Guest guest Posted March 14, 2001 Report Share Posted March 14, 2001 My son, who is 4.5 years old is driving me insane. He just won't eat the things I make for dinner! Or if he does he picks all of the veggies out. He will take a bite of anything but either gags and spits it back out (in the trash can) or says he likes it but then refuses to eat any more. Argh! I know that some will say to just let him go to bed hungry and he'll eventually come around but I really hate to do that. Any suggestions or should I just keep doing what I am doing? (He doesn't get a separate meal prepared, BTW, he either picks around what he doesn't like or just doesn't eat and then I'll let him have a healthy snack later.) ~Tracey ~mom to Brandon 08/25/96 ~due with #2 07/26/01 " I did then what I knew how to do. When you know better, you do better. " --Maya Angelou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2001 Report Share Posted March 15, 2001 Tracey, I wonder if your son is simply not as hungry lately and eating all he needs to. My kids go through spells when they are eating faster than I can cook for them, but then they slow down and go through pickier stages. I do have a VERY taste-sensitive son who has always (since his first tastes of solid food) gagged on nearly everything I introduced to him. We keep a few of his favorites on hand in fridge or cupboard for when he can't stand what we're eating, but yes, this means some extra cooking, I'll admit. I figure the most important thing for now is making sure what he eats is healthy and balanced, and to that end, he can eat what he likes. Not ideal, but he is healthy and growing! Susan ______________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2001 Report Share Posted March 15, 2001 In a message dated 3/15/01 11:43:51 AM Central Standard Time, tracychilds writes: > Anyway, good luck, and it's bound to get better as he grows (or you can only > hope!) > > Actually, he shocked me last night (after I wrote the post of course LOL) and ate some lasagna rolls I made and they were full of fresh spinach! I was sure he would protest about the green stuff but he didn't! Weird kid! Even weirder - he loves salad! Go figure . . . thanks for the suggestions everyone! ~Tracey ~mom to Brandon 08/25/96 ~due with #2 07/26/01 " I did then what I knew how to do. When you know better, you do better. " --Maya Angelou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2001 Report Share Posted March 15, 2001 Can I relate to this! And I can tell you that there is hope! My son who is now 10 1/2 used to do the same exact thing! He would live on bread alone (dry cereal, muffins, pancakes, spaghetti, crackers etc) if you let him! Well, there were a few other things he liked (raw carrots, apples, peanut butter (sometimes), tofu prepared certain ways) so I tried to make those things available a lot and just worked steadily on expanding his repertoire. so-to-speak. It got very frustrating at times, but we would just talk him into trying things, but also have things he liked available, too. This might have been a mistake (because he never *had* to eat it to fill up a hungry tummy), but I felt it important that he eat *something*! He went to day-care until he was 4 1/2 (and his sister was born) and while he didn't eat any meat, I'm sure he was fed a lot of junk, so I don't think that helped matters much with eating at home. Now he likes tofu prepared more ways, veggie burgers, bean tacos, broccoli, salad, chinese food, salsa, split pea soup and a lot more things than he used to! He also has a much bigger appetite (though he's still thin and small for his age, but very fit and atheletic). He still *loves* starchy things! Also, he became vegan (like me) about a year ago (he was ovo-lacto vegetarian from birth), and this seems to have created a more adventuresome attitute towards some foods. What I do now is prepare one of several meals that we all enjoy (but I feel I'm in a cooking rut and don't get to try out new things very much because the whole family balks at it). I do feel that my son's willingness to try new things over the years (slowly but surely) is because we backed off on *forcing* him to try them. Encouragement and enticement are good, but forcing is bad (I think!). Anyway, good luck, and it's bound to get better as he grows (or you can only hope!) Tracy - <BeemersMom Wednesday, March 14, 2001 3:22 PM Frustrated! > My son, who is 4.5 years old is driving me insane. He just won't eat the > things I make for dinner! Or if he does he picks all of the veggies out. He > will take a bite of anything but either gags and spits it back out (in the > trash can) or says he likes it but then refuses to eat any more. Argh! I > know that some will say to just let him go to bed hungry and he'll eventually > come around but I really hate to do that. Any suggestions or should I just > keep doing what I am doing? (He doesn't get a separate meal prepared, BTW, > he either picks around what he doesn't like or just doesn't eat and then I'll > let him have a healthy snack later.) > > ~Tracey > ~mom to Brandon 08/25/96 > ~due with #2 07/26/01 > > " I did then what I knew how to do. When you know better, you do better. " > --Maya Angelou > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2001 Report Share Posted March 15, 2001 Tracey asked about feeding a picky eater.... I agree that it might just be a phase where he doesn't need as much food, but there are a few tricks I've resorted to that might work for you, too. - Everything tastes better if it's dipped into something else. There are some decent vegetarian & organic ketchups, or there's hummous, tahini sauce, or salad dressing. - There's a product called " Veggie Booty " that looks like junk food (it's extruded, like Cheetos) but is made from about 12 vegetables, including kale, spinach, and cabbage. I'm not saying it's the same thing as a mixed salad, but it's better than nothing. - It's amazing what you can do with shredded vegetables: wrap them in fajitas, pita bread, or wonton skins, or put them in muffins. - There are vegetarian vitamins for children. It's a simple way to help your child through a temporary time of low nutrition. Hope these help, Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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