Imagine a 3Yr Old Picky Eater

Hi,my son is 21 months old and is a very picky eater. I have been giving him baby veggies in order to get him to eat vegetables. I recently started giving him his liquid at the end of the meal in order to keep him hungry enough to try new foods. I did drop snacks to keep him hungry also and stretch out meal times a little to help increase his appetite. He is actually eating all regular food the past few days, so it may help. My son does take a multivitamin too, but I don't think it is enough, so I really want him to be able to eat all different foods. A few different Mom's have told me that their kids(who are older than mine) still eat baby veggies. It is a battle I think more of us are in than we know. Good luck!

Stop all the sweets. In most cases that solves the problem. If not then you may have to try letting him grow something like carrots, lettuce, corn, etc. Sometimes when they grow the veggies from seeds they will enjoy picking them and eating them. You don't need a a big garden, just a small space will do. If this is not an option then maybe you could take him to the farmers market or produce stand and let him pick out some veggies. And really if he is perfectly healthy I wouldn't worry to much about it now. Every year their tastes change. My youngest daughter loved peas up until she was around seven years old and all at once started hating them and has never liked them since and she is now twenty. But she does eat lots of other veggies. I never had a problem with the girls and veggies. I didn't give them any sweets as babies until they learned to like the veggies. Good Luck.

I have one of these, too. She isn't picky about veggies, but she won't eat anything I've prepared. She wants single ingredient foods only. We've been making her take one bite of everything we serve. She doesn't like that. We try to be positive and encouraging and make it a game. Sometimes it works. They say it takes 10 - 12 times of tasting something before you'll develop a taste for it, so we keep making her try things. I'd love to see what advice you get on this. Good luck

Have you tried salad? My oldest will not eat veggies at all with the exception of an occasional greenbean. He does love to dip things in catchup, honey mustard, and the all time favorite ranch dressing. So, one day I offered him a bite of my salad (which was covered in ranch dressing) and he ate a ton. Now, I try to have a small salad at least once or twice a week with dinner. He is 4 and we just started this about 8 or 9 months ago. Like you I give him a vitamin, but I was excited to find some kind of veggie that he would eat.

I make veggie patties that my children eat. What I do is take mixed vegtables (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and squash). Cook them all until they are soft and then puree them in a food processor. Once smooth add salt and pepper to taste, egg and bread crumbs. Mix well until you can form patties that will not fall apart while cooking. To cook you can do one of two things bake in oven or fry on stove. My kids love these. Good Luck!

Hi J.,

I have 2 pieces of good news. The first is that my pediatrician has told me time and time again that the nutrients in fruits are actually better absorbed and more quality than veggies. (Insert angels singing here). So, while eventually, we'll want him eating veggies, do not despair over the vitamin issues, not that you were.

Second, it is a fact it takes over 20 times of seeing something on their plate to consider it "normal" or even eatable. So, keep trying. At least you are doing your part! Great job. Also, that whole "helping cook makes them eat it" thing is a FARSE!! My kids will cook 'til the cows come home, but it very rarely will change a palate. Last thing (don't ever let my kids read this) I think veggies are gross. I'm not alone either. Most adults will only eat them majorly doctored with salt, butter, etc. So, having high hopes that one day, he will be begging for seconds of his asparagus, may be only a fantasy. And that's okay. As long as he has a well balanced diet, gets plenty of exercise, he will be just fine!! Good Luck!!

Patience, patience, patience! Just keep offering them to him. He may need to try something 10 times before he decides that it's ok. I also use tricks like adding a can of V8 to spaghetti sauce or chili. You can puree veggies to disguise them in foods too. He will eventually come around.

I also always require my 5 year old to at least try new things. I don't make him eat a large helping- just one bite. I also don't make him try something that I know he'll hate. lol

I went through this with my now 5 yr old and am currently going through this with my 4 yr old. I know it is frustrating because you want them to eat a variety of things. My husband is a pediatrician and he told me not to worry to much. They will eat when they are hungry and if I had to give him chicken nuggets three times a day then that is what I had to do....the important thing is that they are eating and giving him the multivitamin is important. We have two rules whent it comes to dinner time...first, I only make one meal...that is what is for dinner. If they do not like that, I will make them a PB&J. The second rule is that they have to try something once..If they like it great, if not, then I wait a long time before they have to try it again. As they grow and mature, so do their tastebuds, so something they may not have liked last month, they might like this month. It is not worth the effort fighting with them to eat veges. Camouflaging them in food is great and has worked for us. My daughter who lived on pickles and mustard for awhile is now eating shrimp, edamame, turkey, chili etc. The trying something new does work after awhile and if you lead by example, they soon will clue into your excitement and love of whatever you are eating and eventually will start eating them. I know this was probably not jam packed with info or ideas, but the key is patience and perseverence. Good Luck.

Hi J. - You sound exactly like me!!! My 3 year old daughter will NOT eat veggies either. She does eat fruit though - so I did some research to see what fruits have the same nutritional values as some veggies - for instance - baked potatoes are high in potassium and so are banana's! Watermelon is high in iron like green veggies (spinach, broccoli, etc.) So I give her fresh fruit as snacks and she eats it up! You could try that too. Hope it works for you - I can't get my daughter to eat veggies either. Take care!

My grandkids were picky eaters too. The two younger ones hated the texture of potatoes no matter how they were fixed and wouldn't eat them. as they have grown older they now like french fries and will sometimes eat a regular potatoe. My daughter as a baby ate all pureed veggies but as she grew older she got very picky and wouldn't eat have of what she liked in baby food. we gave her mashed potatoes mixed with mashed carrots and she would eat those. If he will eat mashed potatoes, try a white veggie mashed with it that he can't see a color change, like turnips ot a little cauliflower. A small amount mashed in with the potatoes should be undetectable taste wise. If he will eat sweet potatoes, you can try mashing carrots , butternut squash ot rutabagas with it. The sweet potatoes will mask the flavor of the other veggies. My daughter grew up to hate broccali,cauliflower, squash and green beans. However she will eat them raw. You might try little carrot sticks with a dip such as ranch dressing or what ever you think he would like and see if he will eat anything raw. Vitamins are not enough. Have you tried corn bread? That would give him the benefit of a corn product. How about some of those fancy fruit and vegetable drinks that V8 and some others have comeout with? Some of them have a sweet flavor that he might like. I can't think of a way to hide green veggies. Hopefully as he grows older he will get over some of this. I had to fight with my daughter about her eating and i would put 1 little spoonful of something I knew she didn't like on her plate and make her sit at the table until she took at least 1 decent bite. Then she could leave the rest.

We are in the same boat. My pediatrician is not concerned in the least, partly for the reasons you identified. We encourage good food choices, make the veggies avaialble, and try not to worry beyond that. There's no way i'm making spinach brownies, and I'm not so sure they're all that great anyway! Give youreself a break and enjoy dinner time :)

J., if you haven't already found it, a great book is The Sneaky Chef by Missy Lapine. The local library has it or you can try the bookstores. Some of these recipes are truly hidden veggies and fruits. I have a 5 year old who was picky and still is on some days. She has loved all but 1 of the recipes I made.

You mention building a home business. Not sure if you have one already or not, but check out my website at www.juiceplus.com/+ht49010. Juice Plus is not a juice, but a gummies, chewable or capsule which truly has the nutrients from 17 different fruits and veggies and 2 whole grains. I will swear that this helped and took away my daughter's eczema at age 3. It would make sense as eczema is typically an immune deficiency and good nutrition solves a lot of immune function issues.

I'm not meaning to be a sales person here, but look at the medical journal published research on my website. I would also suggest you try the Juice Plus gummies or chewables for your little one. Our cells have memory, like after Halloween when you say you won't get in to the candy the next day, but you want nothing but candy that day because you have been eating it for several days straight. The same thing with fruits and veggies. If you can get it in the kids, then they truly will want to eat more fruits and veggies. I know it is unbelieveable, but it worked with my daughter. Plus, the children's research study with Juice Plus proves this as well. Just eating Juice Plus increased kids ages 6 - 16 eating of true fruits and veggies. Seriously, check it out from a nutrition standpoint, and if interested in the 'family discount' or a home business that can truly impact the health of others, let me know. My contact info is on my website. Check out the Dr Sears short video clip. He is awesome.

Happy eating of your veggies!

One last trick that Dr Sears suggests... put out a muffin tray with different fruits and veggies in it. Leave it out, put some dressing in the middle of it. Then just tell the child to try these when he is hungry. Don't pressure or say anything about it. Amazingly enough, the child will try things on his own. Set it out for several days. You'll be surprised that he'll eat things you never dreamed. HOpe that helps. :<)

J.,

My son is the same way. When we find something he likes, he eats and eats it everyday then after a week or two we then have to find him a new food only to repeat the same process. I find that when the weather is warmer out, it makes it even harder to get him to eat. I do sell Pampered Chef and at many of my shows many Moms seem to like the Ultimate Mandoline. Not only for everything it has to offer, but the grater on it apparently works great on vegetables. They have an insert that’s a cheese grater, and many people have told me that’s the only way they can get there kids to eat vegetables. I have tried it and its amazing what kind of vegetables my kids will actually try and eat. I’m pretty sure you can use a regular cheese grater and see if it works for you. I just thought I would throw that out there for you to try. Good Luck!!!

My 3 and 6 year old have always ate veggies and fruits. We have friends that asked us what we did/do and our kids just like them. They eat cherry tomato's, lettuce, cucumbers, etc. as a snack. When our friends kids come over we offer them with fun dips and they try them but when they go home they don't eat them (according to their parents). My kids also take Flintstone vitamins, maybe that will help with your child? Good luck finding some "fun foods" that your child will like.

Hi J.,
I'm a mom to 2 boys one 7 year old very picky eater and a 5 month old. Keep doing what you are doing and camoflauge away! I recently got mine to eat sweet potato pancakes (which are awesome by the way!) plus he takes multivitamins as well. He eats 0 veggies unless I sneak them in something else. But my hubby was the consumate picky eater all the way through high school and beyond. He is now in adulthood eating loads of different foods veggies included so take heart, I'm trying to!

I am leery of multi-vitamins now that I've noticed they have aspartame as an ingredient.

My kids love going through the produce aisle at the store. They are allowed to buy any kind of fruit or vegetable they want. We have brought home fruits that I wasn't sure would be worth the investment because they were expensive. And yes, sometimes they got thrown away, but it was cheaper than those small toys at the store. The benefit is that my children love fruits and vegetables.

Our favorites are the new apple slices in a bag, fruit trays, and vegetable trays. We also get frozen fruit and make smoothies a couple times a month.

We shop at Publix because they have a great looking produce area that appeals to the kids.

You might want to try the cookbook from Seinfeld's wife. It is recipes that hide veggies. My friend has it. I have had chocolate chip cookies made with chick peas that were really good. Also, brownies made with carrots and spinach which were good.

Have you tried the cookbook by Jerry Seinfield's wife? She incorporates veggies into almost everything she makes buy pureeing them first.

Goulash recipe: fry ground hamburger and drain / boil funky shapes of pasta / when done combine with V-8 - kids love it.

I use melted cheese or tomato sauce on food and he likes both. I put whole wheat flour, applesauce and pure canned pumpkin in baked goods. He likes cucumbers, watermelon, cooked carrots and bananas so that's what I serve. He also eats fruit in the low sugar jello. I think Dole makes it in the four packs. I let him eat what he wants. The less focus you put on it, the less he'll run in the opposite direction.