Hello Everyone!

I have a 4 yo. DS who hardly eats anything that is remotly good for him. I have admitted that my husband and I are to blame for this behavior.

He refuses to eat anything healthy for him. This is what he "lives on" for right now:

Ramen Noodles
Ceral: Trix, Pebbles, Frosted Flakes (i try to get the reduced suagar ones) ocassionally oat meal or cheerios.
PB&J
Grilled Cheese
Chicken Nuggets (now and then) but he throws a fit if they are not "perfect" or they are not his Favorite Kind. We buy only one kind and have since dd was young.
Cake,Cookies, fruit snacks (my fault here for buying and making that stuff)
Grilled Chicken
Mac-n-Cheese
He HATES potatoes

He will not eat fruit and veggies. We give him V8 Fusion which helps get some of that into him.

I want to try to get him to eat a more rounded meal. Protien, veggie, bread (no issues with tht), fruit ect.

He has also learned from dh, he makes comments and turn his nose up at stuff sometimes and ds sees all of this, but denys doing anything LOL.

I would love it if he at spaghetti, lasagna (sp??) tacos, soup, caserols ect.

What can I do to get him to even take a taste of anything? I am cutting out the sugary snack and replacing it with healthier stuff like raisins and dried fruit.

He loves yogurt too

Help. I need him more balanced. We were out of the country for a month in Pakistan and he hardly ate there and lost abt 4 lbs.......... when we travel we have to worry about what he will eat. We cannot just go somewhere for dinner and enjoy our meals becuase he is sitting there not eating or creating a scene becuase he "hates" what we get for him.

sorry to ramble like this i am just frustrated!

Many parents find that some foods will change their child's behavior. That can be very helpful for parents of a child with ODD or A.D.H.D.

My girls have been going through a picky stage lately. I've found that cooking with them has helped. They used to totally balk at tomatoes. So I pulled them up to the countertop and they "helped" to slice the tomatoes (with spoons) and they were begging me to give them bits. So they helped make a whole meal from start to finish- they were very into it- and ate it pretty well (tomatoes and all!)

Also- trash everything in your house that you don't want him to eat anymore. He will probably skip a few meals, but if you really don't have any of the bad stuff, he might eat something actually good for him! Good luck!

I'm having the same issues with my 17 month old son and I know I am to blame. I am going to try and be good starting tomorrow with him. Less junk....I worry so much that he is hungry all the time, but when I sit back and think about it, that's so silly. I have to start letting him get hungry enough to want to eat the healthy stuff!! I fill him up on so much junk while he's waiting for a meal to be cooked that by the time it's time to eat, I don't think he's hungry anymore. BAD MOMMY.

Of course kids will 'only' eat certain foods, if you keep feeding them only the things they want. Try "The Sneaky Chef" cookbook. I have a picky 4 year old and she has gobbled down every recipe I've made from there.

My neighbor tried this. I am certain that it is harder than it sounds....

Offer him healthier food when he asks. If he refused it, say "Fine. I will save it right here until you are hungry." When he returns hungry, offer him that same food. If he is hungry he should eat it.

I would start slow. Maybe try this only at dinner and see how it goes. Dont start out with baked chicken and salad! lol Ease into healthier foods. Good luck!

You can also try rewarding him with healthier treats when he does do a good job of eating.....like yougurt with tiny sprinkles.

I just re-read your post. I feed my kids the same foods that you listed, except I don't really do chicken nuggets. We eat peanut butter but dip celery, carrots and apples in it, not bread and jelly. I dont see anything THAT unhealthy about the foods you listed. Am I crazy? lol

My kids WILL eat fruits and veggies. We eat everything. I think we are balanced.

a few tips for picky toddlers:
1. in toddlers they will often do this to show power. they have little power over their lives so they often choose food. so giving more power like choosing clothes, play, bedtime routine can all help.
2. they will often eat when given no choices, thus my son who did the keto diet..
3. get very creative
4. you and dad MUST eat and show enjoyment with the healthy stuff
5. dont buy the bad stuff!

OK since you have chkn nuggets to go on its a start.. make your own and sneak in a tiny veggie like a few pieces of corn..just to start. since he likes mac and cheese..try adding a big of other cheese like chedder to make it stronger, then you can add just a bit of mashed/chunky cauliflower (rachelray thx), then with PBJ trying changing PB and the J for added flavors. once they get used to trying other flavors it gets easier to try new foods all together.
Also make it a game and learning so they take pride- like growing veggies.
Go to the store and say we are playing a new game of trying a new food, you pick and we will talk about it, then we also get to try a new MOVIE (or toy). So say they pick bananas as the food for the day..talk about all the ways to eat bananas. then go home and try a few ways, then draw a picture of favorite way to eat them!
I also bargain with my dd who only likes veggies (i know thats good but she needs protein). So she must take x # of bites of meat to get dessert...or lately she has been eating half of something and throwing it away um NOO that cost $$, so i told her no more. I save it, when she is hungry i get it out so now she has no choices.
OK one last rant..my son prefers crunchy foods, he must have crunchy. So its been tricky finding good choices. I finally found granola bars for breakfast- veggie chips and freeze dried peas for snacks, and different crackers w. dinner. Just getting really really creative...

Good Luck

I have a couple secret weapons that I use on my son and step sons. my son used to LOVE peas and carrots. I can't get him to eat them now though even when I mix them in mac and cheese. I have a hard time getting him to eat veggies. so instead of putting butter and milk in his mac n cheese I use pureed baby food squash. he eats it up and so do my stepsons 8 and 10 years old.
another trick is wheat germ. my boys love mcdonalds and ask for it all the time. I don't take them there though. I make them GERM burgers. you mix around 1 cup of wheat germ into 2 lbs meat; 2 eggs; some minced onion and spices to taste. wheat germ is very good for you. also you can sprinkle it on there cereal in the morning. the boys LOVE GERM burgers.

one trick that i used when introducing new foods was not telling them what it was or calling it something different.

For example the first time I said I was making mashed potatoes my oldest daughter, 13 now, maybe 5 or 6 then, insisted she didn't eat them. I said no problem and instead served a "buttery, milky side dish" with dinner which she inhaled. Even now mashed potatoes are one of her favorite dishes.