My Son Only Wants to Eat Peanut Butter for Dinner

You received lots of good advice. I was one of those moms that required my kids to eat what I fixed, but everyone is different!

I would recommend this little tidbit: have him take some good quality fish oil (cold/nitrogen processed so it won't have a fishy taste). Some companies sell flavored fish oil for kids.

The commercial peanut butters have hydrogenated oil in them and you need to counter all the hydrogenated oils and Omega 6 oils he's getting with the Omega 3 oils.

Good luck!

Anne Marie,

You could have him eat a few bites of the meal that you make before he is allowed to have his pb cracker. I would make him eat something else than just crackers every night. Remember that you are teaching eating habits!

I have always just let my son eat what he wants and offer something different at the same time. It is always just a phase and he usually grows out of it pretty quickly. He is probably also asserting independence and decision making abilities!
When I was a kid, my mom says all I would eat for months was apples and cinnamon oatmeal!
HTH!

I'd just flow with it...other meals are something different, PB is a good source of protein, and kids go through waves of what they love, then they burn out on it. Don't make mealtimes a battle if you don't have to!

my best advice would be this-
Don't force feed him what you are eating for dinner but always put a little of everything on his plate. Even if you add a few pb crackers as well. Eventually it will become familiar and he will eat it when he is ready without much thought. Dinner is not as simple (usually) as lunch and breakfast. It usually has a lot more texture, unidentified (to him) ingredients and mixtures as well as textures. Texture is a big thing to a lot of kids at his age. I would gag and throw up in my plate if the texture was "wrong". Eventually he will outgrow this. It is nothing to worry about. Just keep an eye on the big picture of his diet being ballanced through out the day. (as you said you are already doing)

Hi Anne Marie:
When my daughters were little, I remember reading them a book called "Bread and Jam for Francis." There were several of these Francis books that we used to read. It is a sweet old-fashioned book about a little badger girl who ONLY wanted bread and jam - for days on end! Maybe it's worth checking out to read to your son...in the meantime, I would not worry too much. He will eventually tire of the same old food. Try to vary the bread and offer up some carrot and celery sticks on the side. Cut up some little cubes of cheddar cheese and leave them out for unpressured grazing on a coffee table. Sometimes you have to be a little sneaky and leave some tempting tidbits around. If he's getting a good balanced breakfast and lunch, I'm sure his diet is fine overall.
All the best! - C.

my son went through a phase kinda like that..he still to this day loves peanut butter..i would try maybe putting peanut butter on things besides crackers..like celery..make ants on a log..or you could try at about 3pm for snack give him his peanut butter fix and tell him he can have peanut butter everyday for snack but he has to eat dinner and if he doesnt eat dinner than tomorrow he wont get his peanut butter.. being 3 he should be old enough to know his choices have consequences.

Been there! :)

Kids have an instinct that keeps them from starving and malnourishing themselves--he will be fine!!

Offer a well-balanced diet, try new things, but don't be surprised or worried if he is getting all he needs from those peanut butter crackers. :)

My oldest son did not "grow" for three years in spite of all we would do. You should see him now! He is a giant with giant muscles and he is super fit and does football and track.

Your son is actually eating good food! So, don't worry about it. ;)

Good luck!
~A.

Don't worry! Children at that age often choose one or two food items and stick to them.

Give vitamins. What about juice and/or milk? Will he drink those? Don't force or scold him. Just add a little here and there. Believe me, he won't live the rest of his life on p. & c.

Your 3 year old son is very typical with his eating habits. You have nothing to worry about! Keep letting him eat peanut butter & crackers for dinner. That is a great dinner! I promise that he will get sick of it after a while, and will eventually ask you for something else.

I suggest that when you run out of that package of crackers you just tell him you're out and there aren't any. He surely won't die. He'll get hungry and eat something else.

I suppose it is possible that his body is craving protein -- or, like me when I was 5ish, my taste buds didn't like what mom chose to fix. My taste buds hated it!

I wasn't spoiled in anyway but I didn't want to tell her that I didn't like anything she cooked except a few meals -- and she repeated those few dishes every week. ugh Also, Back then, people didn't use fruit or vegetables much unless it was canned.

So, I liked cereal (Rice Krispies) with milk and buttered toast. I wanted it about 3 nights a week. Mom had a hissie, dad thought I'd finally get sick of it. Which I did. (Not that I ever stopped wanting it occasionally at night to this day.)

I've also heard that 3 year olds can be very demanding about always eating finger foods. I don't understand that, but my nieces have tried to get around this by turning anything they can think of into finger food (including green beans).

Don't let your 3 year old know that he is in charge and can get his way or you'll set yourself up for trouble in all categories. Also, I'd bet he's not getting enough vegetables.

Maybe you make a rule that if he doesn't eat what you're eating for the protein, he must have a balanced meal by eating an equal amount of finger foods like baby carrots and pineapple chunks / or celery sticks (with or without a dip) and banana chunks. So, give a small serving of each and he doesn't get the next cracker until he eats the other two things (plus milk of course to drink). Then offer a second round, etc. so he can't fill up on crackers/pb and tell you he's full.

When my granddaughter was around 18 mo's all she would eat was toast. This went on for about a month, then she started eating regular food again. I told my daughter that as long as she was maintaining her weight, drinking plenty of fluids, juices, milk etc to not worry so much and that she would get tired of toast. So at least your son is eating breakfast and lunch and as you said peanut butter has protein and is healthy. I wouldn't worry too much.

The lesson is, what mom makes for dinner IS dinner! Don't worry.

I wouldn't worry too much because children change their eating habits and preferences quite frequently as they grow. I would still offer him whatever you make for dinner, however, and allow him to eat what he likes, but don't offer anything else unless he finishes his dinner. Peanut butter crackers are not that healthy and should not be a substitute for a well balanced meal. With the exception of some protein, peanut butter crackers are very high in sodium and fat and offer very little nutritional value(i.e. vitamins, minerals, etc.)and are more of a snack food. I was raised to eat what was prepared for dinner by my mother and if I wasn't hungry enough to eat it, then I wasn't hungry enough to have snacks after dinner. My mom never forced me to eat, but she did make it clear that proper nutrition always came first and any snacks or junk food could only be eaten if I ate my dinner first. I am nanny and the only reason I am so strict about food is that I have seen first hand how bad eating habits are created. Allowing your 3 year old to decide what is healthiest for himself doesn't make much sense. I defintely don't believe in forcing kids to eat foods they don't like, but give them a choice of foods you know they like. If you know your son likes peas and used to eat them all the time, then say "If you want to have a cookie, you have to finish your peas first". If they are hungry enough to eat a cookie, they can eat their peas. If they really don't want to eat their peas, they will chose not to have a cookie. It still allows them a choice, but also sets boundaries on their diet. Hope this helps and Good Luck to you!

My daughter is also very picky, she is 6 now and finally starting to get better. I have always been of the mindset that she needs to eat what is served to her. If I am making something unusual such as Frend Onion Soup, she is expected to eat what is served. If she is hungry enough she will eat what she is given. She does usually eat well during the day at school so I am not worried about her not getting the proper nutrition.

I think it is very important to start good eating habits young, and PB crackers for dinner every night doesn't count. Also, I believe that everyone should eat what is fixed. Now, if I know my son (age 6) truly doesn't like something, I will fix him something else, otherwise this is not something that is up for discussion in our house.

My son doesn't rule our house, though. He is the child and we are the parents.

I wouldn't fight him on it. As long as he is eating better the other meals of the day, it's fine. It's just a phase and will pass.

Don't feel bad. We try so hard, but our kids can be stubborn! You might look into giving him a daily multivitamin to be sure he's getting the nutrition he needs. It relieves some of my nutrition worries for my son. I give him one with Vitamin D (great for kids who can't drink milk) and probiotics. He's 2 and can chew them.

when my sister was little, she would only eat cream of wheat. breakfast lunch and dinner. my mom was really worried and took her to the dr about it. the dr said that she was fine, just as long as shes eating. and told her not to worry. she grew out of it and is a perfectly healthy 28 yr old! she even had a son, who went through a phase of eating waffles, morning noon and nite. her dr said the same thing. he out grew it and is just as healthy as can be as well!! i dont think you should be worried.

To your point at least it is healthy. Here is a trick we do with our almost 3 year old little girl. She loves wheat bread with honey (also healthy); however, we don't want her just having this for dinner. We try to get her to eat a balanced meal as well. We let her have that for dessert after she eats some of her dinner and fruit. Works like a charm and now she is so used to getting only after she eats dinner and fruit first. I don't make her eat her entire plate; however, I do tell her if you eat "x" amount of bites of this then you can have bread with honey. You may want to try it; I bet it will work after a few tries. Good luck!!

hmmm... I would fear starting a habit here. I don't think they'd be an option for supper. Snack maybe, but he'd have to choose to eat supper or not eat at all. How old is he?

Let him have the peanutbutter and crackers, but offer new foods, too. He's happy, you're happy and everyone has a nice dinner together. I think making mealtime a struggle over the 2 minutes it takes to make peanutbutter crackers is ridiculous and a waste of energy.

I just want to say: I feel your pain. My son would eat PB & J for breakfast, lunch and dinner if he could.

I try to limit him to one PB meal a day...

And while I do not make a separate dinner for him just to put a peanut butter smile on his face, I do "deconstruct" dinner for him and his sister. For instance, if I am making chicken casserole, I will leave a little of the chicken and broccoli separate. This is just an age where I think they like simple things and simple presentations and can get overwhelmed by big mixed up meals with lots of spices.

Also, when I start worrying about nutrition, I bust out the blender. Try this on him...get a bunch of frozen fruit like blueberries and raspberries and peaches and strawberries. In the blender, add a banana (frozen or not) and a mix of the berries, add a cup of water and a half a packet of a crystal light berry flavored drink. Whiz it up. Straw. Happy kids.

Good Luck.