tricks on getting her to eat?!?!?!

Chandley

any advise?

bribing doesn't work. 

offering what i am eating doesn't work. 

her old favorite foods she hates. 

she will ONLY eat yogurt, goldfish, pirates booty and milk. i can sneak in some fruit and granola in the yogurt - but she won't eat them if they are not mixed in the yogurt. 

she refuses all veggies/meat/fruit/etc.

please tell me this is just a stage....and if you have any advise on how to end this eating strike that would be awesome...

ali-1411

Chances are its just a phase.  Keep giving different foods on her plate but don't say anything when she won't eat them.  It will just become a battle of wills and you can't win those.  Hopefully, if she keeps seeing the foods show up and she's not being
forced into anything, then eventually she'll try it.

Kristen0709

I agree with pp.  I know at DS two year well check they always give info in a packet and it said not to make a battle out of eating, it will just cause issues in the future.  It also said that if they occasionally skip a meal that's ok too, they won't go hungry because they'll eat if they are.

mrs.wildman

I've found that when there's too much variety on DD's tray that she doesn't eat as much. So I start with the most important foods - meat/veggies, then add more every few minutes and end with the foods that I know that she'll eat. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not at all.

sxb317

There are a few things that works for us from time to time when we get those phases:

- we just leave him alone at the table and go in the kitchen. Somehow if we're not around, he seems less distracted and more likely to eat.

- stop giving him milk around 1 hour or so before meal times

- if he has a favorite book at the time, I read to him at the table and ask him to take one more bite before turning each page.

- they do this thing at daycare where the teachers say 1-2-3 and everyone takes a bite at the same time. It sometimes works at home if he's in a good/playful mood.

smb29

we definitely went through a phase like that. we finally resorted to telling him that what was on his plate is what there is to eat and letting him go without dinner if he wouldn't eat it. he gets bargaining now and will eat more of a variety, so we aren't as strict, we just make him try new things or eat things we already know he likes before he can have a treat or more of something on his plate. maybe try giving her the yogurt, but telling her no goldish until she eats two strawberries (or whatever, just a small amount). i really, really struggled with the no dinner thing, but he didn't starve to death and we got at least some of the power back.