Help!

[pstone]

Picky eater, picky picky picky eater....

Anyone else? what did you do? help!

We've had lots of them. Search for Kelly's posts, or Jane (migirl). Kelly and Kris' "pea-ball" stories are legendary.

Hang in there.

[PrincessFiona]

Kelly and Kris' "pea-ball" stories are legendary.

Hang in there.

Yes,I have to hang my head in shame there.

Pete....I've been through all phases with my little gaggle of kids and I'm going to tell you that the best way that I have found to deal with picky eaters is to simply make what they like.

I know, I know...it goes against the whole "I'm the parent and you will eat what I want you to" mantra...but I assure you that all of my children eat fruit, veggies and the older kids eat exactly what I make for them now....ie the grown-up food. The change-over happened for us at about 7 or 8 years old for Andrew and Amanda and 5 or 6 with Alex.

Yes...I still make chicken nuggets/fish sticks/mac and cheese for Aidan...and he gobbles it all up...while we eat some yummy german meal.

They have me trained, I guess....but in the end, we all get what we want. I'm happy because they eat. They're happy because they eat and like what they're eating..and eventually, their tastebuds...mature and we all eat the same food together.

That my 10 cents.

kris

[migirl]

I've been through all phases with my little gaggle of kids and I'm going to tell you that the best way that I have found to deal with picky eaters is to simply make what they like.

I'm slowly starting to learn that this is the easiest way to deal with the issue. Our ped assures me that he'll outgrow this phase and will eventually widen his palate; so, for now I just give him what I know he likes and keep trying to introduce new foods here and there. We just had DS's 18-month checkup this week, and I was telling the ped how frustrating it is to see other kids DS's age eating stuff he would NEVER touch and the ped pointed out that it's not because I don't TRY and offer those foods. He advised that all I can do is try, and since I can't force DS to eat it all I can do is keep offering and that's good enough for now.

I know that's not the advice you were probably looking for, but we're dealing with this same issue and all I can offer at this point is commiseration.

[Meenah]

It helped me to think about what they consumed over a week rather than a day. They do usually grow out of it. Good luck.

The other rule we have in our house is if you don't eat what we are having for dinner, you can always choose PB&J. It's relatively healthy, doesn't require additional cooking and it give me an answer to "yuck, I hate that."

I do that as well, with the caveat that they MUST at least TRY what I've prepared AND they'll have to wait until after Mommy is done w/dinner if they want a PB & J sandwich. I did my cooking, and I refuse to be stuck w/a cold meal b/c they're being fussy.

They're both very good PB & J makers now.

Granted - my kids are older. For an 18 month old, it really is just trial and error, and in the meantime they'll subsist on vitamins and the few things they will eat.

[pstone]

I mean I guess I am glad it is not just me, but for the love of all things!

I am trying to be calm....he won't starve right?

Trying the, make family dinner, but include bread and butter and one other thing he likes on the table. He can always pick those two. He just does not want to eat...

Oh well...I am sure this too will pass.

[planet]

He won't starve. We term it being a breatharian...living on air.

[diggitydot]

Our two youngest have taken turns being REALLY picky eaters. I got fed up and finally told everyone that I was making only one breakfast/lunch/dinner instead of an individual meal for each person. I don't like cooking that much. If they didn't like it, too bad. They could either eat or not, but they weren't getting anything else.

They eventually quit bitching and started eating. They're not going to starve. That, and it takes a few introductions of new items for them to actually try them so I'm not all that worried. They've survived and will now try new stuff to see if they like it before an automatic rejection. Most of the time.

[samssugarmomma]

We're just going with the philosophy that she won't let herself starve.

Some days DD eats like a bird and some days she can't get enough. We just offer healthy options and try to go with the flow.

She's on a kick right now where she just wants one thing for 3 or 5 days and then moves on to the next thing. Last week, all she wanted to eat was pancakes, so we offered pancakes with strawberries for breakfast, pancakes with peas for lunch, and pancakes with bananas and carrots for dinner.

We also don't allow her to have a treat (hershey kiss, fruit popsicle) (sometimes she'll look up from playing and say "I want candy") unless she eats something healthy. Sometimes that works...and sometimes she gets no treat.

My rule is if our kids don't like what I make, then they have to find something to eat that they can fix themselves. Often it's an apple, peanut butter, applesauce - something simple. I refuse to be a short order cook.