My 2 Year Old Is a Very Picky Eater

C.
Bless you for having two boys close in age.
Both my kids are 19 and 14. My 19 yr old was the picky eater. But i worked full time so I what I made for dinner is what everyone ate. Meat, potatoes or pasta, fruit and vegetable. They chose what they wanted on their plate and that's what they ate. If they were done, great. If my daugher didn't eat - the pediatrician said - they will never get hungry because they have to give in and eat. I also agree to try new foods when they are first getting a taste of adult foods. Also know that their taste buds will change as they get older. My son (14) hated anything with BBQ - now everything is BBQ.

Just wondering if you tried putting him in his highchair and just putting a variety of foods in front of him? Telling him his a big boy and letting him feed himself. It will be messy, but I always feed my son like this and he always enjoyed trying new foods that way. Best of luck!

My 3-year-old daughter is also a very picky eater. I think some of that is due to sensory processing issues she has (oral and tactile defensiveness). One approach that I have heard of in helping picky eaters is called the S.O.S. feeding approach. I just found out that Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge offers this (see this link: http://www.advocatehealth.com/luth/news/view?articleID=48) I'd like to look into this for our daughter. Maybe it's an option for you, too. Another good place you could look into is Arlington Pediatric Therapy in Arlington Heights (http://www.aptmsltd.com/index.htm). I take my daughter there for Occupational Therapy for her sensory problems. Good luck!

C.-

I have two pretty close together so I know mealtimes can be stressful. Here are some things we do, I'm not sure if they will work for you, but who knows right?

1) we do smoothies but add ground flax and wheat germ. We use whole milk yogurt in them also to up the caloric and fat intake (fat is important at this age for brain development) .

2) We give lots of choices. It is kind of a pain, but eventually she picks something.

3) Foods we have had luck with... sliced or cubed avocado, beans (black, pinto, kidney), apple slices with almond butter, we add a granola to her yogurt, and also add flax seed and wheat germ to her yogurt. Other off the beaten path foods that worked were extra firm tofu cut in cubes( plain or sometimes with a little soy sauce), avocado rolls, edemame, sweet potato fries.

4) We do meals in Stages- I don't wait for the whole meal to be done. I also try to put the food she is least likely to eat on her plate first (meats for us). Also we don't abide by breakfast foods for breakfast or dinner for dinner... eggs or yogurt is a popular dinner with us and she has had a burrito or tacos for breakfast many times!

5) whenever it is safe we let her help. Sometime we just give her a bowl and some of the ingredients to play with while I cook.

I hope any of these help a little. Also remember to look at the eating on a whole. Some days are good and some days aren't, but over all they will get the food that they need if you provide it to them :)

Good luck and email me with any questions you might have.

To just add to the other responses, I would also have him drink Pediasure as a supplement (as long as it doesn't cause an allergic reaction). When the kids don't eat enough, I have them drink it.

Hey C.!

Kids are actually great self regulators. With your history of allergies I wouldn't be surprised if your oldest has some intolerances to certain foods which is why he instinctually avoids them. Try beans and tofu which are close to vegetables and have good protein. Always serve him proteins and carbs eventually he might try them/enjoy them. But don't break your neck over it. It's not worth fighting over. If he's not complaining of hunger then I would relax. It's annoying and difficult, I totally get that. But as long as he's just skinny not malnourished then I think you're good. It's a good idea to run it by the Pediatrician though. (Who will say "give him a variety of foods even ones he doesn't like. It sometimes takes 14 tries before they will eat something".) Also make sure you all eat together as often as possible and give him the same food you eat. Children model what they see Mom & Dad doing.

I agree with one of the previous responses. Both my kids (11 and 7) are picky eaters. I do believe that the 7 year old would branch out more if she didn't see her older sister refuse foods. They pick their breakfast & lunch (as long as they have 1 protein and 1 fruit/vege - they end up eating a lot of yogurt and bologna)but have to eat what I serve for dinner. If they don't - nothing else until breakfast the next day. Sometimes, they go to bed hungry - most nights they eat a few bites. It has gotten a little better as they have gotten older - it is amazing what peers can do. They see other kids eating and don't want to appear "picky". As an added complication, my older daughter is gluten intolerant. I think it is even more important to teach her to find foods that she CAN eat since her diet is more restrictive. Good luck

Hi,C.. As a mother of three picky eaters, let me tell you that you are in the majority, not the minority with a picky eater. My doctor told me to avoid battles over food by letting my children choose what they wanted to eat at breakfast and/or lunch, but that dinner time was my choice and they could eat it or leave it. She assured me that they would not starve. The other thing I have realized over the years is that young children do not necessarily go by the breakfast, lunch and dinner rule of thumb that we adults stick to so arduously. They want to eat when they are hungry and when they aren't, there is no making them eat! Be very glad that your child likes fruit and vegetables. My son, at age 2-about 7, would only eat chicken nuggets and fries or chips. At 9, he still eats no veggies, but he loves fruit and is branching out into all different kinds of foods. He also takes Shaklee's children's vitamins. I knew that he would not leave for college not liking pizza and cheeseburgers, and I was right. Your child will come around, in the meantime, consider vitamins and use lot's of patience. Whether to eat or not is the one thing a 2 year old can control in their life.

Let it go. Most of what he doesn't like to eat isn't essential anyway. You might try soy milk, just half a cup or so at first. Then you'll know he's getting protein. And consider yogurt - it's milk protein, but many people can eat yogurt even if they can't tolerate any other milk products, and it's good for you, comes in lots of flavors, can be mixed with water to drink, etc. Just try small quantities. Don't beg him to eat anything, don't make a big issue out of it, and avoid battles. They just stress everyone out and are not necessary. My kids were all small and though not picky they were not big eaters, but they are all growing up into fine healthy young women.

how about making a smoothy? You can sneak anything in there. My children love that as a snack and its just yogurt and fruit- I have been known to sneak a little leftover in there- they have never tasted it.

my doc says to look how much they eat in a week not day by day. now that i do that i feel better. also give options. i put a yogurt, applesauce and a jello and ask my son, also just turned 2 to choose one. he likes that it is his idea. i do it with cereal too. get salad dressing out, bbq, a1, anything that could be fun to dip into. if you can handle the mess, let him help you cook. mix things, pasta with sauce. i hate it but my husband feeds our son on the go sometimes. while he's playing on the floor with cars, my husband will walk by and pop a slice of hotdog in his mouth. he's usually too busy playing to freak out about eating. hopefully this will help you out.

You could make a rule like we did, that you have to try everything at the table before you can be excused. It works.

S.

C.,
Don't worry so much about what he is not eating. Sounds like he has a very heatlhy diet consisting mainly of fruits and veggies. Have you tried making healthy breads, such as zucchini, carrott or banana?? If you are worried about protein, you really do not need meat or poultry to get it. If you are interested in whole food supplementation or a soy based meal replacement drink, please check out the website below. Many families have wonderful results, especially in the areas of allergies. Let me know if I can be of help.
N.-Nutrition Naturally
www.jp4ahealthieryou.com

same w/my little boy but he's 2.5 yrs now and starting to get better. He also has allergies but to dairy soy and egg, and nuts. oh, and potatoe. but slowly we've realized he can tolerate NO FAT yogurt. The fat kind is no good, big reaction. We do rice milk. I just find a few things i know he'll eat and give him other things each day.... i notice if i say "oh try that" he won't. we don't say a nything except sometimes I'll say "don't eat it. just lick it" and he'll end up eating it. I think its a phase. We do use vitamins, not sure they really do anything though!

My son is low on the charts too. The one thing I was told that reminds me not to worry is that if your boy is at the 10th percentile, that means that he is heavier than 10% of HEALTHY boys. Just because he's low doesn't mean he's "sick" or "unhealthy" - he's still on the chart!

Keep following his cues and make sure to offer him a variety of foods. You can also try to blend foods into ones he likes so that he doesn't know that you're trying to force a new food on him. Go with the flow.

Let it go for now!!! He's eating fruits and veggies which is most important, so that is great. My daughter has always been a super picky eater also and is also in the 15% for her age/weight profile. We argue with her constantly to eat more. I feel like she's starving herself - I thought I had the world's youngest anerexic for a while!!! I also had the only 2 year old that would eat asperagus over a pb&j!!!! As long as your son is growing and not loosing weight, I wouldn't worry too much. He will eat when he is hungry. Always give him a variety of food on his plate - you never know when he will decide to try something new and like it. If he tries to walk away from what's on his plate tell him that he needs to at least try one bite of something new. Chances are that he will find something new, and then that will be the only thing that he will be interested in for a while, till something else comes along and grabs his taste-buds attention!!! It is a phaze and most kids are pretty picky eaters in one way or another. So Relax and don't worry! Your son will be fine!

Hi C.,

Have you had the 2year old checked for allergies also? He sounds alot like my son did at his age. My son would not even sit with us at dinner time. When he did he would eat his veggies and drink his milk. He drank alot of milk. At 6 years old he would complain after drinking his milk that his stomach hurt, and I told him he drank too fast. Well, it turns out he is allergic to milk, eggs, dogs, cats, peanuts and everything outdoors. It is extremely hard to find anything for him to eat but we switched to rice and soy milk and just doing that he started to be hungry. He tries more foods, even meat, and he is gaining weight. He is now almost 8 yrs. old and finally weighs 48 pounds. (my 5yr old weight is 50lbs) Don't get discouraged that he doesn't eat alot, some kids just aren't interested in food until later in life. It is good if he doesn't need food to comfort himself. As long as he is healthy and eats something everyday your O.K. Good luck!