Mealtime Makes Me Crazy!! Help!

We have a very picky 2 year old too! I let him choose what he wants for breakfast and lunch (I give 2 or 3 options and he decides). Once he chooses, that is what he gets. If for some reason he doesn't want it once it is put in front of him, then he will either come back to it later or skip out on that meal. Sounds terrible, but I will not make 5 meals for him!

He gets what we eat for dinner. Again, if he doesn't eat it then he comes back to it later or skips out on that meal.

If he eats his meal then he can have a snack in between. If he doesn't eat his meal and he says he is hungry, he is offered the last meal plate. I don't keep that through the whole day though. Like, if he doesn't eat his breakfast, I won't make him eat his breakfast plate for lunch...I'll make him a new lunch plate.

My dr told me that I have to look at things on a 2 week period. If within that 2 week period he is eating balanced meals, then there is nothing to worry about.

We do the V8 fusion too!

One meal, eat it or starve. They eventually eat.

To be honest... stop giving in to giving him the "picky foods" and place in front of him what everyone else is eating. Eventually they will come around and eat.

Good luck!

V.,

I so feel your pain with the picky eaters! I have a nine year old that to this day will only eat chicken nuggets, fries, peanut butter/jelly sandwiches, fish sticks and other than a couple of other things that's just about it! He does love cucumbers though which helps with the healthy eating. He just had his yearly check up on Friday and I "again" mentioned to the doctor how picky he is. As she has said all along...as long as he is eating something and gaining weight don't worry. She also said more than once that "He will not starve" if he misses a meal, that children WILL eat when they are hungry enough. I know this doesn't help you much but please know that you are definitely not alone! Hang in there. :)

I'm sorry for what you are going through with your illness and being a busy mom but watch what advice you get with some of these posts.
I guarantee you the none of these moms have gone to bed hungry.
And re-heating things over and over???????? I hear "Mommie Dearest" and it makes me nervous, sad and scared for these kids.
Do what works for you, your child and your family meaning feed him what he will eat for now, give him a vitamin supplement and he will eventually expand his palate and eating desires/wants. Don't be mean/cruel when trying to instill a healthy lifestyle for your child. Just work with them. Believe me I know it's hard but it won't last forever. Just don't let your child go hungry or go without. Be patient, kind and loving. Hang in there and I wish you all the best in your fight to recovery! Hugs

They'll eat when they are hungry. If they don't want to eat what's in front of them - fine. They can wait till next meal and try again. It won't hurt them if they go to bed hungry every once in awhile. No child ever starved themselves to death out of sheer stubbornness.

Simple fix. Either eat what's given to you, or go hungry. End of the story. Stop feeding him only the things he wants to eat. Make a meal for everyone. If they eat, great! If not, well, the leftover will be there for them at the next meal. And the next. And the next. To be honest, it's going to take awhile to get them to eat a variety of foods.
Institute "no thank you" bites. They have to take a bite for every year of their age of the foods they dont' like (so 4 bites for your daughter and 2 for your son). After they take those bites, they can say "No thank you, I don't care for green beans." We started this with my daughter when she was about 3. It works much better than I thought it would the first time I heard about it.
I don't know how well it will work for your 2 year old, but it's worth a shot!
Consistency is the absolute key! Don't waffle, even for a moment! It's going to be rough for awhile, but you know it's better for them in the long run!

Does he like popsicles? If so, when he's not around, get out the blender and puree up some fruits (mango & peach, with OJ is yummy;blueberries & raspberries with vanilla yogurt & blueberry juice, etc. Freeze the little apple sauce cups, maybe? Our little guy actually prefers his fruits & veggies frozen... maybe the taste is less intense or something that way? And maybe you can add some of the V8 Fusion to it, or some carrot juice.

If he eats spaghetti, try pureeing spinach and adding it to the sauce. A little bit will (hopefully) go unnoticed.

I ate pretty much PB sandwiches as a kid (like for 3 to 5 dinners per week, plus it was my usual lunch), and only just recently gave up PB because my son has peanut allergies.... However, as I got older, I did try new foods and now regularly eat Indian, Mexican, and am willing to try about any food. :) So, don't give up and don't let it get to you too much--keep offering the foods and pretend like you don't care if he eats it or not, and act like you love the foods and enjoy them.

You got lots of great suggestions, I could never understand how kids come to want to only eat chicken nuggets... My suggestion on that, serve them once a week, or try making your own and adding in pureed vegies in the coating. Peanut butter sandwiches can be healthy if made with the right bread, not simple white bread (or cardboard as I refer to it). You can't make kids eat, just offer a variety of things with a sandwich, let him get down from the table when they say they are done, let them know the rest of the meal will be waiting when they are hungry or want a snack they can come back to it. Offer healthy snack options, I love the idea of making popsicles with fruit and yogurt. What about icecream with fruit toppings, very little ice cream of course.

Also, have them help shop and prepare the meals, it works well for some children to have a say in the meal planning

I think it is the two year old phase. I keep being told to just feed my son what we eat, but he would never, and I mean never eat. We have the kid staples and periodically introduce new foods. He usually doesn't eat those, but he will eat fruits. I'm not in your situation, but I would try giving him what you plan to give him (his meal or yours - whichever way you go). That is what he gets to eat. If he doesn't eat it, his only alternative is fruits or veggies. If you are giving him what he wants (my son is on a huge grilled cheese kick right now), maybe cut down the portion and if he is still hungry, he can eat the fruits and veggies on his plate, or "your" food, which is on his plate too?

As for the 4 year old...I haven't dealt with one yet, but have you explained to her that she went through the same phase when she was little, but is now a big girl and needs to eat big girl food?

I have never liked where you keep offering the same food over and over until they eat it. I'm with you, I hate the fight over food. If they don't eat it, and you don't want to save it for a future meal, throw it away, and serve what you would for the next meal. I also don't MAKE my son try things. I ask him to, and if he tastes, he usually spits it out whether it is something he would like or not, so I let him eat nothing.

V.,
I used to really stress out at mealtimes. My son was a could who ate everything and anything but it was WOULD he eat. It got to the point where I was miserable every day and dreading dinnertime especially. I decided I was not putting myself through it anymore. I made him a plate--gave it to him--let him even (GASP!) eat it in front of the tv if he wanted to. I stopped stressing. If he ate fine, if not, fine too. I just refuse to get wigged out every day over this.