Does anyone have a picky 4yo? My son only eats a handful of things. We tried tonight to get him to eat what we had for dinner, and he ended up going to bed hungry. I hate doing that, but I want him to eat different things
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Just try introducing 1 new thing at a time?.. maybe 1 carrot stick to 1 nugget???
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Honestly Iām going through it with all my kids. My son is 10 and has been this way since I can remember. I let them eat what they want as long as theyāre eating. But not sweets.
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Donāt buy the things he wants donāt even offer them.
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We always do a no thank you bite you tale one bite of something new then it you dobt like it you say no thank you.
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Apparently it can take 7 times for a child to realise it likes a new food
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My motto was you get what ya get and ya dont throw a fit. If you dobt like it you cha have a bowl of cereal or a peanut butter sand which. I dont cook special things we all have the same things or cereal or a sandwhich
Just keep putting it in front of him. My kids eat everything but i never gave them a choiceā¦sit your ass there til you eat.
I wish I would have done what my parents did!!! You get served dinner and milk at the table. You sit there until you are done. If you choose not to eat, you get up from the dinner table and get ready for bed! I learned quickly to eat even though I was picky. When my daughter first started solids, I made sure she tried everything. Up until she was like 5 or 6, she ate what was in front of her. Then it became what was convenient. This time, it is dinner and you donāt like it, you choose to go to bed hungry. My teen loves sweets and I buy something small once a month. She loves fruits and veggies though and always has, so I will give her that much
1 bite to try. Then can have what they will eat. Persistence and patience
Taste buds change a lot when theyāre young so it can take a lot of tries before they learn to like new stuff.
Only put 1 table spoon of each food and donāt put no more than 3 items on plate at a time for he will not starve himself but you also have to cut back on liquids and junk snacks and do not make a big deal if he doesnāt eat it all for his stomach is the size of his little fist give him time soon he will be eating you out of house and home. We have a picky 4 year old also and this is what his pediatrician told us but the bigger deal you make it the less he will eat .and was told only leave out little health snacks that he can get to whenever he wants it. Good luck
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Let him choose between two new foods to try. Giving him a choice gives him some control of the situation.
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Please donāt force him to eat What he doesnāt like. That was what was done to me as a child and dinner time is the worst memory I have as a kid. And guess what Iām still picky so it did nothing to help. Out of 3 kids I only passed it down to one of them. He has gotten alot better on his own the older he gets without me forcing him to either go to bed hungry or sit at the table for hours and hoursā¦ He is 9 now and I no longer have to fight him to try things he wants to try things now. I think with my parents forcing me to eat what i didnāt like is the reason I vomit when i try new things now so I just donāt do it. Some kids are just picky Eaters. Forcing them to eat what they hate will only make them hate feeding time with you
My son is 14 and still is a picky eater, he never liked gerber food. I know people will judge me for this but I only make him food he likes and always have because 1. I never wanted him to go hungry and 2. Because if I donāt like something Iām not going to eat it. If you feel he is eating healthy and he isnāt just eating chips and candy then feed him what he wants.
My daughter is nearly 5 and a nightmare eater since she was very young, however now she fully understands the importance of food, I put her one of everything (veg,fruit & salad wise) on her plate and she has to take one bite of everything. Sheās now realised she likes carrots, peas, sweetcorn, cucumber, grapes, melon. She will only eat chicken and mince beef so I tend to pack the spag bol or lasagna with tons of veg. Try hiding things in the food he likes. If she eats enough then she is allowed a little treatā¦ yoghurt, mini chocolate bar or a milkshake after 9/10 times she will try something new. Good luck and donāt feel badā¦ you are definitely not alone. Xxx
Multi vitaminsā¦ itās just a faze I wouldnāt force it unless the things he choosing to eat are super unhealthy. Donāt stress about the little things soon he will be eating every damn thing in sight lol choose your battles!!
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I would rather my son eat SOMETHING than nothing 
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I always have made my kids try 1 bite of everything I make for dinner. If they like it WIN if they donāt at that age I had a back up for them. My youngest is 7 and I still make him try 1 bite
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I highly recommend you look up ākids eat in colorā and feed your kid what he will eat instead of feeding him nothing.
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My son is level 1 autistic. Due to his sensory disorders, he wont eat what we eat 90% of the time. It best to introduce new foods but its still best they eat something rather than nothing. Make them try 2 bites of dinner then they get a treat of what they like
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I have a nearly 3 year old and heās very picky literally makes me take the batter off his chicken nuggets but I know heāll eat them so I do itš I just leave him to eat what he wants in my head if he was hungry then heād eatš¤·š¼āāļøx
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Sorry Iām going to be the odd one out and say NOT to let your child run the place. Dont just give him whatever he wants. Keep up what youāre doing. Heāll eat If hes hungry enough
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Think of it as safe and unsafe foods, safe foods are foods you know heāll eat, and unsafe are new/disliked foods. Put 2-3 safe foods on his plate and 1 unsafe food, they donāt have to eat it and itās not a big deal if they donāt, but make a huge deal and praise them even if they only take one bite, I also mix snacks for my son, if he wants jelly beans for example, or chips, Iāll put some in a bowl but also cut up carrots and put those in the bowl as well and mix them together
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What I do is I take a food I KNOW my kiddo will eat and put on a plate with what Iād like him to try. That way heāll eat SOMETHING.
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I was the picky eater as a child. Seriously, no veggies, no sauce, no fruit. My parents tried the whole eat what I make or be hungry thing, but that just made me not want to try new things even more.
Get some pedisure, put some things you know he will eat and a thing he should try.
Im 26, and I still hate all veggies, fruits, and all sauces. I have special vitamins i take to give myself nutrients.
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I spent a lot of time trying to force my son to eat what we ate. Turned out he had Aspergers all that time and certain textures of food made him gag. I still feel guilt about that. Donāt force him. If he doesnāt want the food because he genuinely doesnāt want it donāt force it.
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My daughter started being a pretty picky eater at that age, The less I forced it the more willing she was to try new foods. I also had her start helping me prep/cook meals (seeing/knowing what was in it really helped) sheās now 9 and knows I have to have a special diet and if she doesnāt like whatās for dinner she can make something else or if I know itās something she reaaaallly doesnāt like (tried multiple times) Iāll make her something special 
I went to bed hungry a lot as a child and would rather her eat be healthy and grow
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Iāve had many people say different things over the years, including my firsts (previous) doctor saying, ādonāt substitute the good for the bad, she has enough weight that if she doesnāt eat, sheāll be fineā. (Even after telling of food sensitivites)
Iāve refused to ever starve my children.
Theyāre somewhat picky. I donāt care. They usually grow out of it with curiosity for other foods.
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No. Iām not putting my kid to bed hungry because he didnāt eat what I wanted him to eat. Some kids have food aversion disorders and sometimes they resolve over time and sometimes they donāt.
And some parents cause their kids to have eating disorders by making eating into a fight. Either way, donāt put your kid to bed hungry. Thatās messed up.
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Donāt force them!! Theyāll try new things when their ready to. As long as their eating something thatās the main thing. Kids go through stages of only eating certain things theyāll grow out of it.
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My son is 5 and has a sensory disorder. Very picky eater. However, I make him take 2 bites of whatever Iām having. If he likes it, cool. If he doesnāt, Iāll make him what he wants. They will eventually be curious to try new things on their own and slowly eat what youāve already been making.
My son loves smoothies so I sneak the fruits and veggies that way.
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Iām on a page called āparenting picky eatersā which I get lots of information off.
Well first off donāt force him to go without food. That could be considered neglectā¦ secondly, have you thought about WHY he only eats those certain foods? Is he odd about textures of things? Do certain things besides food upset him? Figure out if there is actually a pattern somewhere that you didnāt see or think of at first. My 3 year old has sensory issues to the point heās been pretty much only eating pretzels all day long. Could be he likes how they feel crunching in his mouth. Could be the flavor. It could be just the texture of the salt on the pretzels. Who knows at this point. But heās eating something right now and I couldnāt be happier. Heās gone days without an actual meal because his issues were on haywire. Itās just how it is for us and we do our best to make it easier on everyone for him. Now Iāve gotten frustrated and put him down for a nap when he wonāt eat but after an hour heās calm enough to try again and usually does eat. It might be a slice of turkey or ham. Maybe a chicken nugget. Handful of pumpkin seeds one at a time of course. Could be a bag of chips or pretzels. Sometimes itās even soup! My point is if you just take a breath and relax about it and just do what has proven to work for you guys it can help. Not feeding a child because they refuse to eat just reinforces not wanting to eat at all because you already know youāre not going to eat. That leads to a lot of mental health problems and eating disorders over time. So what if all he has is a single candy bar all day? At least he ate something and thatās better than nothing at all and one less thing to worry about with him. I have enough on plate as it is.
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Make them try a bite and then make a sandwich maybe, not their favorite food as a back up but something so they eat. That way they donāt say they donāt like it just to get their favorite meal in place of.
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I used to let my son watch cooking videos on you tube and he would tell me what he wanted to try and what looked yucky and i would let him help me prepare It got him to try some new stuff made it sort of like a new adventure and kids are also very sensitive to smell and textures of food keep that in mind.
Asking them how much they would like. They have to have some but they get to choose how much. I literally give them a bean or 3 for example; until their taste changes.
We made it a game. He has to try one bite and give it a thumbs up or thumbs down. Majority of the time he ends up liking it. 
Make a little sticker chart when he tries new foods he gets a sticker and you set the number of tries for a prize.
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I always make one thing I know my picky eater will eat. Also I have him take a āno thank you biteā he has has to try one bite of everything. I donāt want him going to bed hungry so I always include that one thing he will eat.
My son is 5 and has a sensory disorder. He is fairly picky. He used to be so picky he would only eat 5 things. Chicken nuggets, fries, oranges, spaghetti and Mac and cheese. It was so extreme that he would immediately gag and sometimes actually throw up just from either smelling something he didnāt like, or having it near his tongue.
Now, he eats almost as much as my very adventurous 6 year old eats.
I slowly introduced everything to him. On his dinner plate I would give him things he liked, things he sort of liked (but wouldnāt gag on immediately) and a thing he hated. But Iād keep introducing it and every time he either had to lick it, take a bite of it (even if he couldnāt swallow), or put it in his mouth. Eventually after months of doing this with numerous foods he started to forget he didnāt like them and just ate them as soon as I put the plate down. This has been 4 year process.
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With my picky one I would put some veggies nearly liquify them and mix them in with things they did like, a little at a time more and more until they got used to the flavor. I also took a small spoon and dished up a small spoon full of each item everybody else had, she was allowed have what she liked once she had the small amount of what she did not want to eat. She also had a problem with textures, so some foods like peas I did not mind making her green beans instead, which was her favorite veggie.
Sending your 4 year old to bed hungry is wrong on so many levels. I would never send my son to be hungry. He is a very picky eater and while I make me and his dad supper I cook whatever he wants to eat. Its not hard to do. His dr told me to let him eat what he wants as long as heās eating and to never send them to bed hungry. His dr also advised me to give him vitamins to give him nutrients he wasnāt getting because of his pickiness. That will cause issues with them in the future. My son is 5 and is starting to help out with cooking and he sometimes acts like he wants to try new foods but then doesnāt. He loves chicken fries, so I will cut up chicken in the shape of his fries and batter them like his chicken fries and he will eat them like that. Sending your 4 year old to bed hungry is absolutely wrong and isnāt right. How would you feel if you were 4 years old again and was sent to bed starving? Makes them have trust issues. There are other ways around his pickiness without making him starve, thats heartless in my opinion.
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I will not force my child to eat anything she doesnāt like. But Iām also not gonna offer something I know she doesnāt like. But when a kid will eat the same type of food and then all the sudden decide they donāt like it anymore Iām not gonna cater to them. Four year old can also hate to go to bedā¦but sleep is a necessity. They will eat when theyāre hungryā¦especially when they find out itās not disgusting hahaha
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Cheese powder for popcorn. We did that for our kids when they were young and picky. Put the powder on to give it a bit of flavor and they loved it. Now they will eat unseasoned broccoli with ease.
I left my 3yr old eat off my plate when I know itās things she normally wonāt eat on her own. A good chunk of the time it works.
Idk but in my opinion this is just bad habits, autism or sensory issues or not. Iāve given my kids plain fruits and veggies and plain meats since 6 months of age. I also ate healthy foods no processed foods while pregnant and after while breastfeeding. I never gave sweets or processed foods including soda till my babies developed a taste for all things heathy. My 4 and 5 year old will eat any veggie steamed and any meet. The one thing they wonāt eat it fast food exception french fries.
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My daughter was picky and slowly I got her into preparing the meals with me and she started to like the idea of eating something she made. I would let her pick something new and let her make it and it worked with her.
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My son is 13 (almost) and he canāt stand cooked broccoli but eats it raw certain pasta like lasagna or thick spaghetti he wonāt eat but he will eat thin spaghetti or elbows hates macaroni and cheese itās all about taste and texture for him
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I hope you teach him to eat different foods, because I have a 68 year old who is so darn picky about his foodā¦I āblessā his mother daily for giving in to him as a child. It makes cooking and grocery shopping very difficult
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I whole heartedly agree with Anna Cline
I let them eat what they want after 5 you starve 
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I would rather my child eat then worry about what they are eating. Try adding smoothies and multivitamins. They will eat more one day.
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U can add vitamin drops etc ā¦but I would never ever let mine go hungry .
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I do not and have never made my daughter anything else to eat besides what I eat. When I say what I eat, it is because my husband and I have very different tastes when it comes to good. He likes spicey anything while I do, so sheās always tried whatever I eat. If she doesnāt eat with us, she then goes to her room, alone until weāre done eating. If she is hungry enough, she will at least taste it. I always make her taste it. Doesnāt mean she needs to eat it all, just a bite.
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I always did āNo thank youā bites.
My kids had to try a bite.
Then I would ask them, āwould you like some more?ā
They were then allowed to say, āNo thank youā or āyesā.
It took a few times, but both of my kids eat a lot of things that they ādidnāt likeā.
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My daughter let the picky eater to pick out things when they went grocery shopping. He would talk about it where it came from and how it grew and how it tasted so he was all eager to try it., after awhile he was into trying new things. I wanted my children to try one bite because it might be like candy you never know.
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I refuse to be a short order cook. I will ask everyone on Saturday before grocery shopping what they would like. We meal plan by the day and snacks. We also sneak veggies in things, mac and cheese I add pureed squash about a serving, and they never bn know. We make homemade nuggets batter is egg mixed with squash etc. And baked or fried. They dont get to just decide they dont want something and throw a fit. The idea is to have things you know they eat. Mac and cheese is served 6 to 7 days a week here. But its different kinds and extras are added to it, squash, cauliflower etc. Six kids everyone likes different things. My girls are the pickiest. My 12 year old will say I hate that, its gross when she eat 3 bowls the week before. Hell no, sit down and eat. Kids will throw fits because they want the junk. Will swear they donāt like something just for the nuggets or hotdogs. I work with special needs kids and children. You have to enforce rules and make them try it. A student of mine is Autistic, he would eat a thing. Nuggets 4 times a day. He now eats a large assortment, we played a games called Try This. He got half a nugget for every 3 new foods he tried. Texture is an issue but he likes some things so much he eats them anyway. Be consistent.
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We had a similar problem with our toddler. When it came to dinner my son (about 18mo at the time) wouldnāt eat anything. Not things he liked, just nothing at dinner. Heād throw a fit and starve himself. We finally started building in a bedtime snack (a cup of milk he gets when we read his bedtime story). He gets it every night regardless of behavior and so if he eats nothing at dinner he doesnāt starve. Now that heās almost 2.5yo he will eat a good bit at dinner.
When it comes to trying new things, I always do it when I know there is something he likes for dinner. I give him everything (new and favorite) and when heās finished his favorite and asks for more he can only have more if he tries the new thing. Just a bite. More often than not it works (French fries are a great motivator).
Baring any medical issues I would say s/he can sit in front of their plate until they get hungry enough to eat. I didnt have the time to be a short order cook nor did I want to eat mac n cheese and hotdogs 7 days a week. My daughter was eating sushi by the time she was 6 and now at 14 (almost 15) she has a wide range of foods (PhĆ³ to Mexican to Thai and more!) that she loves to eat. People seem to be constantly amazed at her palette
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I learned my child is on the autism spectrum at 3 yrs old. Heās ridiculously picky. Itās a palette issue.
Never send a child to bed hungry. Thatās just awful.
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Give him what he likes. He will grow out of it. Donāt let him go to bed hungry!
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Some people just canāt eat certain things. As a life long picky eater I can assure you that going to bed hungry or withholding desert or forcing a child to sit and eat it all does not work and causes a great amount of stress to the child. Food should not be used as motivation or punishment.
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Encourage him to try different things but I donāt believe in forcing children. As an adult I donāt eat something I donāt like. Offer options and praise new choices. Donāt put him to bed hungry
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Who lets a 4 yr old go to bed hungry give him something he likes then! Going hungry doesnt teach anything it causes trauma thats it.
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My 3 yr old is like this. To be honest Iām not sure the kid even feels hunger. I try to give him a variety of food n let him eat what he will which isnāt a lot. I do give him a carnation good start drink once a day to make sure heās getting some good nutrition. Just keep trying n they do eventually eat.
Ok but sometimes they just want what they want. My son said he wouldnt eat dinner so I said ādo a no thank you biteā. He did and then I asked him to take a few more no thank you bites. Then when he started being bratty I said āyouāre excused. No problem. But you wont get dessert and you will go to bed hungryā. Wasnt mad or threatening. And oh lookā¦he polished off his plate
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Try pairing new food with something he loves. One bite of new food then one bite of loved food. I use chocolate pudding for my 3 year old. It takes some time but at least heāll be trying new things out hopefully discovering he really likes a lot of different foods
My 3 yr old has sensory issues, she doesnāt like certain clothes, her pants by her heel, socks have to be perfect, etc. she doesnāt like the textures of certain foods she will try them but usually doesnāt like them. It could be that!
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When my son was able to starting eating solids we stuck with pured veggies baby food and tried all kinds of different ones. Once he got old enough to eat actual solid food and could swallow and everythingā¦ I basically gave him everything I cooked for dinner and he still eats everything, the 1 thing he eats the most is fruit, he loves fresh fruit and even the fruit cups(only 100 juice no syrup). But I started with mashed potatoes and cream corn, mix the juice if the cream corn to soften up the taters to make them easy swallow for a baby instead of thick, that way he got 2 flavors in 1 instead of just over flowing them with milk, and then just starting cutting up everything I made into tiny bites and he eats everything to this day that ti make, but if itās like mac and cheese or beans, I have to give him little of that and more of everything else or else heāll just sit there and eat just that.
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I would never send either of my littles to bed hungry. I allow them to choose what they want for dinnerā¦if I end up tossing some microwave pancakes and spaghettios on the table itās not a huge deal and theyāve eaten while me and my husband eat regular dinnerā¦we all sit together at the tableā¦I was a picky eater all growing up and still am and was forced to eat everything I hated. I had a very miserable childhood and now have major issues with food. The list of what I wonāt eat is way longer than what I will eat.
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Put the new foods with something he likes, that way he isnāt going to bed hungry.
If I want my kids to try something different I always serve it to the side of a food I know they will eat.
The thing for me isā¦ I donāt eat foods I donāt like, so I wonāt force them to eat things they donāt like and not offer an alternative.
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Just give him what he likes to eat. Make him something separate. Definitely better than to go to bed hungry
If you think thatās disciplining him and Iām not implying anything, but, if you continue to do that itās considered child abuse.
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My kid was same way. Dr said as long as shes eating its fine. Never let kid go hungry
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If itās behavioral, seek therapy. If itās because they like what they like, feed them and move on.
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I never agree with sending any child to that hungry! you encourage them to eat different things and what you had for dinner yes. But Iāve been taking care of children since I was nine years old and thatās been for 22 years now and Iāve never seen anybody I know send their kids to bed hungry. Even if itās because they didnāt like what they had for dinner. You know my dad would eat gizzards and liver. I mean do you think my mom and I ate that?? No we did not. And no we would not and yes she always made us a separate dinner. You donāt ever force a child like that. SMH! Bless his heart!!! My daughter and I had deviled eggs at nearly 11 tonight lol just mommy/ daughter memories, and of course our bellies wasnāt hungry lol
Encourage him eating different things but never let a child go to bed hungryā¦ I could never do that to mineš„ŗ
I try to mix some foods together sometimes. Peas in mac n cheese, mashed potatoes with chicken chunks, mixed veggies. My mom used to tell my sister that turkey was chicken because she refused to try it and she loved it. Also try taking him on a shopping trip and ask him to pick 1 thing new to try every week.
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I found platters were good. Put a little bit of different foods on. Most of the time it mostly all gets eaten.
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If he goes to bed hungry enough times he will cut his nonsense. He wonāt starve.
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I really wish these women would stop shaming you for letting him go to bed hungry. Heās a child. A four year old who thinks he can challenge his parents and dictate his dinner. We are adults and we have to answer to others and follow instructions. The same goes for him. He can absolutely say mommy I donāt really like this. Mommy I donāt want this. But not refuse to eat. Her question was how can she get him to try other things. Not what do you think about me sending him to bed hungry this ONE time. Some of you are enablers.
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Start small - do them a meal they like but add in something they would normally turn down even if it is just a mouthful
Tell them once they eat that mouthful they can enjoy the rest of their dinner
This is how I got all of my 3 to eat a wider selection of food
Start with a teaspoon of veg or whatever it is you want them to eat then build up to a larger amount until they are eating the whole meal
X rewards for them trying especially at that young age x
Donāt make a huge deal out of it. Itās not about what he likes right now, itās about him exploring his choices. This is one of those āpick your battleā things. If your always upset and giving negative attention to his decision to not eat whatās given- heās a kid he will keep doing it. Kids like to get good attention of course- but they enjoy the reaction and control over mealtime.
Simply say this is what weāre eating, if he doesnt eat, leave it be until your done with your meal. Donāt pay attention to it. Once your done with your meal you could bring up again something like, your really not going to try it? If not, go in the kitchen with and prepare something he picks. If he feels like he has choices it will make mealtimes smoother.
This is something that has a step process to correct, and a lot of patience.
You can also have him help you pick out something with you to make for dinner. This has worked with mine many times.
But at the end of the day, itās not a huge deal as long as lo eats. He will grow out of it. Heās looking to you to guide him on his choices.
I have a very picky 9 year old. I have him at least try the food. Heāll swear he doesnāt like something heās never tasted 
if he makes a good attempt to try it and still doesnāt like it, then I get him something else. That was one thing I hated growing up was being forced to eat stuff I didnāt like!!
I refuse to eat fresh tomato now but can eat it from the tin mixed with mince and pasta etc, I use to hate broccoli etc and now love it! What they donāt like today may be their favourite food in a couple months/years! Let them taste and if they donāt like it then maybe try again in a little while!
My son is 6 months and tends to like anything we offer him apart from banana and mango purĆ©eā:woman_facepalming:t4: but loves the banana custard! Loves fresh strawberries and apple and banana in his super tots first taste feeder!
But in saying that, by the time heās 1 he may not like it!
Following as my 3 years old is the same way!! If my child refused to try an eat what we have for mealsā¦ he gets two choices that I kno he always eatsā¦ PB&J sandwich or cerealā¦ I keep hearing that if your child will only eat a few choices keep letting them eat it! Better then nothing!! Good luck momma!
A lot of children have problems with food. Sometimes its texture , sometimes its autism. Never put your kid to bed hungry. Your just making the problem worse.
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Iām really lucky that my kids are good eaters. But with that said, I would try to get your son to eat what youāre eating. He doesnāt have to eat a whole plate but he has to try it. If he doesnāt like it he can have something simple like yogurt, cereal, peanut butter sandwich, etcā¦ But donāt drive yourself crazy making a second meal.
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He may have an eating disorder. My youngest who is 9yrs old has what is referred to as ARFID. Itās more than picky eating. It actually has to do with anxiety and fears surrounding food. When he was a toddler, he would have actual panic attacks and hyperventilate. Please look into ARFID or SED before sending child to bed hungry
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I never made my kids eat what they didnāt want.
I even went as far as making them separate dinners if they wouldnāt like what I made.
I was forced to eat certain foods as a kid. I hated it. And still hate those foods now.
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Our rule, and let me tell you it was very difficult to start, one bite of everything on the table. Sometimes i let them get away with half a bite. My youngest would not eat anything but bbq chicken. It was awful. It took 2 years to get to the point there is not a big argument, but now 6 years later, he will try everything. He will even eat broccoli. One day we had salads and he told me at that time he did not eat grass, the next day we had broccoli. His comment, i will never forget, was ā i told you yesterday i would not eat grass, so now you give me trees. I will not eat trees!ā I think all kids go through this stage, as they say, this too shall passš
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Kids will be kids. All these technicalities and implications of some sort of medical issue or deep embedded explanations as to a reason why are a bit much. Possible, yes, but a stretch. Again, all kids are different. Alternatives and hiding healthy food has worked for me. For instance, my son wonāt eat eggs. But when I make a homemade chicken fried rice he will and doesnāt even know. Iāve snuck veggies in beef burgers. Cooked down first so itās unnoticed. My daughter wonāt drink cows milk, but will eat all kinds of cheese and yogurts so she gets a good source of calcium that way. In my opinion, itās about NOT forcing it. But just finding another avenue. So long as your child is actually FED, thatās what matters. There are so many different ways to substitute nutrients that children are missing that Iād avoid the battle and try and find different ways to include foods in the meantime/different ways to compromise on getting your child to at least try what he/she claims to not want or like.
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Every child Iāve known goes through this. Heāll start trying and eating different things, just give him time and let him eat what he wants for now. Sometimes itās a week, sometimes itās a few months but his body will eventually tell him to eat what he needs.
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As long as the kid is healthy and eating what he likes, leave it alone. It may take years, but eventually heāll expand. Talk to your pediatrician, get his advice.
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Maybe make dinner and add one thing he likes that way you donāt have to cook two different meals and encourage him to to try the other foods but if not he will have what he likes out of dinner!
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Kids should not go to bed hungry. Iām not saying you canāt discipline your kid the way you see fit. However, your childās brain is growing and they need protein and glucose to help brain growth. I was a texture eater. Iāve grown out of it. My daughter is still a texture eater. People who arenāt texture eaters will never understand. My pedi told us if our kid wanted to eat chicken nuggets every day, fine.
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Food should not be a punishment. There are foods that you donāt like. If he refuses to even try it then maybe try time out our taking toys away. But donāt use hunger as a punishment
I always have my kids try one bite of it, if they donāt like we make a PBJ or something else quick. I will not make a complete different meal just for them but I also wonāt make them go to bed hungryā¦my favorite so far is my 5 yr old trying to convince us she likes saurkrauet just because her dad didā¦her face was priceless! She even said its so yummy mommy with a grimace on her face lol.
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Keep an eye out for other signs of Aspergers. My son was a very picky eater. There were only about 3 or 4 things he would eat. Later he was diagnosed with Aspergers and I found out his eating issue(s) was a symptom.
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If my son truly doesnāt like it I will offer something else. If he refuses to even try it then no he can go to bed hungry because he refused to touch his dinner. A lot of times if I know Iām making something he wonāt eat or dinner will be extremely late then I will make him something else. I do give him the options to pick what we are having for dinner and this has helped with him eating more.
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Lord this was me when my lil one was 3 she starved herself for 4 days because I refused to feed her oreos breakfast lunch and dinner lol so I called pediatrician and he was like let her starve lol she will eat whatever you put in front of her if she actually hungryā¦ lol their bodies are changing and sometimes they just arenāt hungry. I suggest tough love lol and pediasure for kids so child isnāt actually starving lol
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Donāt make mealtime a battle. If he is healthy fix at least 1 food he likes for each meal and ask him to try 1 to 3 bites of another thing at the table. If he wonāt say, " well it seems you donāt want to try a new thing tonight" and let it go. Tell him that tastes change so foods he donāt like now, he may like when he is older, but donāt force or let others to force him. He will eat different foods when he is older, if you keep saying he may like more. My son is in his 50s and still wonāt eat green vegetables alone. He can eat some if we have a stew or some food with them in it. I never noticed because I grew up with the food police who made us eat what he decided we should so the meals were a battleground every day. I didnāt do that with my kids. When they were old enough they could fix something they liked if no food on the table was what they liked but they had to clean up after themselves.
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