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Toddlers: 24 Months+
DS so picky with eating crying over hunger pangs
I dont know what to do. I've tried it all- offering differ kinds/types/styles/making it fun/blah blah of food and he doesn't like to eat, never has. Says 'hungee (hungry) eat eat" and that his belly hurts, but yet he won't eat!! He has like 3 things he'll eat (besides junk food, which he can't live on) plus milk. Dr is prob gonna have to run bloodwork to check him out I assume at next appt -I'm worried b/c he's prob so malnurished 
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Re: DS so picky with eating crying over hunger pangs
*sigh* Responses like this one come from people who've never dealt with a truly picky eater. My daughter is very picky and we've recently come to realize that her issues lie more with texture than taste. If I didn't give her the foods she's comfortable eating, she wouldn't eat. DH and I have plans this summer to try some techniques to get DD past some of her texture issues. I'm not really worried about what she's currently eating (she does have some fruits and healthier foods in her "approved" list) I want her to have more options available to her as she grows older. PP, as long as your son is growing and meeting all his milestones he's doing ok. Try giving him two items at each meal/snack time, one that you know he likes and one that he has eaten before, but not consistently or has previously tried and rejected. Then, don't make it a battle. If he only eats the food you know he likes, then that's what he eats. If he tries one of the new foods, praise him and tell him
How proud you are of him trying something new. I'm assuming by junk food you are mainly referring to things like cookies, crackers (goldfish, etc.), correct?
Abinormal- I agree, I think it's a texture thing with him. Thanks for responding. Have a lot of work to do!
No problem! Just know you're not alone and he will eventually eat a wider variety of foods. If you'd like to talk some more, just send me a PM!
I'm right there with you. It's so hard and very frustrating.
DS was like this. He still is. It doesn't matter what you offer him, he doesn't eat, even candy, he will give back to you. He was Failure to Thrive because of it. He now is on nutritional supplements because of malnutrition. I would definitely have the blood work done and look into GI and eating clinics. Some weird things can cause kids not to like to eat. DS doesn't have any of these things, but they have all been ruled out (texture aversion, bowel problems, chewing, swallowing, ect). DS can eat, he just wont, but at least we know that and he gets the nutrition he needs from formula.
I will say that we don't do junk food. It just doesn't help. The closest we get to it with DS is crackers, like goldfish and everything crackers from TJ's, but it is far from the greatest source of nutrition for him, maybe 100 our of 1100 calories he gets in a day. There is no point. It has no nutritional value other than calories. We also don't do juice at all, since again, it fills him up, but doesn't offer much in the way of nutrition. My DD has a different FTT issue and with her, we didn't even do crackers or cheerios, since they are "stomach fillers", but not good nutrition.
I would like to say that this is just not true. Little kids can become malnourished and essentially starve themselves if they have certain conditions or if they do not identify hunger. Good for you for having good eaters who respond well to the standard thing regarding food, but I really get irritated when people say that "eventually they will eat". Not all kids will. My son ate less than 1500 calories in 5 days last week. He needs at a minimum around 6000, and that is before his scooter obsession. He can and will become malnourished without intervention. I could go on, but it isn't worth it.
LO is a picky eater also. She has just started to eat 2-3 meals a day. She does snack on things like freeze dried fruit, and will eat yogurt most of the time. Pasta (the whole wheat from trader joes is good) used to be a sure thing, but not so much any more.
Anyway, after a week of her not eating any veggies at all we started making smoothies. We use frozen bananas and almond milk as a base, and then add things like pumpkin, or berries and spinach, or berries and avocado. They are actually really good, and I sneak some too.
It's really frustrating to have a picky eater - I never understood it until LO became picky. She will just not eat - and if we get stressed or try to push it, it gets worse. Hang in there, and talk to your Dr. about it. We ruled out texture aversions because our LO eats a variety of things, just never consistently. And she is growing in height and head circumference, so Dr. is not concerned. She is also still breastfeeding, so if she is hungry she will ask for that. I guess it's better than junk food!
(btw- we do give her limited amounts of "healthy" cookies and crackers, but not every day and she does get french fries and chocolate sometimes. Our motto in this household is everything in moderation. It's certainly not a major part of her diet. And yes, she would totally prefer a cookie to a carrot, but we don't give her the option.)
*sigh* spoken from a person who puts the blame on their child for not eating rather than owning the fact that they didn't offer their child a variety of foods at an early age, and catered to what the child wanted. Do you really think that I stumbled upon 5 "great eaters" by happenstance? I don't see how you expect to let your child eat whatever they want for two years and then magically they will start eating other foods. The longer you cater to them, the longer they will refuse new things.
Two of my children had OT for sensory issues which included food textures. I did not stop serving them those foods, and eventually they learned to eat them. It's not going to hurt your child to have one or two bites of something they don't like before eating something they do. When they eat it, great job, they can have something they like! But thank you for discrediting all of the hard work I have put into helping my kids try new foods without a fight.
ETA to add, if your child has a medical condition that precludes them from eating something, (e.g. low muscle tone in the jaw, or a digestive issue) that is a completely different issue.