NEED HELP!!

AnnaRedhead · July 2013

My son refuses to eat!! He will be 2 on August 10. He eats a handful of things with no problem:

macaroni and cheese, goldfish crackers, applesauce and oatmeal, bananas, yogurt, kale and spinach squezzy pouches, any kind of cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and spinach quiche. Oh and cookies...no problem of course.

Other than that I can't get him to eat anything!! It drives me nuts. I made chicken/broccoli/cheese casserole for dinner tonight. He refused to eat it. I mean I sat there and fought with him for a half an hour over it. I finally just gave in and made him a sandwich.

I give him vitamins every day. He also drinks milk and V8 fusion juice really well...the V8 juice has lots of vitamins. I am just worried he isn't getting enough variety in his diet! Am I doing something wrong?

I am so frustrated...any advice would be wonderful!

TiffanyBerry · July 2013

LalaMama81:
He knows that if he doesn't eat what is for dinner that you'll just make something for him he does like.
I tell you what I do.
Breakfast and lunch are almost always things I know they will eat (for breakfast: cereal, oatmeal, waffles, fruit, yogurt, for lunch: PBJ, veggies, fruit, crackers, hummus, homemade mac&cheese, pasta w/ veggies, etc.).
DD2 only drink milk or water, no juice, no vitamins.
Dinner is whatever DH or I choose. If they eat, they eat. If they don't, that's it. I don't make other foods, I don't plead, beg, cajole.
A child will not starve themselves. They will learn to start eating other things. IN the meantime you can also try to make the things he does eat healthier.

More or less this. I make something for every meal that has at least something she will like. There's often something else that I'm not sure about, or certainly isn't mostly a guarantee. She chooses what she wants to eat, and what she doesn't. But I don't make her something special.

Also, I have ALWAYS given her what I eat. She's required to try one bite. One tiny bite. She knows that is all she has to have of that, so she usually whines, but does it. So tonight's dinner for her was probably 6oz of salmon, a tiny bite of broccoli, a couple of beans (which she usually likes!), a little bit of melon, and the (healthy) chocolate blueberry oatmeal cookies she helped me make for dessert. She'll balance it out over time.

Mountaineers · July 2013

Sounds to me like he's getting everything he needs from the food and drink you described. I understand the variety thing. My DS will not eat chicken nuggets, or really any meats, Mac and cheese, eggs, any casserole, cold salads like potato salad or pasta salad. He eats nutrigrain bars, cottage cheese, veggies and bleu cheese, quesadillas with black beans and cheese, spaghetti, he loves a few of the gerber lil entrees, any fruit, pizza, and pancakes. I just shove all I can into those things. Like grated carrots in spaghetti sauce, whole wheat or whole grain pasta, homemade pizza instead of store bought so I can control the ingredients. He seems ok with the small variety and I'm sure it will expand. I also have him try at least one bite always. You can also blend anything into a smoothie. I posted about that and got good.responses on smoothie recipes.

michelle7482 · July 2013

I wish my kid ate that good!

Torani · July 2013

DS1 is very similar. From 2-3yo he ate the exact same lunch every day (turkey & cheese sanwich, the only meat he will ever eat, with fruit that varied, and carrots). He refused everything at DC so I gave up and he had a packed lunch every day. His pedi recommended Carnation Instant Breakfast (there is a sugarfree option) and ge drank that daily. He got better at 3yo but still very picky. He is under weight, so the whole "this is what we are eating so it's this or nothing" did not work well. He often does not eat lunch at DC because it is something he refuses to try. Just try to make sure he gets all the food groups and keep offering new foods. Eventually he will be more open to trying them.

704bride · July 2013

LalaMama81:
He knows that if he doesn't eat what is for dinner that you'll just make something for him he does like.
I tell you what I do.
Breakfast and lunch are almost always things I know they will eat (for breakfast: cereal, oatmeal, waffles, fruit, yogurt, for lunch: PBJ, veggies, fruit, crackers, hummus, homemade mac&cheese, pasta w/ veggies, etc.).
DD2 only drink milk or water, no juice, no vitamins.
Dinner is whatever DH or I choose. If they eat, they eat. If they don't, that's it. I don't make other foods, I don't plead, beg, cajole.
A child will not starve themselves. They will learn to start eating other things. IN the meantime you can also try to make the things he does eat healthier.

I agree with this and have a similar philosophy, except that I always worry about DS going to bed hungry. He is much pickier than DS1 ever was. He is also extremely reluctant about trying new foods. SO frustrating sometimes, especially when I make something that he usually likes, such as pasta, and he decides not to eat it!! I try to follow advice a friend gave me - she makes sure there are at least 1-2 things on LO's plate that they will eat and then will put the new, less liked food with that. That way, they are hopefully trying it, but not starving. I have to say that I'm looking forward to when DS gets a little better so that he can be told that he at least needs to try something, rather than him just turning his nose up to it like he does now. I read somewhere that the parents decides what to feed their kid and the kid decides how much of each food to eat. Try not to make it a battle, but try to resist giving in and making a second meal.

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