Picky Eating (4 Yr Old)

The ped. has always told me to not worry about eating in toddlers. When they are hungery they will EAT!!!! I have a 16 year old who to this day is still a picky eater.I thought I would go mad with her eating habits when she was smaller. I too was embarrassed at taking her to peoples houses and her not eating what they made. I made Redbeans with sausage and rice the last night and she would only eat the rice with butter in it. She, to this day, still will not eat hamburger meat or even ground turkey meat. It is very frustrating. I learned over the years that she would have two choices, eat what I made or she could have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have 4 kids and for me to adjust for each on of them was nuts!

You are not the only one, it happens alot and just hang in there it does get better as they get older.

How about getting her involved in the meal planning and grocery shopping and cooking process. Take her to barnes and noble and let her pick out a kids cookbook and then take a weekend and make a few things with her. They have some great cookbooks that specialize in kid friendly meals with a healthy aspect. There are also a few kids cooking classes. Not sure if she's old enough yet, but worth a shot. If she likes pizza, let her make her own individual pizza, just put healthy toppings out and tell her to pick 3. They like the choices. If she likes beans and rice, she may like a breakfast burrito. You can make up several on the weekend and microwave them for breakfast. I put rice, beans, eggs and sausage and cheese in them. If you set up a station with healthy options, she may pick a few. Maybe she would like homemade quesadillas. She can pick what goes in, Have several options in little bowls and tell her to pick a few. Easy and quick. They like dipping in sauce at that age. Find a sauce she likes whether it be ranch, bbq or salsa. Maybe she would like a bbq chicken and cheese and mushroom pizza. I used to make them for my kids on the individual pizzas, Could also use english muffins. Good luck.

I think you have a typical 4 year old! I'm the mother a picky 3 1/2 yr old, the only chicken she eats is in the form of a nugget, she recently has decided that she only likes the noodle and meatballs part of spagetti-no sauce unless there is bread to dip it in, pbj with strawberry jam (not grape) and I think she's the only kid on earth who wont each a slice of cheese! I used to watch my sister make two separate meals, one for her and her husband and one for the kids and I wasn't going to do that! I put the food on her plate and if she doesn't eat some of it she can't have anything else before bed (she always wants a snack before bed.) There have been a few occasions she has eaten her green beans or brocolli in her jammies so she could get that snack. She eats what we all eat or she goes hungry-she won't starve! One way I got her to each sloppy joes was by calling them Sloppy Peter Pan sandwiches (she happened to be watching Peter Pan that night)she tried it and decided she liked it, she ate almost half! I still have to encourage her each time a make them, but any little improvement helps. And back to the old continue introducing them to new foods, sometimes it takes 10-15 times before they will try it, just keep putting it on her plate. Worked for mine with carrots and brocolli. One more thing you may try is not giving her a snack after 3:00, she may be more hungry at dinner and try some things! I can always tell if my girls have had too much snack!

Tell her than until she is elected President of the free world like George Bush Senior she has to what she's served without fussing.
Set the rule one full tablespoons full of everything on the table. (get a measureing spoon and have her help you serve her plate) Let her have as much she likes of the things she likes AFTER everything one the first go round is gone.
After a house full of horses that everything I put in front of them my last two came up picky.
Just last week my VERY VERY picky nine year old asked! for a vegetable dinner... and this is the kid who has called pickels and ketchup vegetables at McDonalds.....

I think it has to do with texture or maybe presentation.

Also you can buy a garnish book. There are a lot of things to do with foods that make them look fun. (and they don't require hours of prep time)

I'm not a fan of forcing kids to eat, they do tend to have phases with what they will and will not eat as well as whether. It sounds like she might be eating enough appropriate food throughout the day, which is why you're not concerned about nutrition...so I would continue to put out what everyone else is having and let her decide whether or not to eat. Eventually, she'll come around. She might get more interested in different foods if you give her the chance to help with meal preparation or making choices about what to prepare (just make sure you're giving her options to choose from and not total freedom).

I myself went through a cereal phase, a stove top stuffing phase and a ramen phase (the big thing was is I had to do it myself, no special meals prepared for me by mom) and turned out just fine...I think the best part of it is that I don't have food "issues" and can generally stop eating when I'm full - a hard skill w/ the feed portions most restaurants have now days. My folks did make me try things, but I didn't have to eat them i.e. if liver was on the menu, I might have to taste it, but I didn't have to choke down a given amount (which frankly would have just caused me to throw up at the table). I think it's more important to set a good example and make sure that when she chooses something that's not on the menu, she doesn't have the option to pick something that isn't good for her (i.e. no ding dongs for dinner). Maybe switch from nuggets to breasts or tenders and do away w/ the pizzas & corndogs for a while.

When my daughter was younger we had this issue. I made pedisure drinks her best friend. That way she still got the vitamins she needed without the arguing. They also make yummy fruit bars!