Anyone with Picky Picky Eaters

Oh man! My daughter was the EXACT SAME! (except she ate even less then you listed...no veggies at all!). The good news is now my daughter is two and eats a LOT more things. It is just a phase so don't stress! She will eat more soon! One trick I do have for you that worked for me...instead of peanut butter, try flax seed. They are really similar nutritionally. I grind the flax seed (must be ground to get the benefits) in a coffee grinder, and then would put a table spoon in her smoothie! (Since she loved fruit this works and you can't taste the flax at all!).

Good luck!

One of my favorite books is the Sneaky Chef...if you look on Amazon the usually come bundled. Great deal.

However, she's young yet and my son was the same way for a bit. Now at 3 he will try anything at least once. You've got a good grasp on the idea of how to get her to try new stuff, just make sure you are consistent. I give my son fav's plus a new item for 3-4 days and then wait a two weeks and try again for a few days. This way visually he can recognize it and get familiar with it, even if he won't eat it.

Textures are a big deal and a lot of kids refuse peanut butter, sauces and dressings because it lacks a pleasant consistency. So this might be something to consider as well.

Remember, you've got to give her time to adpat to change and new things.

Good luck and have fun!!

*Hi again, what I have done with my very picky son is, I make smoothies... or, he LOVES home-made soups... in which I MINCE up everything REALLY small... and I find he WILL eat it no matter what I put in it. THEN I give him a straw to "eat" his soup and he finds it a lot "funner" to eat. THEN, I find that my son tends to eat more and better, if we eat outside on the patio, for some reason. AND, I have to portion things out on his plate in very small "portions" or globs on his plate... if too much is there or too many things on his plate... he won't eat. He finds it overwhelming. OR, my son will tend to eat more and be more adventurous IF I make shish-kebob type things... or stick anything on a skewer, along with a sauce for dipping.
-then again, curiosity about trying 'new' foods or anything 'new', to me, is a personality thing. My daughter is a lot more adventurous about foods, but my son is not. He will stick his tongue out (like it is an antennae, and then just taste the food with the very tip... and then he makes a face and will REFUSE to even put it in his mouth, or he will poke the food around on his plate and that's it). But even if he refuses something, I don't flinch and I do feed him other things. I've noticed that as he has gotten 'older' his tastes are changing... and evolving and he is eating more things.... though not as various as his sister. Which is no big deal... because he is very healthy and growing/developing fine.

She seems to eat fine to me.

I would NOT make her eat new/different things. Just hang back about it. BECAUSE... if forced, a child will get to HATE meal times. And to me, that is the worse.
In time she will eat other things.
You do not have to slave in the kitchen to make her gourmet meals. ANd she already eats fine, and varied.

The thing is, all kids go through food phases. Its normal and can't be avoided. BUT, if it is handled with stern forcing and punishment and emotional anguish... then it will NOT solve it. AND then the child will get food hang-ups and hate eating with the family, or you. Because there will be a constant negative association.

When I was a child, my Mom would cook liver. HER food that she liked. NOT me. I HATED IT PASSIONATELY. As most kids do. BUT then, if I did not eat, I got punished. It is not fair. Why should i have to eat liver? My Mom likes it, not me. A child should NOT HAVE TO like what their Parents like, and visa versa. I got to resent some dinners/meal times, because I felt like my Mom was cooking things just so I could get punished, and knowing that I would not like it. So why play games with food? Why force it? It is not fair. Even as an adult now... I remember this childhood meal-time "war" and it colors a little of my attitude that I had toward my Mom as a child. And it was not warm and fuzzy thoughts.
Food and eating, should NOT be a "battle."

I don't know why, we feel we have to make kids eat what they are telling us they don't like. IN ADULTS...there are some real picky eaters too. Do we force them to eat? No.

But eating evolves. It changes throughout life. So, at this point in time... for a baby/toddler this age... their "taste buds" are not even FULLY developed yet. Thus, their likes/dislikes. So, they taste things differently than us and have preferences. Its okay. No biggie.

When you do offer things, don't make a big deal of it or push it. Make meal time fun... and non-intimidating and without stress. Would you want her to understand what meal-time is... or that it is like being in punishment? ie: mealtime should be about eating with family, talking, having fun, catching up with the day, being with your parents etc. NOT about "how many pieces of food did you eat?" or a quota of what food a child did/or did not eat.

Mostly, a child should learn that food is food and fun, and that when they are full, its okay. That food is NOT about "control." Otherwise, when they get older, they will think that food is a way to "control" their weight, & their lives, & they will eat for emotional reasons, and not for normal reasons.

I think your daughter is perfectly fine. She, at that age, eats WAY MORE than my son, who is pickier than your daughter. So, be happy about her intake. She seems normal.

I have found, that the more I 'force' foods on my picky son, or ANY child for that matter, the MORE THEY WILL NOT EAT. Period. You cannot make a child eat. But, you can expose them to other foods. Over Time. But, exposing them to foods does not mean they HAVE TO eat it.

Keep in mind as well, that a "serving size" for a child, is in terms of teaspoons or tablespoons. That's it. Not "adult" portions. IN fact, if there is TOO much on a child's plate, many times they will not touch it, because it is simply too overwhelming and TOO much. A child will eat until they are full... not until the ENTIRE plate is eaten up.

Jerry Seinfeld's wife has a book, about how to get kids to eat all sorts of things, by pureeing it into the foods. Its a good cookbook. Try it.

All the best,
Susan

She is 17 months old -- chill out !!!! My picky eater is now 21 (that's years!) and is still a picky eater, a healthy picky eater. It is more an adult thing to want a variety of foods, we get bored with the same old things, but kids don't care about a variety and prefer the same old things. Sounds like what she does eat is healthy and includes all four food groups. Fix her healthy favorites and don't get hung up on forcing "your" eating preferences on her. Continue to offer her new foods by putting a small taste on her plate and letting her choose, in her own time, if she wants to eat it. Don't make a big deal of it either way -- don't push it and don't punish if it's ignored. Eventually she will expand what she eats. Please don't make what she eats a big issue. There will be a lot bigger issues to get upset over than whether or not she eats peanut butter, save your energy for the important battles :)

Check out weelicious.com for some meal ideas!

Hi S. -

When my daughter was little and I was introducing new foods to her I read some great advice that helped me relax a lot about the process. This might have come from Penelope Leach or William Sears. It said that a new food might not necessarily be accepted by your toddler the first time it's offered; just keep offering it from time to time and eventually she might give it a try. She also might not, but as parents our job is to offer the food. We can't always make them eat it though.

In my observation, it's all a texture game. My daughter, a great eater, wouldn't eat some things (and still won't) if they're raw, or even cooked, but she loves soup. If I offered her the very same vegetables cooked in soup she'd eat them like crazy and want more. Go figure.

The first time I offered her peas, she wouldn't have anything to do with them, other than roll them around. Well, they probably do look like toys to a young toddler. The next day or so, she was crawling around the kitchen while I was cooking. She got quiet under the table so I investigated. There she was, working something in her mouth. It was a dried-up pea! I had thought my floor was completely clean, but she found one. I was tempted to introduce new foods from then on by tossing them on the floor under the kitchen table and letting her find them on her own (joking).

By the way, I was pretty impressed by the list of foods your daughter is eating. That is not a picky eater! 17 months is a very new little person in the world & they don't need to be eating a huge variety yet. I think you can relax and know that you are being a good mother. Just make sure you always give her something she will eat and don't push her to eat things she doesn't want. You can always put them away & refrigerate them for another try tomorrow.

A final note - my daughter's pediatrician advised against peanut butter until age 2. I read that warning in lots of places, even older, one source said 3. Introducing certain foods too early can set up allergic reactions. I would wait on that food until she's older. I know you didn't ask about that issue, but we have a cousin who is highly allergic to peanuts so that's always on my mind.

All the best to you & your family,
Colleen

My son is the same! He will not combine his foods. When people mention those sneaky recipes... they don't work for us because my son is a one item at a time eater! He WILL eat a few combined foods... mac and cheese, spaghetti-o's, and he is now starting to take a bite of pizza. (He is almost 2 1/2) He is the oldest child I know that still eats baby food because he loves the spring vegetables and pasta by Earth's Best and green beans and rice by Gerber. This is the only way to get him to eat green beans or spinach. He used to eat cooked green beans but he has decided now that he doesn't like them. I am the same as you - I will not force a food but if he hasn't tried it, I am now telling him he has to try it before he can have the food he wants. Just a lick is a mini success. I think children figure they like things better when hungry. I would never give him a new food after he has already eaten enough to not be hungry. Souplantation is awesome because he gets to fill his plate with everything and tries all of it. They say they have to try things up to 10 times before they like it. Also, cooking really helped him - if he helps me cook it, he'll eat it. All our normal food we prepare at the table so he can eat it separately. Tacos... tortillas, bowl of meat, avacado, lettuce, cheese, salsa... he eats it all just not together! Just some ideas for you - Good luck!

just keep plugging along and don't always cave into giving her just the favorites. it can take up to 10-15 tries to get a child to try and like something new, this includes visuals of the foods. my son was (and is) very picky. to compromise, i give him what i know he will eat for breakfast, half of his lunch is things he will eat and the other things that he hasn't (or refused), and dinner is nothing that he eaten before. he is two and a half, and i have been doing this for a year now. to reassure you, he has not dropped weight or slowed in his growth pattern at all, like i was concerned would happen. dinner really sucked at first because he didn't want to eat anything. but after a couple of nights, he got it that this was all there was and he began to eat. this was pretty rough for me because my oldest, who just turned seven, will eat ANYTHING put in front of her. just make sure that your daughter is really hungry around dinner time and do not cave. my son is acutally at the point where he eats 80% of what we do. trust me, the longer you cater to her the longer it will take to break the habit. good luck. and if she doesn't eat, DO NOT GIVE HER A SNACK LATER. she will learn to hold out for the foods she knows (made that mistake myself). just save and reheat what was for dinner. i promise, it works.

My youngest (now 11) was a super picky eater, too. We were stuck until he was in kindergarten. In our house, once you're in kindergarten, you eat what everyone else eats and you must try new foods. If you don't like it, too bad. You either eat it or go hungry. I refuse to be a short order cook, although I make sure every meal has at least 1, sometimes 2 foods everyone likes.

Six years later, I can say my son is still a picky eater, but he's learned to try new foods and suck it up when he doesn't like what's served. Plus, I always get complimented by his friends' mothers on what a NON-PICKY eater he is!

If only they knew... <wink>

So, don't sweat it now. Keep trying. When your picky eater is old enough, it will be easier to get them to try new things.

Hi! My son is super-picky, too, tho he was a good eater as toddler and only got picky after age 3. Anyway, keep trying, try not to get into any power struggles, always offer her something she likes but keep offering things that are new. DO NOT become a short-order cook and prep separate meals for her or you'll be stuck doing this forever. I write about healthy food for Examiner.com (as the San Diego Healthy Food Examiner) and addressed this challenge in a few posts. Check them out (you'll need to cut n paste these URLs into your browser):
1. Getting a picky eater to try new stuff:
http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

2. Dr. Sears' advice for raising a grazer:
http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

3.more ways to get kids eating healthy:
http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

4. http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

Also, here's a crazy idea I've never tried but a friend did. She got her picky girl to eat green beans for the 1st time by saying, "look! They're shaped just like French fries!" then letting her dip into ketchup. It worked!

good luck! M..

HI S.,

Your daughter actually eats well, for a 17-month old! My very favorite book is "Child of Mine" by Ellyn Satler (or Satter, I forget which) Look it up on Amazon, or your library might have a copy, too. It seriously took the worry out of feeding my child.

She has lots of suggestions for how to introduce new foods to kids. Since your child seems put off by the idea of new food on her plate, just put it in a different bowl/plate so she can see it. I think that little kids need to see a new food something like 17 times before they actually eat it! So don't worry that she's taking her time. It sounds as if she's just slow to warm up to new stuff. Nothing wrong with that; it's just her personality.

Start with one new/unfamiliar food at a time, served with other stuff she likes, and do offer her whatever you are eating. When my kid was little, my goal was to get him eating whatever we were having, so as not to make a second meal for him. No one likes to be a short-order cook, and the reality of toddlers is that some days/meals they eat, and some they don't.

Your job is to offer her a range of healthy, appropriate food, and hers is to eat (or smush, or play with or ignore...) it. :-)

Sounds to me like you're doing your job really well. Relax, keep offering her new stuff (slowly and repeating choices) and she'll catch on.

Good luck!
C.

Don't panic. Sometimes there is a genetic reason for children not liking certain foods, especially in the cabbage family. You may have had a test in a high school biology class to see if you were a "taster" or "nontaster" for a chemical on a piece of paper? Tasters are very sensitive to the chemical on the paper and it is disgusting. I had a friend whose daughter came to this country with the family as a four year old. In the "old country" their food supply was very seasonal and they were overwhelmed by the variety of food in the USA. The daughter would only eat bananas, bread, hot dogs, and cream of wheat made with milk. She was like that for a couple of years. The doctor said not to worry, she was healthy gaining weight and just to give her a vitamin supplement. Eventually she matured into a healthy and active young adult. She was a cheer leader, A student and just graduated from college. I had picky eaters too. It turned out one of them had food allergies and did not like the foods that made hims sick. So offer the new foods and EVENTUALLY she will try new foods, ESPECIALLY when she starts preschool or kindergarten and sees other children eating new foods. Sometimes peer pressure can be a GOOD thing. Good luck and don't sweat it. If your doctor thinks she needs vitamins to make sure she is getting all her nutrients, then that's a small price to pay. Please do not make the dinner table a battlefield, because everyone loses at that game.

I'm sure I'll get evil thoughts for this, but hunger does wonders to broaden a child's palate.
People are constantly feeding their children snacks and are surprised when their children are picky eaters.
Stop all the processed food focus on fresh and/or lightly prepared foods.
They WILL eat when they're hungry.
BTW, I know this because I am guilty of the ever-present 'snack cart'. When it's gone and meals are planned, the issues disappear.
Eat what your kids are eating.
good luck

Try not to sneak veggies into her food. It's important for her to love them. This is a time of extreme independence when kids want to make their own choices and with 3 meals a day it can get very frustrating.
Get her involved. Take her shopping at let her pick out a veggie she wants to try. Make something cool with it. My son and I make "super juice" with kale in the blender and it's one of his favorites. Let her help you cook. Even if it's just pushing a button or learning to peel a banana. These small steps of getting her involved will offer her more choices It worked wonders with our son.- www.weelicious.com

try putting sauces on things and honey or agave..my son has been into blueberry mini waffles from Wholefoods w/ honey on top and butter