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Topic : Picky Eaters

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Created on : Thursday, June 30, 2005, 01:19:25 pm
Author : dataimport

Is your child a picky eater? Share your tips, tricks, and menu ideas to help your child eat right, and enjoy it.



 
ginnyn
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July 24, 2005, 6:40 pm PDT

2 yo won't eat anything

 I have totally forgotten how PICKY 2 yo's are!  I have trouble getting him to eat much of anything!  The one thing I can count on him eating is ritz crackers & fishey crackers.  Outside of those it is hit & miss with the rest.  It is driving me NUTS!!  LOL
 
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jettav
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July 24, 2005, 8:24 pm PDT

picky eaters

I have totally forgotten how PICKY 2 yo's are! I have trouble getting him to eat much of anything! The one thing I can count on him eating is ritz crackers & fishey crackers. Outside of those it is hit & miss with the rest. It is driving me NUTS!! LOL
actually, my 4 year old is more picky then my 2 year old but what I do now is give my daughter choices and she must choose one of those. It is always something that she likes and always nutricious. That usually goes for snacking times. for meals, I cook meals that I know every one will like something being served, therefore there is no excuse for being hungry. I will sneak a veggie mixed in with mashed potatoes or sliced bananas in banana pudding. I have also discovered things that she likes to make something she doesn't care for more appetizing to her, like she doesn't care for green beans but she loves french fried onions and will eat her green beans with the onions on top. My 2 year old will only eat green beans if she can dip them in catsup! yep, pretty gross, but she is eating green beans now. LOL I have noticed also that taste buds change, so I wouldn't worry about your two year old, maybe make a tray in the refrig with nutricious snacks and let him help himself when he is hungry, my two year loves helping herself to the refrig.
 
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puptent
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July 26, 2005, 5:40 am PDT

My 4 year old also is pickier than my 2 year old

Quote From: jettav

actually, my 4 year old is more picky then my 2 year old but what I do now is give my daughter choices and she must choose one of those. It is always something that she likes and always nutricious. That usually goes for snacking times. for meals, I cook meals that I know every one will like something being served, therefore there is no excuse for being hungry. I will sneak a veggie mixed in with mashed potatoes or sliced bananas in banana pudding. I have also discovered things that she likes to make something she doesn't care for more appetizing to her, like she doesn't care for green beans but she loves french fried onions and will eat her green beans with the onions on top. My 2 year old will only eat green beans if she can dip them in catsup! yep, pretty gross, but she is eating green beans now. LOL I have noticed also that taste buds change, so I wouldn't worry about your two year old, maybe make a tray in the refrig with nutricious snacks and let him help himself when he is hungry, my two year loves helping herself to the refrig.
My two year old got my husband's eating habits -- she hasn't met a vegetable or fruit she doesn't like (although she has never tried brussel sprouts!)  But my four year old son is pickier than I am -- if it wasn't for salads I woudln't eat vegetables!  I like corn, lima beans, baked beans, peas, pea pods, and some chinese veggies but that's it and yes most of those veggies are starch!  My son won't eat ANY veggies -- "I don't like vegetables!"  His doctor said not to worry his eating habits will change and I started giving him fruit with dinner instead.  I also have been reading some recipes in kids recipe books and have found some veggie recipes that I want to try.  He LOVES macanoni  (as he calls it) so last night I served the tri colored ones -- he fought it at first but then after tasting said that he liked all three colors!  (green is made with spinach, orange with tomato and the whte is regular)  Well we take our battle wins where we can get them! ;-)
 
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auraliza

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July 28, 2005, 1:26 am PDT

Picky Eaters

Quote From: ginnyn

 I have totally forgotten how PICKY 2 yo's are!  I have trouble getting him to eat much of anything!  The one thing I can count on him eating is ritz crackers & fishey crackers.  Outside of those it is hit & miss with the rest.  It is driving me NUTS!!  LOL

I know exactly what you mean! I have a 1yr old little girl, she refuses to eat breakfast, and when the mood strikes her, lunch and dinner. I have tried everything- yoghurt, scrambled egg, about 15 different cereals, fruit and finally begging and pleading. I worry about her not eating properly, I have let her dictate to me what and when she has wanted to eat before and she lost so much weight. I had to resort to force feeding. I just hope her pickyness doesnt get worse, Mommy is already frustrated!
 
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boommers
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July 28, 2005, 9:37 pm PDT

You Be The Boss

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I know exactly what you mean! I have a 1yr old little girl, she refuses to eat breakfast, and when the mood strikes her, lunch and dinner. I have tried everything- yoghurt, scrambled egg, about 15 different cereals, fruit and finally begging and pleading. I worry about her not eating properly, I have let her dictate to me what and when she has wanted to eat before and she lost so much weight. I had to resort to force feeding. I just hope her pickyness doesnt get worse, Mommy is already frustrated!

Mommy has to stop giving in. This is now clearly a control issue. If you want her to develop a healthy approach to eating than you need to start from a healthy place yourself. Force feeding cannot seem like the right thing to do right? You put some variety on her plate in small portions. What she eats she eats and what she doesn't she doesn't. If she wants more of one thing give it to her. If you put fruits and vegetables in small amounts and not make a big deal out of it eventually they will try some and later will eat them. You have made this about everything but the food. The kid will not starve herself.
 
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auraliza

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July 29, 2005, 6:16 am PDT

Thanks!

Quote From: boommers

Mommy has to stop giving in. This is now clearly a control issue. If you want her to develop a healthy approach to eating than you need to start from a healthy place yourself. Force feeding cannot seem like the right thing to do right? You put some variety on her plate in small portions. What she eats she eats and what she doesn't she doesn't. If she wants more of one thing give it to her. If you put fruits and vegetables in small amounts and not make a big deal out of it eventually they will try some and later will eat them. You have made this about everything but the food. The kid will not starve herself.

Thank you SO much for the advice, its so wonderful to have an outsiders point of view. As much as I love my little one I really was at the end of my teather- not getting support from my husband either, I don’t think he knew what to do with me, or her... Force feeding definitely was not the right thing to do, but I didn’t know how else to get her to eat. Being a mom is all very new to me and Im learn something new every day.I cant thank you enough...
 
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kdabam
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July 29, 2005, 7:04 pm PDT

picky eaters

Quote From: ginnyn

 I have totally forgotten how PICKY 2 yo's are!  I have trouble getting him to eat much of anything!  The one thing I can count on him eating is ritz crackers & fishey crackers.  Outside of those it is hit & miss with the rest.  It is driving me NUTS!!  LOL
 You have to remember that kids will not starve themselves they will eat when they are hungry.  Maybe your child is not growing at this time and does not need many calories.  The more exciting you make it for him or her by forcing or getting upset the more he or she will refuse to eat. It has become a game and your child is winning!!  Let go...offer a variety of foods and if they are not eaten then only offer healthy choices no junk until something healthy is eaten even if it is only a little.  My son is currently going through this right now and some days are good and some not so good but he doesn't know the difference.  Eating disorders can also start at this young age if meal time is not a pleasent one and your child does not have the chance to listen to his or her own body.  Good Luck!!
 
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jettav
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August 1, 2005, 8:22 pm PDT

Picky Eaters

Nope, the little ones will not go hungry, ask my two little ones. :) Just this past week or so, they have been going through this phase where they eat part of their food but then by bed time they are hungry again. I will give them a little something but after a certain time, they are not aloud to have food. We have a rule, "you chose not to finish your dinner, so you chose to be hungry at this time but food time is over and it is time to go to sleep". They are catching on that once a certain time comes, no more food! They are certainly not going to starve to death but they do eat a good breakfast when they get up. Children do eat when they are hungry and even if they don't, I have found with my kids that eventually they will eat all their food and of course making meal time fun for the kids has helped with my kids to eat better. Can be a bit frustrating but I will not stress over it. My kids also like helping in preparing their food and that has helped some here recently.............
 
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cinemaven
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August 8, 2005, 10:33 pm PDT

Oh, I remember those days *lol*

Quote From: ginnyn

 I have totally forgotten how PICKY 2 yo's are!  I have trouble getting him to eat much of anything!  The one thing I can count on him eating is ritz crackers & fishey crackers.  Outside of those it is hit & miss with the rest.  It is driving me NUTS!!  LOL

As a first time mom of a 2 y/o (many years ago) I took him to the doctor to explain that he was starving himself. The doctor took one look at my li'l butterball and laughed at me!!  

  

She asked me to keep a food diary and make sure my babysitter (my parents) also did so.  

I couldn't believe how much he was eating.  

Breakfast, I'd cut up apple and banana and orange slices and he'd pick and leave about 1/2 on his plate. He'd be off to my parents where he'd have "a few wee slices of cheese" and a cup of soup for lunch. Snacks of cheerios, crackers with peanut butter, papa's tomatos fresh from the garden. Dinner of a little of this and a little of that. It really added up when you looked at it all together.  

It really had seemed to me that he was only eating a tiny bit of what we gave him but we were giving him enough to feed 5 kids his size.  

  

When we moved the year he was 2, we found caches of cheerios (and dustbunnies) under the fridge and stove and he wanted to bring his treasure trove with us!! (ick!!!)  

  

He's 18 now, 6'4" tall and about 120 pounds (think Jack Skellington from nightmare before christmas) and he has the appetite of someone 3X his size.  
 
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bigred80
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August 9, 2005, 3:34 am PDT

A sigh of relief

Quote From: cinemaven

As a first time mom of a 2 y/o (many years ago) I took him to the doctor to explain that he was starving himself. The doctor took one look at my li'l butterball and laughed at me!!  

  

She asked me to keep a food diary and make sure my babysitter (my parents) also did so.  

I couldn't believe how much he was eating.  

Breakfast, I'd cut up apple and banana and orange slices and he'd pick and leave about 1/2 on his plate. He'd be off to my parents where he'd have "a few wee slices of cheese" and a cup of soup for lunch. Snacks of cheerios, crackers with peanut butter, papa's tomatos fresh from the garden. Dinner of a little of this and a little of that. It really added up when you looked at it all together.  

It really had seemed to me that he was only eating a tiny bit of what we gave him but we were giving him enough to feed 5 kids his size.  

  

When we moved the year he was 2, we found caches of cheerios (and dustbunnies) under the fridge and stove and he wanted to bring his treasure trove with us!! (ick!!!)  

  

He's 18 now, 6'4" tall and about 120 pounds (think Jack Skellington from nightmare before christmas) and he has the appetite of someone 3X his size.  

I saw this topic and I thought I could get some advice for my eat nothing, nearly two, son. What you said is sooooo true! My husband and I are three meals a day kind of people, so when my son doesn't want to eat when we are, I panic. But then I thought about what he eats over the day and I have to ask myself how come he doesn't look like a fifteen year old with the amount that he eats. 

  

Thank you so much. Now maybe dinner will be a bit less stressful, unfortunately I still have to pick up the food off the floor. Luckily some makes it in to his mouth! 
 
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