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Looking for help from more experienced parents


MorningMud
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My son has become a very picky eater. He loves carbs but has stopped eating a lot of the fruits and vegetables we used to be able to get him to eat. He has never taken to eating any meat other then chicken and salmon (for a short while).

 

I don't know if bringing a new baby into the house has affected him with it, but its getting hard to come up with meals for him that I feel he's getting enough of a balanced diet with.

 

Any help would be awesome. He is almost two if that helps.

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Food and beverage forum is "read only" now, no new postings can be put up. It had been buried in the archives until a enough requests for it got it back to be at least read only since there are so many great recipe threads in there.

 

As to your problem with your son, agree with the yogurt idea. Mine always liked (and still do) raw veggies - carrots, celery (on occasion), sugar snap peas, broccoli, and bell peppers, so I'm not sure if that's an option for you or not. At almost two that may be a little young, but if you cut them small enough it should be OK. My kids aren't really big on cooked veggies except for corn, but raw ones they'll attack with a vengeance.

 

How many types of fruits have you tried? We kept changing ours out with my kids so they don't get locked into one thing. Kiwi, apples, bananas, strawberries, oranges, grapes, pear, and melons in the summertime we can't keep in the house long enough before my kids devour them. As a treat we would once in a while give them canned peaches or mandarin oranges and drain as much of the syrup out of that as we could and they would eat those as well.

 

Also agree about the smoothies idea. My kids never took to them but it's at least worth a try.

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Agree with above comments. Try different fruits and veggies. Mix them in the carb foods if possible. Let him see you eating them. I think most children go thru spells of not eating well. His taste will change many times over the years. try protien type shakes with fruits and veggies in them but don't let him see you put them in.

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Blend fruit with yogurt n make smoothies

 

 

This.

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Phases and waves - don't give up!

 

Involve him in cooking - game changer when they feel like they are making their food.

 

Our kids get a list of three things they won't eat - everything else is fair game. They can change their list every week.

 

Just saw your add that he is two. Yeah two year olds are jerks in general so I wouldn't sweat it much - but setting good patterns won't hurt either

 

Good luck bro

d

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Thanks guys. Will give those suggestions a shot. I have been having some success with "rewarding" him with the carbs as a second course once he eats some of what I want him to. Will definitely try involving him in growing and cooking the meals to see that helps.

 

He eats certain fruits with ease (bananas, strawberries, blueberries, grapes) but doesn't seem willing to try a lot of new ones. I do eat everything I ask him to eat. Most of the time I let him give me something off of his plate so he knows its the same.

 

The only veggies he will eat is corn, peas, and carrots. Everything else he will just sit there and play with. Used to eat broccoli but that has stopped.

 

Any thoughts on getting him to eat different/more meats? I am worried he isn't getting enough iron and protein without the meats.

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Phases and waves - don't give up!

 

Involve him in cooking - game changer when they feel like they are making their food.

 

Our kids get a list of three things they won't eat - everything else is fair game. They can change their list every week.

 

Just saw your add that he is two. Yeah two year olds are jerks in general so I wouldn't sweat it much - but setting good patterns won't hurt either

 

Good luck bro

d

 

 

Love the list idea. Gives them some control while still ensuring they have to eat healthy. I am going to steal that!

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Grow some tomatoes. Have him help. Let him eat off the vine. Worked for my first but not my second kid. I have about 50 seedlings going. I can give some to Tim to take up to you.

 

My wife blends in veggies to hide from our second

 

 

My wife has been debating starting a garden. We just aren't sure if we have the time to manage all that with the two kiddos. I will come asking for some help if we do! Thanks for the congrats too. Having two instead of one has been a whole different ball game!

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Any thoughts on getting him to eat different/more meats? I am worried he isn't getting enough iron and protein without the meats.

I don't have kids but have been around my niece and nephews, how about other seafood (shrimp, particularly breaded) or other sources of protien like eggs, beans, cheese. Look at what vegetarians do for substitutes on protein and iron.

 

I know as a kid I really didn't like some veggies (brocolli, cauliflower, brussell sprouts) but love them now.

 

My niece was never a big meat eater, and like many kids growing up chicken fingers were one of her staples all the time. She's in her mid 20s now and hasn't changed diet much.

 

Good luck.

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We put a balanced meal on their plates, typically 1 meat, 1 fruit/veggie, and 1 carb. They can eat what they like but they do not get any seconds or dessert unless they finish the fruit/veggie.

 

If they are hungry, they typically clear their plates and then some. If they aren't, they don't and that's fine too.

 

Consistent enforcement of this policy has significantly reduced dinner stress because they know there is no other possible outcome and arguing is pointless.

 

Going to bed hungry once each was all it took for both of them to 'get it'. I have an almost 2 yo and a 3.5 yo.

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My wife has been debating starting a garden. We just aren't sure if we have the time to manage all that with the two kiddos. I will come asking for some help if we do! Thanks for the congrats too. Having two instead of one has been a whole different ball game!

 

 

I grow a garden every year but mine are too little for that to make sense to them. I am hoping it clicks with the older one this year.

 

For me, going from 1 kid to 2 was a bigger change than going from zero to 1.

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We put a balanced meal on their plates, typically 1 meat, 1 fruit/veggie, and 1 carb. They can eat what they like but they do not get any seconds or dessert unless they finish the fruit/veggie.

 

If they are hungry, they typically clear their plates and then some. If they aren't, they don't and that's fine too.

 

Consistent enforcement of this policy has significantly reduced dinner stress because they know there is no other possible outcome and arguing is pointless.

 

Going to bed hungry once each was all it took for both of them to 'get it'. I have an almost 2 yo and a 3.5 yo.

 

 

This - my kids know that we make one dinner, and they can either eat it or not. If they at least try something and truly don't like it (ie my 7 year old is not a fan of tomatoes), then I won't force it, but they at least have to try it. No dessert if they don't eat it. Granted they are older now (10, 7 and 4) but they actually will request things like asparagus and broccoli for dinner.

 

My nephew on the other hand is allowed to be a picky eater, and his parents will cook up separate things for him. When he comes to our house, he gets the same treatment as my kids, and while there are some foods he simply does not like, he will eat a lot more items at our house because I won't make him something else if he hasn't at least tried to eat it.

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We put a balanced meal on their plates, typically 1 meat, 1 fruit/veggie, and 1 carb. They can eat what they like but they do not get any seconds or dessert unless they finish the fruit/veggie.

 

If they are hungry, they typically clear their plates and then some. If they aren't, they don't and that's fine too.

 

Consistent enforcement of this policy has significantly reduced dinner stress because they know there is no other possible outcome and arguing is pointless.

 

Going to bed hungry once each was all it took for both of them to 'get it'. I have an almost 2 yo and a 3.5 yo.

 

 

Pretty much this.

 

And remember, this is going to go on for awhile. Kids are picky eaters. This happened with all three of my kids from ages two to about four. My four year old used to eat everything. From age 3 to now she has been all over the place. Wouldn't eat meat for awhile. Now she rarely does but when she does she tears it up.

 

A couple things I know:

 

1. Don't force it. Dinners become a battleground, and kids learn to just scream and cry louder and louder.

 

2. Don't force them to eat everything on their plate. This is a bad precedent to set for the future. Have them eat until they are full.

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Pretty much this.

 

And remember, this is going to go on for awhile. Kids are picky eaters. This happened with all three of my kids from ages two to about four. My four year old used to eat everything. From age 3 to now she has been all over the place. Wouldn't eat meat for awhile. Now she rarely does but when she does she tears it up.

 

A couple things I know:

 

1. Don't force it. Dinners become a battleground, and kids learn to just scream and cry louder and louder.

 

2. Don't force them to eat everything on their plate. This is a bad precedent to set for the future. Have them eat until they are full.

 

#2 rings true in my family, we were raised to not only finish our plate that it was better not to leave leftovers if there was only a little, so finish them. My one brother and I (both single, 50+ and overweight) visit regularly. I've tried to stop that habit of "there's just a little left, lets finish it." I tell him if its too little to put it away, then just throw it away. We've eaten well already (second helpings) and don't need more. But that "don't throw it away upbringing" has stuck with us.

 

Some of my other siblings do better with this.

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Thanks guys. I have a feeling this is only one of the many battles I will face. I went to leave for work today and had a baby crying, a 2 year old that HAD to have my full attention, and a brand new puppy howling in her kennel.

 

The next few years should be fun! If I stop posting all of a sudden, please send someone to see if I am still alive!

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My son is autistic and about as picky of an eater as you can find. If we find he hasn't eaten any protein in a day or two, we grind some meat and put it into muffins with some berries and other stuff he'll eat. Luckily, he's coming around a little bit with beef and rice.

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