im at witts end picky eatter

[blue]

my almost 2year old wont eat anything but. tv dinners, fish sticks,sausages, corn and grapes. she knows that grndma and grandpa will give her candy and sweets to stop the crying. tonight i tried to mix a little egg in with her sausage. when she tasted it she pulled it out her mouth picked the egg off and threw it in the garbage. anything sweet she'll eat. i cant really complain because she loves her fruit. but something else would be great. she used to eat oatmeal but no any more. can you please give me some more ideas on what to feed her

[kfiedler]

I hate to say it but Racheal Ray says that "picky kids come from picky parents" now I don't know you but I do some what agree with her statement. With my family (grandma's, grandpa's, sisters and uncles) no one says "Yucky" around my kids. I don't want them to know that things are yucky they can decide for thereselves. My sister in law may a huge deal about giving my daughter a tomato and was saying how nasty they are and gross. I told her to shut her trap and that I wasn't asking her to eat it so it doesn't matter. If my kids do get picky and cry at the table. I will tell them that's enough that they don't have to eat now, but later when they are hungry, I will pull out the same thing. To bad so said I am not a resturaunt, I am not making a different meal for everyone. I am sure I am being a tough on this whole subject but I too once had picky eaters and this was the decision my husband and I made, it was a lot of screaming at the table and the kids were probably hungry because they didn't want to give in. But we stuck to it, now they eat really well.
- A few ideas to start you off with give her desicions (only 2) do you want this or this
- offer he up a tiny treat if she finishes all her food (a m&m or something)
- have her help with the meals
- themed meals have her help you pick out a whole meal that is orange, or green
- have her make her own special eating plate
- if she doesn't want it, don't force her, put it away and later when she is hungry pull it back out. If she is really hungry she will eat it.
- have a conversation with the extended fam tell them you want you daughter to have an extended pallate, make sure everyone is aware of it.
- pack wht you want her to eat when you are at extended family. (I tell them this way they don't have to fuus about what to feed them, and its already made)
- watch what YOU say about certian foods you don't like, they pick up on things like that, If I don't like it it isn't going to kill you to have a couple of bits.

I hope this helps good luck

[ra11en]

I'm with kfiedler all the way. Luckily my daughter isn't picky, but I'm quite convinced its because we haven't allowed her to be. She pushes it, but we just won't allow it. We don't deny her her favorite foods, but we certainly don't give in to her faves all the time. And like kfiedler, I would jump all over ANYONE that tried to say something was 'gross' or 'icky' in front of my daughter. It helps that I will keep giving her something even if she doesn't like it the first time, and if she doesn't like it but we do I will make a BIG show of how yummy it is which almost always makes her want some too.

Like kfiedler, I refuse to make her something else when she doesn't like what I put in front of her. I am not a chef or a cook or a diner, we eat whatever I cook. End of discussion. Great thing about kids, they won't starve themselves. If she skips dinner, she goes to bed hungry. If she doesn't like a snack I've chosen for her (especially if it is one she has eaten in the past) she will go without until her next meal. I'm very careful about snacks to make sure she doesn't get full on them and that they are almost always healthy.

One thing that has helped a lot now that she is a tad older is letting her stand on a chair next to me and 'help' me cut up fresh veggies - she actually just gets to move them around on the cutting board but she feels like such a big girl! It is very noticeable how much better she eats when she feels as though she helped me make it. So cute!

I take food with her wherever we go, even to grandmas! I take her snacks, juice (no sugar), and meals so Nana doesn't have to worry about since I know Nana would keep giving her something else if my daughter doesn't like her first attempt. WHen she does REALLY good at a meal, she gets a sweet treat afterwards. And lately, we have had to let her take the lead - even though it takes forever and is soooo messy, she eats much better if she gets to handle the little baby fork herself. We have to load the food on it, and much of it goes down the front, but it makes a world of difference when she gets to do it on her own like a big girl.