and it turned out he had celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disease, triggered by gluten. My son wasn't eating because a bunch of the food I was feeding him was causing him pain. He just stuck with the stuff that didn't hurt. Neither he nor I knew this, but after he was diagnosed it became obvious that that was what was happening.

Also, for some people food is more about texture and that can be a sensory issue.

I would consider seeing a pediatric gastroenterologist, just too rule out a medical cause to this limited diet. I would also suggest seeing a pediatric occupational therapyst to rule out a sensory issue. If either of these are the cause then your plan of action may be different. If you can rule these out, then your nutritionist may be right, and you may just have to get through it, just like you did with crying himself to sleep. However, I would consider getting help -- it is hard to watch your own kid this upset about something this basic as food. I couldn't do it. If it were my child, he would get a vitamin and keep eating the strange diet because there is no way I could deny food -- that's what comes from having a Dad who grew up in the depression.

Good Luck!

You have to stick with it! i finally made the rule that our 3 year old has to eat what we're eating or go hungry, and no snacks before bed if she wouldnt eat dinner. It took a couple of days, and sometimes she'll still throw a fit over something new, but usually she'll eat with us now.

When you start to feel like a bad mother, remember that you're doing what's best for him, and what's best is generally never what's easiest.

At 3, he's old enough to talk to about it. Sit him down, tell him that you're doing what's best for him, making sure he eats plenty of healthy foods, and eat it with him so he can see that it's good. And stay strong! But dont try to reason with him while he's hungry, as that will be as futile as trying to nail jello to a wall.

There is a book called "Food Chaining"
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Chaining-Feeding-Problems-Chil...

The premise is... if your child will eat a french fry - change it up slightly so that it's still a "french fry". Like perhaps Sweet Potato Fry and then start making them less crispy and little mushier and then move into an actual sweet pototo.

In other words... whatever they do eat, move slowly into a more nutriet-dense version of it. And then evenutually it may become a whole new food group. Be creative and be sneaky if you have to.

For instance - start making your own yogurt. Make it sweet at first. You can make it much healthier than yobaby if you research it. Repackage it in yobaby containers if you have to. (Yes, I've done it!)

If you can afford a good blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec. Make "Ice Cream" or "Ice Pops" with spinach and avacodo or anything else you can connect - but they need to taste good, not like spinach! We eat these several times a week. My kids BEG me for ice-pops. And they get fresh but frozen spinach several times a week.

I also blend veggies like carrots, oranges, apples, spinach etcc... , even cooked chicken into pancakes. My kids like that our pancakes are "green or orange", etc. Again, even eating a pancake was a big step for my kids. Now that they are eating pancakes, French Toast (then they get eggs) was not that big of a leap. But they wouldn't touch it when they were real young.

Will he eat Pasta. change it up with fun shapes and swirls. Do some brown rice pasta if you can for some different nutrients. My kids like olive oil and pink sea salt (minerals) on theirs. I'll change up the oil every now and then to like pumpkin oil, hemp oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil now and then. (Again, different nutrients).

If he likes juice. Make him a smootie. My kids wouldn't touch smoothies. First I got them to like juice boxes. Then we moved into the Odwahla Juice (expensive I know) and then I could finally make them my own smooties at home with a Blendtec and add in some high nutrient stuff like chia seeds, acai powder, greens - but sweeten it, so he is excited about it.

I'm sorry you have to go this route - some kids are just like this (I have 2 of them). And no "explaining" or "reasoning" or "holding out" will do.

Just remember -
1) "Nutrient Dense" for whatever foods he does eat,
2) make gradual changes,
3) be VERY creative and do lots of research. It takes work.

And don't feel bad about investing in some good kitchen tools if you can. Just think of them as an important investment. A professional blender saved my life. and we use it everday. A yogurt maker if you think you'll use it. (I've been wanting myself to get one of those spiral vegetable slicers.)

But I disagree also with your pedi. Your building a little human at this age. Nutrition is so important!!

My kids have both at times been very picky eaters. The younger one refused most fruits and vegetables until just recently. I think fighting with your kid over food is a fight no one can actually win. If you create conflict around food, it can cause problems later. It sounds like he is eating somewhat of a variety of foods, although not a lot of fruits and vegetables. Offer the very best option of the things he will eat - calcium enriched cheese and cereals, 100%, no sugar-added fruit snacks and juice, whole wheat or whole grain crackers. I never withheld foods from my kids that they liked. However, I think I probably contributed to their limited diets by not offering things that I thought they would not eat. I started putting some of whatever we were having on their plates along with stuff I knew they would eat. My youngest turned three about three weeks ago. One day she started eating shredded carrots, but only out of a salad. She saw my husband eating coleslaw a few days later and started eating that. I made Asian chicken salad one night, and she started eating the lettuce and red cabbage from the salad. We are surprised, but glad. I also made an effort to eat more vegetables and salads in front of them, and because I enjoy them. I would give him the things that he enjoys and just serve what you are having along with it. Take him to Souper Salad and let me pick out what he wants, or send him over to someone else's house to eat. My kids would eat stuff out in restaurants and at their grandmothers' houses that they would never eat at home. To balance out his nutrition, add a children's multivitamin and see if you can provide some of the nutrients in the things he drinks. My youngest would drink the V-8 mixers (my mother-in-law discovered that). Also, we got our kids to try new things by having a rule that they had to try one bite of everything. They had the option of spitting it out in the trash if they didn't like it. They discovered quite a few things they liked that way. Good luck!

That is a prime example of why I always advise mothers to trust their instincts. Doctor's make mistakes, they're people doing the best they can. However, they have so much going on now (kickbacks from drug companies, insurance, lawsuits) they don't just practice medicine anymore.
You can't expect you doctor to know what's best for your child, that's your job. You need to do the research before you see your doctor so you will know what questions to ask. With HMO's there are policies in place that say a doctor can't tell you about a certain treatment unless you ask first! Isn't that just outrageous?
Sorry for the rant, now to the advice. I have a 4 year old who is the same way, he'll get stuck on a food and refuse to eat anything else. When that happens I remove the food from the house. When he asks for it I'll open the cupboards/fridge and show him that its "all gone". Then I will offer him a different snack. I will fix him a plate at mealtimes of exactly what everyone else is having and make him sit there through mealtime. I won't force him to eat, I won't even mention it. Sometimes he'll eat and sometimes he won't, but he won't starve himself.
Be firm, you are doing the right thing. You are a very good mother for standing up for your child's nutritional needs.

I've gotta say, your son's diet doesn't sound that bad. If you could find a couple of fruits or veggies that he'll eat (fruits are sometimes easier, because of the sweetness), I'd say he'd have a fairly balanced diet. I have 3 daughters and your son has a more varied diet than any of mine did at age 3. My six-year-old still eats either waffles or one of two kinds of cereal for breakfast; a cream cheese sandwich for lunch (she JUST started eating an occasional turkey sandwich); and a bean and cheese taco for dinner. EVERY DAY. She will also eat chewy granola bars, goldfish and pretty much any junk food we give her. One rule we have is that there is no dessert (my little one loves ice cream) unless you have a fruit and veggie (or two servings of fruit if the veggie is unpalatable) with dinner. We also insist on fruit in the afternoon when they get home from school. This has helped us to get the vitamins and minerals in. They also take multi-vitamins. I'm happy to say that my older daughters (11 and 13) have really branched out in recent years and will try pretty much anything now. They have a much wider range of foods they will eat. But, we've never really made a huge deal over anything but getting the fruits and veggies in. So, they didn't feel enormous pressure. One thing you don't want to do is allow mealtime to become a battleground. Positive associations with food only! I really don't think your pediatrician is too off the mark. Relax and enjoy meals with your son. Good luck!

after ruling out medical conditions(have your drs considered any medical causes? does he have frequent bouts of diarrhea or seem like he's in pain? can your son communicate verbally? is he an otherwise "normal" child?), i'd just draw the line in the sand and put an end to this. a normal, healthy toddler will NOT starve themself. toddlers actually do not need much nutritionally to survive in the short term - as long as he is hydrated, you need not worry too much. i don't make food a battle ground with my kids(i have 3), but i also control what their options are. you may have X or Y for lunch, which one would you like? my kids are 7, 4, and 1. my 4yo is my picky one. he has a very limited menu of foods he likes. guess what? he doesn't eat dinner many nights. he knows the drill. mommy cooks one meal, take it or leave it, but there will be nothing else to eat until breakfast the next day. some kids are just picky, some aren't - but i am not a short order cook nor am i going to indulge/encourage the pickiness by catering to it. he is allowed to choose(within reason) his breakfast every morning, and i give him 2 or 3 options for lunch most days - but dinner is a family meal, we all eat(or don't eat) the same thing. and if they don't eat a meal, they miss the following snack. for example, my 4yo chose to not eat lunch today(he was mad b/c we were eating at rainforest cafe, he doesn't like the animals there, so he was a brat and "punished" us by not eating - didn't hurt my feelings any!), so he missed out on the afternoon snack that was enjoyed by his older brother and younger sister. bummer for him :( offer your son food, food that YOU are okay with giving him, and let him choose whether or not to eat it. remain calm, he will eventually get hungry and eat. i'd offer him ONE yogurt a day(maybe along with toast or fruit?) at breakfast, so he is getting SOME food in and thus lowering your anxiety level. but if you give in after two days, he will learn that next time if he holds out for three days, maybe you'll give in. offer food, don't stress over whether he eats it or not. give him a multi-vitamin if it makes you feel better, and while you want to keep him hydrated, don't let him "fill up" on drinks. your job as a parent is to present him with nutritious foods, his job is to eat it(or not). he will be JUST fine :) now, if he hasn't eaten in a week or two, i'd be checking into sensory disorders, but if he is an otherwise normal/healthy child, i'd really try to wait him out. good luck!

I just started my 5-yr-old and 2-yr-old at a school where they don't want parents to bring any food. They want to make sure the whole facility is peanut and tree nut free, etc., and they provide all food to the kids. My daugher (5) is incredibly picky. And I am AMAZED that she actually IS eating each day. She has only one choice, and -- this may be the kicker -- I'm not there. What the nutritionist said about a battle of the minds--that's definitely what was happening here. She IS picky; I was too as a child. Serve things enough times, and they will get used to them. If they know there is an alternative, they will never accept what everyone else is eating. I am still learning to eat new foods myself, but the more familiar, the easier it is.

Also, for a child like that, I had some luck using Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious book and hiding extra nutrition in my daughter's food. Never had to do that for my son. He'll eat anything, whether it's edible or not!

I am sorry with what you are going through. I have a one year old who just turned one and I am introducing him to table food. He loves mac and cheese so I would make him my own healthier version. He would eat 3 tubs of YoBaby yogurt everyday. I think it is his favorite food so far. What I do though is I would introduce a new food (the main course) to him first and if he refused to open his mouth I usually try to trick him to open his mouth or pretend I am putting in a spoonful of yogurt and then really putting in a spoonful of the new food in his mouth. He would make a gross face but if he liked what he tasted he would open his mouth for more. But sometimes he would refuse to open his mouth again and that means he didn't like what I fed him.

I still have a hard time giving him new food because he would look at what I am feeding him and if it's something he's never seen or familiar with, he will not open his mouth. Sometimes I have no choice but just shove the first spoonful of the new food in his mouth to at least make him try it first to see if he likes it or not if I can't trick him to open his mouth.

Since he is older, can you ask him why he will only eat certain foods? Usually if my son sees us eating something he would be more willing to try it but not all the time either.

I think if you are worried, maybe you can try making the foods he likes to eat be healthier. Like chips... is really a no-no. I can see maybe once a week but not everyday. Too much salt and fat.
French fries, bake them not fry and limit the salt.
Cereal is good, cheese and crackers are good. Just as long as you are feeding him all natural cheese, not imitation.
Maybe you can try putting something new with his foods every time he eats. Like a cut up one chicken nugget. If you introduce foods very sloooooowwlllyyy (tehe) he may eat more. Don't just throw something new on his plate and expect him to eat it. Put it on his plate along with everything else... only a small amount of the new food so he isn't overwhelmed.
Don't fret. I think it is a phase and also a battle of wills mixed in together. They will go through so many phases in eating. My 4 year old used to loooove pickles, now he hates them. My 10 year old will not eat bread and sometimes won't eat meat. But they don't starve.
You may also want to try Pedia Sure. It is a drink that has vitamins.
Oh and he may like gummy vitamins. My kids looove those because they are sweet. It will help give him the vitamins he is missing from eating nutrient deficient foods.
Take care and good luck!

our son is the same way. he has a very limited diet here at home. but he will eat anything the daycare fixes for him. and he usually is the first one done. if there are kids his age he might eat a meal with them. or even at there house. we will also leave things out for him on the coffee table if he dosent want to eat it at first he usually will go back to it. dont starve him. i would try letting him eat his normal breakfast then at lunch if he dosent want to eat what you gave him he can skip that meal. then dinner give him both a very little what he wants and a little of something he should try. our son loves fruit. he hates anything that is a wet food. (mac and cheese for example)

you are doing okay momma! I know it is heartbreaking but keep strong, and do what YOU think is best NOT what any of us think is best. anyways w/ that being said I recommend that you give him his regular foods, very little bit, and right next to it give him a new food you want him to try along side of it. You dont have to make a big deal of it, or say anything about it at all. he will eat his fav food, then ask for more. you will simply say: you ate it all I dont have any more you can eat your 'peas'. he will cry fuss you just simply tell him that dinner is over and he can go do something he really likes to do...that will help end the crying a bit. Just keep doing this over and over and he will eventually eat something else...if you are cool and dont mkae a big deal of it. It takes well over a dozen times w/ a new food before they will try it and even more before they will like it. They might say they hate it, but then if you keep giving it to them eventually they will maybe say they like it. Toddlers, LOL! Oh and the fact that he licked a rasp. is actually good news! it is progress! it is hard to see that as the mom who thinks they are hurting their kid, all you are doing is helping really I promise, but it is huge progress....keep at it. Oh and dont make a big deal of it, happy face pasta is cute and all but if you really want them to try it they wont...they know that they are smart. if you dont care, they will eat it. :-)

My son does not like most meats. We really had to keep offering it in different forms and finding creative ways to get protein into his diet. At first he wouldn't eat any at all, it took us about 6 months to figure out that he liked one flavor of bacon, but only that flavor and only if you cut it up into little pieces. You might try the sneaky chef too.

OMG I've been there, done that with my oldest when he was little! (he's about 4 and a half years old now) He use to not really eat anything but those tv dinners for kids! (Yeah, I was crazy) At first I kinda gave in to him because I felt so guilty about him "starving". Not the case now! lol I'm not going to lie to you, it will be long and it will be hard, but you have to stay strong. Trust me, he's not going to starve himself. All living things are "hard wired" not to die. So, when he's hungry enough, he will eat. Don't take everything away all at once (that's just going to stress him out), but start to "trade" some things. Like I saw that CJ P said to try sweet potato fries instead of the regular ones. I really like what CJ had to say! It's true, don't make meal time a "battle ground", but don't give in either. Just serve him what everyone else is having (assuming that you guys are eating "healthy" lol) and if he eats it, great! If not, well there's always next time. (don't give him anything else. Tell him, if he's hungry, he can eat that. Nothing else) He's really not going to starve. Just keep offering it to him and eventually he will give in. DO NOT give into him! If you do, it will only make things worse! If he skips a meal, so what? It's really not going to hurt him. As long as you're keeping him hydrated (but not filling up on drinks), the he will be fine.

And trust me, I'm not just talking out my butt here, this is what my son's pedi told me! (and I've asked more than one just to make sure it was okay) And as far as your pedi goes, I'd find another one. He sounds like he's not really listening to you or just doesn't care about your concerns. Either that, or he's one of those Dr's that sees tons of kids and just doesn't feel like "dealing with it" anymore. (yes, I've run into one of those. I changed Dr's within a month.)

But yeah, just start giving him new foods. Start with one meal, then move up to 2, and so on. If he doesn't eat it, just save it for later. Leave it out if you want (if it won't go "bad" This is what I did.), and he may come back to it later. He may not let you "see" him come back to it, but he should start eating it. It's going to take some time and work, but it will work out fine. You're not hurting him, you're not a "bad mom". Imo (sorry if this offends people out there! Just remember I said I was one of these mom's too. So I'm kinda talking about my former self too!), a "bad mom" is one that would just "give in"...not care about what is "right" for the child....taking the "easy way out". I'm not like that anymore. Someone opened my eyes long ago. Explained things that way so I would see that not doing what's "right" for him (weather he liked it or not) meant that I was being a neglectful parent. I know, it sounds real harsh, but it's true! Being a parent isn't about letting your child(ren) do whatever they want, whenever they want. It's about nurturing them, molding them, and teaching them the necessary skills they need so they can become successful adults later on in life.

Wow...this has gotten kinda long..and kinda deep...sorry, it's late and I tend to go on "rants" when I start to get tired. lol! But! if you need anyone to talk to..send me a PM on here. Or I have msn and yahoo. (PM me if you want those) Like I said, I've been there. I know what worked for me and other people I've talked to. You are not alone! So yeah, if you have any questions or just want someone to talk/vent to, just let me know! :D One last thing and then I'm off.....you're not a bad mom, you just want/need some help getting through this tough time! I wish you and your family the best and I hope things work out for you! Good luck! :D (sorry for any typos or misspellings...it's really late and I'm tired lol)

I have "fought" with my children (3 boys) who are extremely picky. When they started eating peanut butter sandwiches, I was ecstatic! The nutritionist may be concerned because of the unbalanced set of foods but I think she is crazy telling you to remove his favorites. I wish my sons' list of foods they would eat was as long as the list you told us about.

IMHO, children will be less reluctant if 1) they see you eating these foods, 2) they recently ate something (think: no empty stomach), and 3) you don't pressure them. My youngest has sensitivities and I'm lucky if I can first, get him to smell the new food, second, feel it (touch it), and third, lick to get a taste.

I would suggest you follow your motherly instincts! Oh, and get a second opinion!

My 8 yr old son was going though the same thing. He would only eat french fries and pb&j. My 3 y old daughter went though the same thing. I consulted a doctor as well and she said to get the pediasure. I have done this and now they have both gotten over this. They are still wary about tring new foods but they will when they are ready.

Don't be mad at your Pedi. My daughter is the same way. I have had people tell me what she should be eating but until you have been in our shoes, I don't think people really know. Every child is different. My daughter has slowly started to add more things into her diet and no it wasn't overnight. I still have to give her Pediasure to supplement what she is missing. You need to feed your baby. If he only wants to eat mac-n-cheese, then let him. He will get tired of it and move on to another food when you least expect it. There is a really good book that I bought called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron the 2nd Edition. Its a good guide as to what your baby can and will eventually eat. In the meantime, don't stress. Food is important right now. You can teach nutrition later. They are young and don't understand what is good for them. Although it is our responsibility to teach them, if they are too young to understand then you aren't making any headway. Just be happy that he is eating pretty healthy, it seems. Yogurt, cheese, bran, all the things you mentioned aren't unhealthy. Make sure you at least give him a vitamin. If he won't take one, then mix some Poly-Visol in is juice or milk. Don't make eating a stressful time for him or it will only make things worse. Good Luck.

My daughter was and still is extremely picky. She used to have about the same diet that your son has. I was always worried that she was not getting enough protein.
We discovered she loved hard boiled eggs. You might try it with him. I keep them cooked through the week. They are fine a few days, sitting a bowl of water in the fridge cooked. I cut it up and put a tiny bit of salt. It does not solve everything but if I can at least get something mopre than crackers and fruit in her I feel a tiny bit better.
You could also try Kashi brand of a lot of those items. They are much healthier, and they do a pretty good job making them taste good.

**Also if you do the eggs the best tip I have for getting it to peel off perfectly every time is to not undercook them, let them boil at least 15 minutes. It won't hurt taste or texture.
The thin skin between the shell and egg must be cooked to a certain consistancy for it to not stick.