Do you think it matters?
adamsbabble
member
Ava has a short list of things she will eat; pb & honey sandwiches, sometimes she'll go for Annie's Mac and sometimes she'll go for chicken nuggets. PB sandwiches are what she asks for day in and day out.
I have tried lots of different things I think would appeal to her and I always offer what we are having. If she ever eats something not on her short list, I get so excited it's ridiculous but basically I am always prepared to make a PB sandwich. I have been advised not to do that, but I can't let her starve. Everyone says she will eat when she's hungry- not true. Aside from being a picky eater, she's a very light eater so it doesn't matter if she hasn't eaten much all day. If it doesn't appeal to her, she simply will not eat it. I'm not going to let her go without eating.
Anyway, my question is- do you think it really matters that she won't eat a huge variety right now? I'm done stressing about this and I think I've decided that I don't think it matters. For one thing, even though she won't eat many different things for a main course, she does do okay with some veggies and I know that's a huge battle with some toddlers, so I count my blessings there. I also make the most of snack time since I know she gets many of her nutrients through snacks, so I push raw stuff there- fruits, veggies, yogurt, raisins, etc- rather than empty calorie snacks. This is the best I can do. What do you think? I am wrong in thinking that it doesn't matter that my kid eats PB sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner as much as possible?
Re: Do you think it matters?
I think there are some people that just don't like a lot of foods. I'm married to one of them.
I think as long as she's getting a balanced diet, which it sounds like you are trying hard to do, then you're doing fine. Maybe she'll outgrow it, maybe not.
What does your pediatrician say about it? Are you supplementing her with vitamins?
I think Meg is right. There are lots of people with limited diets.
We do supplement with vitamins, and I have talked to pedi about it but she didn't have much to say about it--she said to try snacks instead of meals which is the type of eater that Ava is so that has been working to some extent to get food in her, but as far as expanding the variety, I'm at a loss. I'm beginning to think it just is what it is and there is no use in stressing about it anymore. Charlotte is the total opposite. She's a foodie--she's even been out for tapas and loved everything she was offered! It's so funny to order seafood empanadas for one kid and feed the other pb&j and afruit cup from home, lol!
I don't have a picky eater, so I have no experience here, and I have no idea when and if the issue becomes irreversible. But, this would be my concern. Even if you are OK making her a peanut butter sandwich three times a day, at some point she'll be spending more time without you. One of my nephews has a best friend who's like this with some foods (chicken nuggets, mac and cheese). He will not eat most other things, but he has dinner with my sister's family sometimes. It may not bug his mom to make him nuggets for dinner, but I think it's way too much to ask another mom who's feeding her family spaghetti for dinner to make your kid a separate meal. And it becomes a bit of a social issue.
I don't know when I'd tackle the issue, maybe not at 3, but at some point, probably before school age, I would try to tackle it. Do you read dooce.com? Her daughter is super-picky, but apparently the peer pressure of having lunch at school is getting her to branch out. Maybe the same will be true of Ava.
Photo by Melissa Nicole Photography
At 3, maybe it is time to make choices. Like, you can have the pb&honey sandwich two time today. Which meal do you want it? And eventually wean down to 1. I don't think 2 times is over doing it. I do see the PP point though that at some point it might be an issue if she is at someone elses house. I know when I make Niko pot roast he'll blurt out, "this is exactly what I DIDN'T want, Mommy." lol. My son is somewhat picky too. Anyway, don't know if you could get a chart or something and one of Ava's responsibilities is to choose which two meals she can have her favorite sandwich.
Way to go with the snacks, by the way!
I pack Niko's lunch daily for school and admittedly put a sandwich in there daily