Picky Eater - Monona,IA

It has been a power play with him now... you can tell because he is having a fit when you and his siblings eat it too, it isn't just his not liking it. I would back down as long as he eats his veggies but if he doesn't eat them either then you need something to give him the needed nutrition. If he eats blueberry muffins and pancakes, try banana bread but don't call it that, call it sweet bread. Once the struggle stops he may be more willing to try them on his own.. over at friends but not in front of you right away.

Trust him. There is no doubt a reason why he avoids fruit--perhaps a high yeast content in his intestines which would be even more unbalanced with the addition of fruit. Make it a non-issue for yourself, pay no attention to whether he's eating fruit or not, and when he's ready, he will eat some.

My 5 year old son also doesn't eat fruit but won't eat veggies either. Thanks for asking this questions as I will use some of the suggestions you have gotten. I have pretty much given up getting him to eat fruits and veggies. Thank your lucky stars if your son will eat veggies. I make smoothies for my son with frozen strawberries and blueberries, a fresh banana and some apple juice. He will drink these. if i change the recipe too much he won't drink it so i stay pretty consistant with what goes in it although i do occasionally sneak in a few bites of other fruits. We also have the same issue with him complaining when we eat fruit near him. His sisters like to tease him chasing him with fruit or veggies which then gets them a timeout. I also give all my kids gummy vitamins and my son gets either a fiber gummy or fiber in water.

Good luck!

I was told not to force it. Put the food out there, but don't make a big deal about it. Like others have said its a power struggle, he wants control & attention. I tried this with my daughter and after about 6 months she is finally starting to eat a few vegetables. Just be sure there isn't any emotion behind it, don't look dissapointed or anything - just say, "ok, you don't have to eat it." If you give him vitamins or even juice he's probably getting what he needs each day.

Good Luck!

Does he eat vegetables? If so, I wouldn't stress, I'd just make sure that he gets his "5 a day" in vegetables.
My kids love popsicles, so I puree fruit and freeze it in popsicle molds. Strawberries, raspberries, bananas, etc. all work great, although make sure you taste the fruit before you freeze it so you can add sugar if needed.
There's also a cook book called "The Sneaky Chef" ( I believe that's the name) that's full of recipes that hide veggies/fruit in lots of kid friendly foods.

I wouldn't stress over it. There are very few things kids have control over, and 1 of them is food. I think the harden was a great idea! At some point he may come around and even if he doesn't you have great organic fruit for the rest of the family. I would continue to offer it to him and at some point he may come around. In the meantime, I wouldn't go out of your way to offer him something different, but don't make a big deal out of the fact that he doesn't want it. Good luck!

I have used Jessica Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious for veggie cover up. I wonder if some of those recipes could be adapted for fruit. . .
Also, could be a phase and a way for him to express independence and his power over a situation (I only offer that because of the comment about his reaction to the family eating fruit). I border on encouraging you to continue to offer the fruit, but when he says no. ok, try it again next time. Kids do go through phases and by downplaying his reaction it could keep the duration of this phase to a minimum.

sounds like your son is getting a whole lot of attention with the fruit deal...let it be for awhile-the more you make an issue out of it-he does to.kids are alot smarter than we give them credit for.

Children go thru all sorts of phases and forcing him to eat a particular food will only make it worse. If your child is healthy, active and happy I wouldn't worry too much about it. Give it a break for a little while and then start introducing it again in small portions. If he makes a fuse when you are eating it, that in my eyes would be most in appropriate and would deserve discipline.

How about Fruit smoothies? Fruit, ice, maybe some yougurt and blend it up. Strawberry and banana are among our favorites. I was a super picky eater as a kid and lived on PBJ and chicken noodle soup forever and I am a healthy adult, so don't stress out about it, just press on and know that at some point this will change. No fruit in a diet won't ruin anyone's health, especially if that is the only food he won't eat. Both my girls are not picky eaters and LOVE fruit and veggies. I don't know how I got so lucky or how my Mom survived me, but we all got through it.

Good luck and just be patient. One thing you can count on in parenting is change!

I have 2 solutions for you...
#1. I also have a picky eater. An R.D. told me to just offer the food to him and if he says he doesn't want to eat it, then just say in a very even voice, "That's OK. You don't have to eat it." If he keeps whining about it, then say it again in an even voice, "That's OK. You don't have to eat it.". Keep doing the same thing. Don't show any emotion behind your voice. They are looking for a power struggle and if you don't give it to him, then they will give up. One day, when the power struggle is gone, they will ultimately try the food.

#2. Juice Plus has a gummy supplement that has 15 different fruits and vegetables condensed into a gummy. I give my kids these gummies every day and I feel confident that if they don't eat their fruits and veggies, that they are getting the benefits of the antioxidants and vitamins/minerals from the gummies. If you want more information about Juice Plus gummies for kids, let me know.

My son has a similar issue, and so did I as a kid. For us I think it was a texture and smell problem. It was just intolerable. Forcing the issue just makes it worse--then the revulsion is accompanied with anxiety and helplessness. Everything I've read makes me think you just can't force a kid to eat certain foods. It becomes a power struggle, and is stressful for everyone. Try to get the nutrients he needs in him in other ways, and keep the multi-vitamins around (my kid won't even eat fruit-flavored ones. We use chocolate-flavored). I grew out of it. My son has started to eat grapes. Good luck.

My 10 year old won't eat fruit -- lots of food issues here. Anyway, I make fruit smoothies every day, and he loves them. Here's the recipe: Add about 3 inches of ice to your blender. Put in half a chunk of tofu, save the other half for the next day. Add frozen fruit (mango is the best, and we also add things like pineapple, strawberries, peaches, and/or strawberries), until there is still at least 2 inches at the top of the blender. Add juice (we use V8 Fusion, which is 100% juice and made with veggies and fruit) and blend.

Oh, and remember, you are not alone. Also, you are not a bad mother! (I beat myself up about my son's food issues all the time.)

If fruit is the only food category that he is picky about then I suggest removing all the power struggle out of it. Just offer a wide variety of fruit in a lot of different forms (fruit smoothies, berries with cream and a teeny bit of sugar, dried fruit, fresh fruits alone or in combos, chocolate dipped fruit, pureed fruit popsicles, fruit kabobs drizzled with a little sauce, fruit in fun shapes...ex. cut slabs of cantaloupe or watermelon with little cookie cutters). BUT do not insist that he eat it. After a year of no pressure to try anything, then introduce a challenge at a meal. Make a chart where he will try 1 bite of 2 new foods 3 times each during the week.

If he has lots of other food issues at this age (like my son who has sensory issues), then you might want to consider removing the power struggle for a while also and then seeking some help/advice from an occupational therapist.