Eating Problems

I agree. Picky eaters are created not born. He has gotten his way thus far and will continue to try to get his way unless you take control. Make a simple meal. Give him his plate, let him throw his tantrum which you will totally ignore. Clean up after dinner and continue with the evening. If he later says he is hungry or wants fries tell him this is what is for dinner. DOn't let him win the battle.

i agree with the other poster...offer only 1 meal and if he won't eat it there is no altrnative. Your kitchen is not a restruant to cater to each person desired meal day in and out.

If those are really the ONLY foods he is eating - you also need to take him in to his doctor and make sure he's ok. You never know if something like his iron is low or what not.

My son is also 4. He is the same way. He will only eat chicken nuggets. That is all he ever wants. When we make meat for dinner i have to lie to him and tell him it is chicken in order for him to eat it. Once in a while i can get him to eat mac and cheese, or hot dogs, ham and pepperoni sandwiches are his favorite. I don't know why he loves chicken nuggets so much, but you may just have to lie to him so maybe he will eat.

Your son is getting no vitamins eating like that. He's old enough to understand if you tell him he has to eat something good for him before he can have chips, gogurt or french fries. Start with a veggie that tasty AND good for him. Mix a little brown sugar in the some yams. Tell him he has to eat x number of bites before he can have anything else. If he doesn't, then he doesn't eat. He won't starve. He'll eventually get the idea, and he'll eat. Kids won't starve themselves. Good luck. I have a couple of picky eaters too, but they do eat some veggies so it's all good in the end.

I recommend reading the book "Child of Mine - Feeding your Child with Love and Good Sense" by Ellen Satterly

Hi A.. My son is also 4 and I have the same problem. It's horrible, and frustrating and makes me want to cry some days (like today), so I definitely understand where you're coming from. I was at my girlfriends house today and her 3 kids sat down for lunch and ate a hearty bowl of chicken noodle soup. no one complained or said i don't like carrots, or anything. They all just happily ate it up. I was so jealous and felt like a horrible mother. How did I mess this up so bad. I don't have any great advice for you...we're still trying to work at this. I've done the reward charts and everything, but it's not a great motivator for my son...I mean I did get him to try a few things, but it's never without a battle. ANYWAY, you're not alone, but we definitely have to work this out and take charge in teh food area. I want my son to be healthy (sigh)...I know you want the same. THanks for posting your question...the responses are helping me too!

You could add small quantities other food by the side of the chips and insist that he eats some. Don't get angry, just tell him he needs to eat that to grow healthy. If he likes it, he can have all, and if he does not like eat, he only needs to eat half of it.

He will be happy knowing he has pleased you by eating half of his new food. He will be comforted you are paying attention to him by acknowledging his tastes. Trying new foods he will surely find other things he likes.

Why don't you start by serving homemade dips with his fries to introduce him to new flavors? Something like hummus is very nourishing, you could use cream cheese or yogurt based dips, tomato based salsa and others.

Ah, don't give him treats between meals. He won't be hungry at mealtimes and he would not eat proper food.

First, please do not get offended by what I have to say, I just tell it like it is. I have two daughters, ages 11 & 4 and I have never has a problem with them throwing tantrums to get what they want. Yes, they tried, once! I refused to let it happen & put my foot down right way. I put whatever I make for dinner in front of them & they know that that is waht they are getting & there are no exceptions. Don't get me wrong, I do not make anything with weird seasonings or sauces, but they both have become accustomed to eating anything from steak to macaroni. The solution to your problem is you. You can not let him get way with telling you what he wants to eat, you must tell him what he is going to eat, whether he likes it or not. By you giving in to him & giving him what he wants, he knows he can get away with it & he will keep doing it over & over. It may be hard in the beginning, but the end result will be rewarding. Hang in there, good comes out of everything.

My parents had this problem with my brother and what they did was make one dinner. If he didn't like it, he went to be hungry...he learned quickly. I also had that problem with my daughter, she only wants rice and pork cutlets for dinner. She went to be hungry once, it never happened again. I read a book that says you have to tackle a picky eater head on, you offer them one meal at each meal time, if they don't like it, thats their problem. I know its hard but you don't need this on top of a new baby. Good luck!

Hi A.,
I have news for you. Your son is eating like a normal boy. By the time your second child is born your going to see leaps and bounds with your picky eater. I had the same trouble and any good pediatrician will tell you that this too will pass and your son will get bored of the same ole same ole and start experiementing with new foods when he is ready to. Until then do not force or stress yourself over this..I never ate anything as a child and now I would just love to lose about 30lbs..so this is really not a problem for your son...does he like spagetti sauce? If he does then that is great. Spagetti sauce is a vegetable..you can ever puree peas and mix it in with the sauce...Sometimes a mom just has to get creative. Let me know how things go....Have a great day.

Have you try having your son eat around other children? My son was a picky eater too. Try to give him cheerios and bananas in the morning but in some portions. Also try to find out what he likes to eat and give it in small portions for now and talk to your doctor. If he not eating try giving him shakes to drink so he does not go hungry.

Write me back to let me know if how everything goes.

I have shildren who only eat certain things and at first i did worry about it but as it was told to me they will grow out of it. When they get to school and buy the school lunch their peers will incourage them to eat new things. As far as home i have put new items on the table as well as some of what they like. I try to do this atleast once a week maybe even more. The biggest thing is to have them sit down as a family and eat. The other tastes for new foods will come along.

A.,

My son went through that, eating only cereal, yogurt, crackers and cheese. I hope you discuss the problem with his doctor and give him vitamin supplements.

Understand that he will fight you because he is so used to having it his way.

You have to set the rules, then stick to them. Even tell him ahead of time the changes that are going to take place. Some kids don't like changes in their habits without notice. You could try to make it fun if you are the creative type. If he likes charts with stars or stickers maybe you could go that route. I would offer a dessert he liked if he ate a decent amount of my food. I never made him clean his plate.

Another suggestion is to limit one meal of the day to add a new food. I used dinner time because breakfast is too important and if he skipped lunch he would simply hold off until snack time or dinner. With dinnertime, there was a consequence of going to bed hungry if he didn't eat.

I would put food regular food in front of him and had a serving of something he liked on the table out of his reach. I would then tell him that he must eat a bite of "my" food (which is healthy and reasonably attractive to a child), then he could get a bite of "his" food.

Of course he threw a fit about it, but I calmly insisted he could have his food, all he had to do was take a bite of "my" food first. I would even feed him to encourage a bite.

I have sent my son to time out and his room until he could join us again without screaming. I even let him go to bed without eating anything at all, just water. Your son will not starve to death and when he realizes you are not giving in, he will give in and try a bite.

When he does take a bite, say "yeah! Good boy!, clap your hands and let him know you are very proud of him for trying a new food. Even if he doesn't eat much, a little is a start and before you know it, he should be eating more of a variety.

As he gets used to eating a bite, then have him eat three bites of good food to one of his foods, then "eat all of (this) then you can have (that)".

BTW, ANYTHING YOU TRY--YOU MUST STICK TO IT FOR IT TO BECOME A HABIT 27 DAYS!

I don't know if it was my insistence or that he just outgrew it, but he is 5 now and eats most of every thing. I now have him try at least one bite of each thing I put on his plate and he eventually starts to like it.

Good luck

K.

He will out grow that. my daughter now 17 when she was younger all she ate was white rice and corn and water, as long as he eats its ok. oh maybe try to introduce him to other foods little by little maybe some vegetables you know kids like colors make it a fun thing to eat. Hope this helps

Email Anne at ____@____.com she had a child just like that...