I forgot about the kids!!

sbwood888

If you are going to give her three things to eat, then put 5 acceptable choices on the counter and let her pick the three that she wants to eat. THat way, she still feels like she is in control.

ShaeDetermined

<no time to read thru all the posts so i apologize in advance if i duplicate>

We spend our whole lives establishing routines for ourselves and our children, and toddlers especially thrive on these routines.
Now, you're turning their world upside down and they dont like it!

Dont get me wrong, I think what you're doing is great, but I think you need to ease into it.

Here's what has worked for me with each of my kids to get them to try new foods:

I would give my child a very small portion of what I know he likes, along with the foods that I want him to eat, knowing full well that he will want more of his food.
I would then explain to him that he can have more of his food only after he's sampled the other foods. He didnt need to finish it, only try a sufficient amounts.
I did meet resistance many many times, BUT ---This has had a 100% success rate for me over time with all 5 of my boys.
The younger you start the broader their horizons can be!

Good Luck!

chicpower1

:flowerforyou: We had this problem with my daughter when she was 4 years old. While she was thin as a rail, I knew she wasn't eating a proper diet. Her pediatrician told us to ABSOLUTELY refuse to allow her anything to eat other than what was served. He said, "Eventually she'll learn that mom is not a short-order cook and she has to eat what is served. She won't starve to death, and skipping a few meals won't hurt her." It took a while to get my husband on board with this type of thinking but it worked and was absolutely worth it. Now she eats veggies and nutritious food that is good for her. She no longer has problems with constipation, and is healthier overall. It's a battle of the wills mom, and you're strong enough to win this fight! :flowerforyou:

kamk16

My first thought is your child is not going to starve if you don't break down and give her something she wants. Someone else said part of it is about control I do believe that is a big part. I do daycare for children so have had a variety of kids I have cared for. I do try to give them healthy options all the time. I also try to plan meals so I am serving at least one thing I know they like but they also only get one serving unless they gobble down all of their food then I figure they are maybe going through a growth spurt so will give them more if they want. If you are oncerned about her being hungry maybe have a healthy snack available in between. Good Luck I wish I would have been more diligent with my own kids when they were younger my daughter now mainly eats cereal and cookies and ice cream all the time and she is 18y so hard to change now.

JennsLosing

the rule in this house is to eat what your given. My ds who is 4 HATES beans with a passion, they still go on his plate, when i make them, but i put an extra serving of vegetables on his plate too, because 98% of the time he doesnt eat the beans. Other than that hes not really a picky eater, so i lucked out in that parenting department.

MzBug

I have a picky eatter too. The only vegies he will eat are potatoes (any way), corn (on the cob only), tomatoes (as spaghetti sauce), carrots (glazed only) and occasionally a salad that is swimming in dressing and croutons. The only way he will eat fruit is if it is in jam or jelly form (preferably grape), occasionally a small glass of orange juice or sweetened apple sauce with cinnamon. He will use a small amount of skim milk on cereal, and will only drink milk if is chocolate. There is no way to get him to eat anything other than above. Nothing I have said or done has made any impact, and probably never will. Oh....he's 41. He got away with it in childhood and never saw reason to change.

crdav13

I am not a parent yet, so maybe I just don't get it but I really don't understand the concept of picky eaters when you are a child. My coworkers talk about making separate meals for certain kids and to me it does not make sense. I grew up in a house hold where even though my mother worked she made dinner every night and we sat down as a family to eat whatever was on the table. I never even knew that there was the option to eat something else. I think if you are going through the trouble to make a healthy meal, then they should eat it. You are running a family, not a restaurant.

Even at 29, when I go home for a family dinner, I eat whatever is served, no questions asked.

coolsmartygirl

So I am an extremely picky eater and have anxiety when it comes to trying new foods. I believe there are multiple reasons on why I am this way. But one is that I wish my dad would have been harder on me to eat and try new things. I know that my pickiness is going to affect my future children and I have already planned out how to make them more well rounded when it comes to food. My dad was a single parent so my guess is that he wanted to make us happy and not create a fight after working all day so he made a lot of mac n cheese and ground beef.

Which ever way you try from the advice given, I do suggest you push towards her good healthy, variety of foods.