Dealing with a picky eater.

[Sinclair]

My son is about to be two in April, he used to be my little fruit and veggies baby, now he eats like his father. What he wants, or he won't eat at all. I'm at my wit's end with it. We had stuffed peppers made up like cheesesteaks. Won't touch it, so offered an apple and plum, he played with them mostly, tried biting into the apple. ( if I take and cut up the apple into slices for him, he won't eat it. ) only way I get fruits into him if from a frozen fruit pop.

I want nothing more than my little one to eat more balanced I suppose than like his dad. Please, tell me this is a phase or some sorts. :/

 

[Amy1123]

My son is 2 1/2 and he's the same way. I've stopped worrying, I offer him good choices every day and let him eat what and how much he wants. I've stopped with the power struggle. If he doesn't eat well, I make him a smoothie or give him a pediasure. I think as they get older they will try more things

 

[Sinclair]

That rather makes me feel better. We have given him the vanilla Pediasure. He'll drink a little bit of it and move on, I'll have to try offering him a smoothie, I didn't even think about that one.

 

[gingmg]

I second the smoothie. I can get all kinds of veggies in my son this way. He loves fruit and yogurt so it really works out great. I've found bananas really mask the taste of kale and spinach.

 

[noon_child]

I think 2 yrs is a classic time for getting more picky so you are no alone. However if LO is watching his Dad eat he is learning behaviour from him too. Is his Dad willing to try new things? Would he try them to show LO is OK to try new things?

Ive always asked my daughter to try things because she might like them but that if she doesn't like it thats OK too. Often her initial reaction is to say "I don't like it" regardless of its taste and texture. It takes a few goes to get over her anxiety about something new so that she can finally start really tasting it and deciding its nice!

 

[MindUtopia]

Yes, they definitely go through these phases. I remember one right around when my daughter was 2. What we did which worked really well was to get her involved in cooking. So she helps me made dinner almost every night. This made it a bit more fun for her and it also helped her to try new things that she then realised she liked.

I also have since about 18 months or so made a real point of making only family meals that we all sit down and eat together. She doesn't get a special kids meal or food I make specially for her (with some exceptions, like if we're going out for a date night meal later, then we don't eat with her). But I make one meal for the family and we all eat the same thing. If she doesn't like it or want it, that's fine. I don't make a big deal out of it, but I don't make her something special and she doesn't get anything else just because she's still hungry because she didn't eat anything for dinner (usually she has an apple or grapes a yogurt or something for dessert, but only if she eats dinner).

We also make it a point to eat everything in front of her. You mentioned that your partner only likes certain things. Could it be he's picking it up from him? If they see you avoiding certain foods, they'll be more likely to avoid them too. But if they see you eating and enjoying everything, they're more likely to try it and maybe like it as well. It might be a case of forcing yourselves to eat things you might not normally to get him interested in trying new things.

But yes, it really is a phase and they go through lots of these. The best thing you can do is just to keep offering lots of variety and not limit what you offer because you think he won't eat it. If you keep offering it, one day he'll happily eat it again. It just takes some time.

 

[Sinclair]

I eat everything and anything compared to his father, but he is not willing to eat or try anything new. He's stubborn and set in his ways. Once in awhile if it's to his taste but that's about.

I do make family meals, and LO does help out with little things like stirring, or helping with little things that he won't burn himself with.

I offer my son different foods that I'd eat, eat them right a long side but he's not willing at this moment. The most I've been getting lately is him locking the skins of apples and plums, and attempting to bite them.

 

[kittylady]

Parents are the biggest influence on a child's life, if he isn't willing to pretend to like things then maybe he should eat later. I have eaten tomatoes and cucumbers which i hate and he's eaten sprouts and hummus because we don't want to influence them. We have all food in the middle of the table and eat what we want. This is less threatening than a set plate of food for our kids (and we can be selective without drawing attention).