Dr. Phil.com - Messageboards

User Mood
Good

Message Emote

January 24, 2007, 10:18 pm PST

Making it fun works for me...

Quote From: vkieran

Hi everyone, I am having an issue with my daughter. She will not eat meat or Vegetables. We eat dinner together as a family, the tv is not on. She refuses to eat anything other than pasta. She had problems with food when she was on formula and onto the baby food. She was in the 10th percentile of weight, meaning she was under weight. She is good now weight wise but she will not eat anything but pastas. how can I get her to eat more things that have more nutritional values in them??? I am open to suggestions.

Your daughter sounds just like mine in many ways. As an infant she had problem with breastfeeding, took forever to drink 1oz of formula and has always been in the 5% in the weight curve. Up til now, meal times have always been a struggle. From age 1-2 all that she would eat willingly was plain rice and plain pasta. Now that she is 2 yr 2mos old, I noticed she is starting to open up to new foods. What works for me when I introduce a new food to her is I try to make it a lot of fun. Like yesterday I wanted her to give fresh blueberries a try. So after her regular breakfast I sat with her at the table and read to her a Berenstein Bear story book. I had filled a small bowl with blueberries and as I read her the story, I would pick up a berry and say casually, "Hey Katelyn, did you know that bears love to eat blueberries" and I would pop it into my mouth. Instantly she wanted to try one. It wasn't until the 3rd try that she stopped spitting the berries out of her mouth and finally decided that she liked it. This morning I gave more of them to her as a part of her regular breakfast and it was as if she has always loved them. So I'm going to continue to try and find fun ways to incorporate other fruits and veggies into her diet with her consent and quit the begging and pleading that I used to do with no success. If you discover any other methods, let me know too. Seems like we're on the same boat. :)

Read Replies to this Message

kcurtis23

User Mood
Mellow

Message Emote

January 27, 2007, 6:06 am PST

Never eats enough at one sitting

Hey everybody. I have a question. My son is almost three and whenever it's meal time, he'll only eat a few bites and want to be done. And then an hour later, he'll tell me he's hungry again and wants to eat. Often this occurs with supper. His rountine is to eat supper, take a bath, and go to bed. So, whenever he gets hungry again it's usually when I'm putting him in bed. My husband thinks that we should tell him too bad- that he needs to learn to eat all his food at mealtimes. He also says that eating with us is also a time to teach him manners and proper table etiquette. I want to agree with him, but when my child rubs his tummy and looks up at me with those big blue eyes and says, "Momma, I hungee"...well, I can't tell him no. What do ya'll think?

Read Replies to this Message

jettav

User Mood
Peaceful

Message Emote

January 27, 2007, 4:05 pm PST

Picky Eaters

Quote From: kcurtis23

Hey everybody. I have a question. My son is almost three and whenever it's meal time, he'll only eat a few bites and want to be done. And then an hour later, he'll tell me he's hungry again and wants to eat. Often this occurs with supper. His rountine is to eat supper, take a bath, and go to bed. So, whenever he gets hungry again it's usually when I'm putting him in bed. My husband thinks that we should tell him too bad- that he needs to learn to eat all his food at mealtimes. He also says that eating with us is also a time to teach him manners and proper table etiquette. I want to agree with him, but when my child rubs his tummy and looks up at me with those big blue eyes and says, "Momma, I hungee"...well, I can't tell him no. What do ya'll think?

You and husband need to get on the same page here, agree on something and stick wiht it. My girls 4 and 6 knows that when I say no more food, it's a done deal so they will either eat or wait til tomorrow. Set the boundaries and stick with them, eventually he will catch on, he isn't going to starve. you could also make the rule that if he does eat, he has to finsih his dinner, noo snack food. but really, if you say it's bed time then it should be bed tome, not eating time...........

Read Replies to this Message

feafee

User Mood
Happy

Message Emote

January 30, 2007, 12:02 pm PST

Picky Eaters

Quote From: djw2932

I have a 6 1/2 year old son who is the pickiest eater on the face of the planet! How do you get kids to try foods? Then my two year old daughter is also somewhat picky, but loves eating. She had rather eat junk foods instead of dinner. How do I convince her to eat her dinner? And how do I convince my son that it's ok to try new foods?

Last year, when my son was 6, we started a "food caterpillar" to encourage trying new foods. I cut out paper circles and each time he tried a new food he got a new piece for his caterpillar. My sister made him a really cute head for it too. He loved the idea of growing his own caterpillar. He began to see new foods as an opportunity to gain instead of a struggle to fight.

We also implemented a new rule about needing to eat three bites of any new food on his plate. If he chose to not eat the three bites, he did not get more of the other foods. We did not fight about it. If he wasn't going to eat it, then he cleared his plate off and that was the end of it.
It has helped so much to not fight with him about it.

Jenny

Read Replies to this Message

livella

User Mood
Good

Message Emote

February 8, 2007, 9:13 pm PST

2 years old doesn't want to feed himself

i have a 2 years old son , not only he is the pickiest boy on earth , the big problem here is , he doesn't want to feed himself , he can , but he doesn't want to . that's the first problem that he doesn't want to feed himself . then , he also likes to letting the food sit in his mouth , and doesn't want to chew it . i keep reminding him but a lot of times he's just doing it because he can , he has full set of teeth but yet he still doesn't like to chew them .
1. picky
2. doesn't feed himself
3. doesn't like to chew

what do i do ?? he is 2 years and 2 months now .. should i starve him in order to get him to eat ? i tried starving him , but doesn't seem like it's effecting him anything , cos all he wants is milk when he;s hungry .. i try cutting down in the milk and any other liquid too , but still he doesn't want to eat .. he is only 25 lbs !!! but he is tall , he is 36 inches at his 2 years check up . his doctor isn't worry about a thing , but iam worried when he's not eating , and plus the fact that i still have to feed him .

what do i do ? i am very frustrating about this .. help .

Read Replies to this Message

momofdrew2

User Mood
Happy

Message Emote

February 9, 2007, 7:18 am PST

2 and is very picky eater

My 2 yr old is so pickey he will not eat breakfast and very rarley will sit and eat more than a bite or 2 at the table for lunch or dinner, unless it is McDonalds and i just hate getting that for him when we have the same chicken nuggets here. but he would eat just the fries and be finished. I can not get him to eat any kind of meat other than chicken and it has to be discised as a french fry. in a chicken finger form. When he does eat he almost needs a cheering squad for him to be excited to eat. For the most part he will eat Peanutbutter sandwiches rather than eat what i had made for him. he lately won't even eat Mac N' Cheese! He does like fruit like apples and yougurt. My husband and i have sat at the table for hours a night to get him to eat and he just won't or he will ask for a Milk. That is what he really seems to be filling up on because that is all he ever asks for? We are just running out of patience with him and we don't know what to do. We are going to have another baby in August and we want to get this part of his pickey ness in order before we have a new baby that takes all the time and attention we now spend on getting him to eat. Please let us know if we just have a normal 2 yr old and. or what i can do to get him to eat!?

Please any suggestions would be a great help. My son has been at the table for so long already and it is almost time to get him Lunch? Please help!!

Janet

From Ohio

Read Replies to this Message

spindle13

User Mood
Happy

Message Emote

February 14, 2007, 7:42 pm PST

picky eaters

Quote From: momofdrew2

My 2 yr old is so pickey he will not eat breakfast and very rarley will sit and eat more than a bite or 2 at the table for lunch or dinner, unless it is McDonalds and i just hate getting that for him when we have the same chicken nuggets here. but he would eat just the fries and be finished. I can not get him to eat any kind of meat other than chicken and it has to be discised as a french fry. in a chicken finger form. When he does eat he almost needs a cheering squad for him to be excited to eat. For the most part he will eat Peanutbutter sandwiches rather than eat what i had made for him. he lately won't even eat Mac N' Cheese! He does like fruit like apples and yougurt. My husband and i have sat at the table for hours a night to get him to eat and he just won't or he will ask for a Milk. That is what he really seems to be filling up on because that is all he ever asks for? We are just running out of patience with him and we don't know what to do. We are going to have another baby in August and we want to get this part of his pickey ness in order before we have a new baby that takes all the time and attention we now spend on getting him to eat. Please let us know if we just have a normal 2 yr old and. or what i can do to get him to eat!?

Please any suggestions would be a great help. My son has been at the table for so long already and it is almost time to get him Lunch? Please help!!

Janet

From Ohio

Hi Janet,

This is a very normal stage for all two year olds to go through. Children are very fickle right up until they get to the teenage years. Even then they get slightly worse I think. But you don't need to fret Because it is a very normal occurence. I went through the same thing when both my children were toddlers and I took them to the doctor and he said not to be too worried. My doctor did suggest to me though, that it could be a good idea to buy the toddler infant supplement powder (for example: toddler health). Providing your son isn't allergic to rice or oats. This will help give him the nutrients he needs and fill him up. Then from here you can start introducing different meals that you all eat together (eg: Spaghetti bolognaise or a easy pasta dish). It's a good idea to start him eating some meals that you eat so then when your new bub comes along you won't be creating 2 different meals. If you are stuck for ideas you can google search "toddler recipes" and this may give you some helpful hints on how to make food fun and take his mind off french fries.

Good luck Janet, and I hope that I have been of some help to you.

Metesha.
Brisbane, Australia.

Read Replies to this Message

erinsacco2

User Mood
Embarrassed

Message Emote
worried

February 22, 2007, 9:11 am PST

very hard time trying to get my 4 yr old to eat!

my son always has acted up and meal time, should i force him to eat? .....if he dont eat breakfest, should i force him? what if hes hungry when it is not the time to eat? we typically have a bad behavior problem, mostly in pre-school or in public! at home i think we can deal with it. but at times it gets pretty bad. so this is why i wonder if i should force him to eat because im scared if he dont eat then he will have a much worse day? ~~~erin~~~

Read Replies to this Message

kick123

User Mood
Worried

Message Emote
worried

February 27, 2007, 10:44 am PST

I'm worried

Just recently my son and I were watching cartoons. I was flipping thought the channels to find some thing for us to watch and I clicked on the Dr. Phil show. It was about a little boy who was very over weight. My son saw this little boy and got very upset. My sons face turned pail and got all worried about what he himself had had for lunch. The show was on for like a minute then we returned to cartoons. Since then my son has been so worried that he is going to get fat. He has been throwing fits about eating and now won't eat certain foods. I don't know if I am over reacting, but I am so afraid he is going to develop an eating disorder or something. My son is 4 years old and I have heard of children having eating disorders at this young. I just don't know what to do. I have learned that children are so impressionable and they are learning about everything they see and hear. As a parent I am learning new things everyday about children and life. If anyone has some in put that would be very helpful. Thank you so much.

Read Replies to this Message

jettav

User Mood
Peaceful

Message Emote

February 27, 2007, 12:30 pm PST

Picky Eaters

Quote From: kick123

Just recently my son and I were watching cartoons. I was flipping thought the channels to find some thing for us to watch and I clicked on the Dr. Phil show. It was about a little boy who was very over weight. My son saw this little boy and got very upset. My sons face turned pail and got all worried about what he himself had had for lunch. The show was on for like a minute then we returned to cartoons. Since then my son has been so worried that he is going to get fat. He has been throwing fits about eating and now won't eat certain foods. I don't know if I am over reacting, but I am so afraid he is going to develop an eating disorder or something. My son is 4 years old and I have heard of children having eating disorders at this young. I just don't know what to do. I have learned that children are so impressionable and they are learning about everything they see and hear. As a parent I am learning new things everyday about children and life. If anyone has some in put that would be very helpful. Thank you so much.

You can take him to the library and get himn abook or two on eating/foods that are healthy and all. Teach him about food and why need to eat and drink plenty of liquids, especially water. Explain to him that there is a healthy way of eating and if we eat right, thenw e will not get over weight. Also let him know that it's ok to have a treat once in a while but not all the time. I barely buy snacks for our home, if we want ice cream, we go out and get it, it's a treat and my kids think that is great. My youngest got some M&M's when we went out shopping today which is the first she has had a for a while, it was s pecial treat. Kids can develop eating disorders at an early age but with parents teaching and montoring them, chances are they will not.

Read Replies to this Message

Message Boards

Topic : Picky Eaters

Making it fun works for me...

Never eats enough at one sitting

Picky Eaters

Picky Eaters

2 years old doesn't want to feed himself

2 and is very picky eater

picky eaters

very hard time trying to get my 4 yr old to eat!

I'm worried

Picky Eaters