My Son Won't Eat Meat - Lawton,OK

My daughter is the same way 19mo also. And allwe can do is try to sneak it in with the veggies. I will cut up the chicken real small bites and put it on the spoon behind a piece of a veggie. Most the time she will just spit it out but occasionally it works.

N.

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Hi E.,
My 19 month old goes through this too. Our pediatrician says that a grown-up only needs 2 oz. of meat per sitting, so as you can imagine, someone smaller doesn't need near as much. Not eating meat is O.K. Look at all the vegitarians :)
We give our son plenty of juice for his iron, and corn, peanut butter and cheese are high in protien.
My sister-in-law had the same problem with her daughter. She would mix Wheat Germ with peanut butter and a little brown sugar. Rolled them up into little balls to make it fun for her to eat. Her daughter loved it!
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
A.

Both of my kids are very good eaters (Addie's 3 and Brody's 1), but with Addie I discovered that meat is definitely an acquired taste. It wasn't until she was well into her 3rd year that she started really eating beef. Before that she'd eat it in spaghetti, but no roast, burgers, etc. She may have liked it better earlier, but we only eat red meat about twice a month as it is. You may want to experiment with different seasonings. I would avoid anything that is salty. Several spices taste salty without any real sodium in them. Meat tends to be salty on its own, so this may be what your son doesn't like. You may try making fruity dishes, like raspberry chicken.
Hope that helps!

My 3 1/2 year old will only eat fish sticks or chicken nuggets. She refuses to eat beef,pork or even hotdogs! She loves fruits, veggies, yogurt and cottage cheese. As long as she eats something that is healthy for her three times a day. I tend not to worry too much.

yeah my son was the same way untill about a year ago when his lil sister was eating meat. he was almost 3 before he was eating any meat.
As long as your baby is eating good stufflike VEgs and fruits . mabey give him a 1/2 if a flintstone vitamin everyday to make sure he is getting all the right things for his body.
my son is tall and slim. but very healthy. don't worry your lil one willeat meat when he is ready. good luck and no worries

My sister's dauther didn't eat meat either. She'd eat a bite or two maybe, more often she'd chew it up and spit it out before swallowing. It turned out she had really large adenoids. Once they had her tonsils and adenoids removed (for other medical reasons) she would eat the meat just fine. If it's not that then I wouldn't worry about it.

meat can just be kinda tough on the digestive system for little ones, and hard to chew and break down. you might just try easier forms of protein for a while: eggs, beans, cheese...my son loves lentils, navy beans, and garbanzos, cooked in some chicken broth and a little olive oil. just be careful with peanut butter, in case of allergy, unless you already know he's not allergic!

Hi E.,

i had a child like yours. My son was in this age the same way and it stayed for a couple years like that. After a while i gave it up to to give him any meat. Now he is in school and he likes meat too. The funny thing at this time was, that my daughter didn't like vegie's, so i gave his sister's vegies to him and he gave all his meat to his sister. Everybody was satisfied.
Give your son a little bit time, childrens taste on food changes every day. Don't give up and try giving him some meat every time you cook. He will eat it someday.

My son is 2 and he will eat chicken, hot dogs,tuna, lunchmeat and sometimes hamburgers if u put cheese on them. He won't eat fish sticks,chicken nuggets so I feel the same way you do. I just basically keep putting it on his plate obviously not that much and sometimes he'll eat them and others he won't. I guess it depends on how hungry they are and what mood they are in.

If it helps, I have a 4 year old that hardly ever eats meat (unless it comes from McDonalds!). I think pickiness is normal in kids. We give him lots of peanut butter and the occasional tyson chicken nuggets for protein and he takes a multivitamin. I wouldn't worry about it.

he might not like the texture of the meat. Supliment his diet with other foods high in protein so he's not missing out.

My son grew up eating spaghetti, spaghetti o's, loads of peanut butter, pancakes, bean taco's or burritos, green beans, applesauce, chicken noodle soup, boiled eggs and yet more peanut butter. He was a skinny child but healthy. The doctor said he was fine because he did eat peanut butter and beans. Those are good proteins. This lasted until about the age of seven.

I did not have the luxury of the internet in researching good meals and proteins to give him in lieu of meats at that time. I would suggest you do the researching and not push your child. As my son grew older he became only a meat eater until the age of 22. That was hard as he only wanted meat and no veggies.

Now he is 30 and eats most anything his wife puts in front of him except onions. He is healthy and actually fighting some of his weight for the first time ever.

Again do not push your son. Talk with a doctor and research on the internet. It is a preference of his and could be something his body is telling him that he does not know or understand. Example: My son had IBS and his body could not handle big meals until he grew older and understood how his food reacted with his system. We did not know he had the problem of IBS back then. Just something we put up with if he was constipated or had diarrea.

Another good thing to try is have your son help you with his meal. I know he is young but offer him to grab the spoon, cup, napkin etc.. to help you. Later on as he ages let him choose his meal, stir items, set the table, clear the table, get things from the refrigerator and even later help cook. This helped my son feel like he had choices and he ate better.

Good Luck in your issue with your son. I hope some of this information has helped you. Remember to stay positive and do not get stressed unless you are given a reason to stress. Mothers have enough gray hair without getting them too early. LOL

God Bless!

My daughter is 6yrs and still eats very little meat, she has never eaten meat well and became very anemic at about 18mo. so the dr had prescribed an iron supplement. Now that she is older he has her just take a daily vitamin. I wouldn't worry to much he will probably out grow it but I would recommend you give him a daily vitamin to make sure he gets the nutrients he is missing with the lack of meat.

im with you girl. my 6 yr old son is the same way. except he wont eat pork chops either. he wont eat any veggies either. he only likes chicken nuggets/patties and fish. he will eat some potatoes but they have to be made a certain way. we usually have to force feed him. ive been told to make them sit there until they eat it or make them eat it the next day until its gone. if they dont eat it then, just keep doing it until they do. it hasnt worked yet for mine. hope you find the right thing that works for you. god bless R.

Congratulations on raising a vegetarian!! My seven and a half year old daughter won't eat meat either. She will eat hot dogs now and again and a bite or two of ham. I think this is great!! Reward him for being a vegetarian!! Read up on what to feed him instead of meat. Protein doesn't just come from animals. (milk, cheese, free-range eggs, yoghurt, soya milk, tofu, beans, cereals and grains, nuts and seeds.) It's very healthy and careing diet! Go to http://www.Peta.com or http://www.veggieconnection.com/?AC=12 Becareful at Peta.com or you'll become a vegetarian yourself.

I also highly recommend a multi vitamin every day, with iron.

http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/eating/Vegetarian.htm

My son wouldn't eat meat from age 1 and 1/2 to 3 years old. I tried everything. He would not eat any meat. My doctor told me that it was okay as long as he is getting in his fruits and veggies. My son is almost 4yrs old now, he does eat meat, but he is still very picky about what meat he eats. He will only eat Meat loaf and Chicken nuggets.

Sounds pretty normal to me. If he's eating other good stuff, fruits and veggies, make sure he's getting enough protein (eggs, peanut butter, check www.highproteinfoods.net). If you want him to eat it, keep offering meat to him, but don't force him to eat it. Suggest he try dipping in ketchup, ranch, etc. if he wants. My 2 YO could actually tell the difference between turkey and chicken and would only eat the latter for a while; she's outgrown it now. We made all the meal-battle mistakes with the first daughter, and have done everything differently with the 2nd one - and we don't battle over food with her at all.

Hi E.,

My 16 month old son won't eat meat either. He will eat fishsticks, processed bologna, and sometimes hotdogs if they're mixed in with something else, but that is about it. I think he just doesn't like the texture of meat. I wouldn't worry unless you are concerned about his protein intake.