Need some advice. ..concerning my 2 year old...

kat_renee

My daughter is 2 also, luckily she she does love fruit and green veggies, but for the most part her lunch and dinners usually consist of either, mac n cheese, hot dog, chicken nuggets, or ramen soup. I would say keep introducing her to new things and give her the option to eat what the rest of the family are eating, she may not accept it and go back to nuggets but at least she's eating something. A lot of toddlers go through this stage. Eventually she will start "exploring", but for now I wouldn't force her to eat what she doesn't want too. If it seems to be a big concern you can bring this up to your daughter's doctor. My friend's daughters were super picky, they grew out of it....for the most part...lol, and she would sneak spinach into the brownies, maybe you can find different recipes that your daughter will eat with some "healthy" items hidden inside. Hope this helps/makes you feel better.

nakabi

I agree with Redefiningmyself...tell her that she has to eat what everyone else is eating or else she doesn't need to eat anything. Believe me, if she is hungry enough, she will eat. It may take a day or so, but she won't starve I'm sure it's hard, but you have to stay strong

CatchMom11

I would use trickery!

Bake your own chicken nuggets and put them in a freezer bag INSIDE the box that the frozen nuggets came from. Then when she wants nuggets, all you have to do is reheat them. She'll think she's getting exactly what she wants.

Don't feel bad or be too hard on yourself, I've had two 2 year olds and no one said it was easy. It wasn't until my second one that I started to think outside the box a little bit more.

Good luck and let me know if it works!

hypotrochoid

Mine insists on chicken nuggets too. I tell her no, then I give her two other options- what the rest of the family is having or a peanut butter sandwich/macaroni and cheese/eggs... you get the idea. If she says chicken nuggets again, then I tell her "Okay, sweetie, here are your options. What we're having, a peanut butter sandwich, or nothing." She rarely picks the nothing and once the other option is on the plate she'll eat it without a problem.

She's testing you. Don't give in!

Ashleypeterson37

I went through this with my 2 year old recently but with cheez its. Constantly I was told, "mama, I want crackers" and they HAD to be those kind. Nothing else. If I made a meal, her crackers had to be a side. The cure? I stopped buying them. If she can't see them, she can't have them. It took about a week for her to get over the shock of it but now she acts as if she's never had them. It's just important that she doesn't try to fixate or attach herself solely onto some other type of food. She needs variety and that can only happen if you change things up. And as bad as it sounds, they WILL eat when they are hungry! A truly hungry child will not be picky.

Erykah3584

I know its tough!! My son went through a stage when all he wanted ALL day was milk! He would drink cup after cup after cup and not eat ANY food! He would refuse anything we offered him. Just wouldnt eat it. He would say that he was thirsty when I knew he was hungry. So I had to completely stop buying milk for a while. He would even go and look in the fridge for it. He cried for it but I told him that I didnt have money to buy more! lol So of course he was hungry and those days when we didnt have milk he was eating all day long!! Now he knows that if he doesnt eat food I will stop buying milk. He was 3 at the time. So good luck to you! I would stop buying them. :flowerforyou:

misscristie

I went through this with my daughter. First it was chicken nuggets, then fish sticks, then hot dogs. Eventually, she got over it. It's the age.

BBBgettingfit

I remember my parents being very hard-core about this issue with my younger sisters and myself. If we didn't eat what was being served that night, we could either go hungry (after the first two times, this almost never happened) or make ourselves a sandwich (PB&J is fairly easy to make and it was one of the things we were willing to eat then). My son is a pretty good eater, so I haven't had to put any of this into practice myself, but I know it worked when my parents did it. As my mom likes to tell me on the days my son only picks at his dinner, "don't worry; when he gets hungry, he'll eat." That being said, I have been known to offer string cheese and hard boiled eggs to my kiddo instead of whatever we are eating on days our meal is veggie-heavy (he's not a huge fan of the ol' veggies just yet) just to make sure there's something in his tummy before bed, so while the "stay tough" advice is sound in theory, I totally agree that in practice it's a lot harder than it sounds!

leilani♥

Sounds like my little piggy!! lol

ErrataCorrige

I went through the same thing with my daughter. Eventually every time I forced her to eat something new she would gag and throw up. She only ate macaroni and cheese. Forever (it felt like).

You can't force a 2 year old to eat something they don't want. But you can threaten a four year old with a time out! (You just have to wait until her brain can understand the concept of "if-then".) I had a cousin who only ate cottage cheese for every meal for three years, and now she is a surgeon!

Lol, don't sweat it. Your kid will outgrow it. Eventually you will find new things you can add in to the routine. The older she gets the easier it will be. You are NOT a bad mom because your kid is picky. You would only be a bad Mom if you didn't care about what she ate!

Now my daughter eats a bunch of things, and when we go to restaurant she only wants salads!!!!

EdensMummy

My daughter is only 15 months and I've not experienced this yet, but Supernanny (don't know if you have her in America?) covers this all the time and, to echo what others have said, you just have to persist. You need to wean her off the nuggets, so basically reduce the frequency while getting her to eat other stuff and then remove them all together. She will not starve to death and when she gets hungry enough, she will eat something else.

You're being played a little so you need to take the control back and make her see that you won't give into it. Going to bed hungry a couple of nights won't do her any harm, but a lifetime of processed chicken nuggets will!

I also know from personal experience that when I was a child, my parents let me eat and not eat whatever I wanted. I am now a very very fussy eater!

veganbaum

Some sites to give you some ideas:

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/solutions-for-toddler-eating-problems
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-infants-toddlers/feeding-picky-eater-17-tips
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-infants-toddlers
http://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/eating-and-nutrition/landing.aspx

End6ame

She is playing you like a fiddle.

My two year old would do this off and on too. At first we would let her go then when she said she was hungry, we would reheat what we attempted to give her for dinner and she would eat it. Then she decided to test the boundaries again and not eating it the second time either, so we started putting her to bed hungry. After a couple times of that she realized she could not win and eats what we give her now. On occasion she can chose what she gets, but we are not a restaurant, and she gets that now.

All she is doing is testing boundaries, it is your job to enforce them.

That is my take and experience.

smoore85

just perserver, i have 3 girls aged 2,4 and 6, also a step son who is now 16,,i also work in childcare,,
I can tell u now that if u give in she will know how far to push u till u will give her what she wants,,
i have on several occations sent my girls to bed with an empty stomach because they have refused to eat what i have cooked,,
i find by letting my kids know earlier in the day what we r having and letting them know there is nothing else helps,, also telling them the shop sold out of something helps,, they blame shop rather than me,, give it a go,,
i think sometimes 2 is a bit young for a reward system, they dont fully understand the concept of it,, try keeping the food u have cooked and if at bed time says belly hurts then offer same food reheated,, if sees this is only option it shouldnt take too long forher to accept there is no alternative,, i think sometimes u have to be cruel to be kind,, it did me no harm as a child and i think when it comes to our children nowadays we are too soft.. good luck,, let us know how it goes,, but above all,,STAY STRONG and STAND URE GROUND... xxxxxxxxxxxxx

ohpurdysure

Your not alone.. My grandson went thru this phase - and it is a phase - True I think the reward system works..
How about making fun things in small amounts, ( theres so much out there ) and it may not be what your eating
or what you think the child should eat. But its better than whats goin on.. Use these items as a way to change a habit,
Special plate with goodies of choice on it.. the reward of something anything for trying a bite or 2 of something different that
you have displayed.. Try a item or 2 everyday and then go back to the ones that were refused and before too long you may
have a whole new menu.. As Far as the reward.. As soon as the child catches on to the ( eat this ) get this mode, you will
have to again change the food and the reward as to not get into another bad habit - keep it going and in no time you will have created
a whole new system.. Be a bit persistant , but not demanding - But stick to your promise of reward and no reward. Rewards can also be foods, like popcicles, yogurts, in place of going to the park, or mommy reading a book.. be creative..
Kids are like sponges and catch on very quickly.. its worth a try.. and dont forget sometimes they like things u dont think they will, my
14 month old grand daughter loves steam brocolli - who knew.. ahahh. Jus make it fun an sometimes they like to help prepare the food to eat, but thats another added thing to do.. in the least whatever u eat.. make it fun for them and if they refuse make something else.
but by all means normally dont ask them what they want.. give them a lil something of what you know they want and something new.
good luck and with kids its always like being a scientist ahahha

DontThinkJustRun

My son, now 3, is the EXACT same way and NO it's not a power of wills. He is just that picky and will literally not eat anything if given the option. But it is getting better. We just keep trying and in time have found some fruits and veggies he will eat. But in the meat department - chicken nuggies ONLY, oh and some processed lunch meat .

Now that he is a little older we are able to say here are your choices - this healthy option or this health option or nothing and eventually if hungry he'll eat the healthy option, but meat is still an issue. And we can often get him to eat something healthy by promising ice cream or whatever later.

IMO you just have to keep trying, they'll get there in there own time, but I can completely relate to your frustrations

beccyleigh

I worked in childcare for over 10 years, and I can tell you truthfully what is going on here is a battle of wills. She's learned that if she waits long enough you will cave and give her what she wants.

No doubt that when she looks at you with big sad eyes saying her belly hurts that you must feel like the worst mom in the world....but you need to tell yourself you are NOT hurting her by wanting her to eat healthy foods. Her belly is hurting because she is being stubborn by not eating what you have put in front of her - not because you're a bad mom. You have to remind yourself of this, because those sad eyes can reduce you to mush.

I promise you this...when she gets hungry enough, she WILL eat something besides chicken nuggets (so long as the nuggets aren't being offered.) If you took them totally out of the house and didn't buy any more for at least a month, she will eventually start to discover other foods that she likes.

Also, this may take a while, so you have to be strong and determined. Children sometimes need to try something new up to 20 times before they will accept it. So its a tough road but very very worth it.

You would be doing her a huge favour to NOT serve her chicken nuggets again. She's at an age where she is learning habits that will last a life time. Instilling good eating habits now will definitely help her through her whole life - even if she doesn't like it right now.

Stay strong girl. :flowerforyou:

everything you need to know & do is in this post. you are being played & being controlled by a 2 year old.

My son eats what is in front of him, if he doesn't like it then fine but I don't make alternates. If he is still hungry he can have a banana. NO treats or desert unless he eats his dinner.

sexforjaffacakes

I would use trickery!

Bake your own chicken nuggets and put them in a freezer bag INSIDE the box that the frozen nuggets came from. Then when she wants nuggets, all you have to do is reheat them. She'll think she's getting exactly what she wants.

Don't feel bad or be too hard on yourself, I've had two 2 year olds and no one said it was easy. It wasn't until my second one that I started to think outside the box a little bit more.

Good luck and let me know if it works!

But this doesn't teach the child that mum is in control, not her?

My advice, be firm, she won't starve herself, if you let her go to bed hungry she'll appreciate the other food you offer. Also, watch super nanny!

mermx

Just as redefiningmyself says...it is a battle of wills.

Put a plate of food in front of her...give her 20 minutes to eat. Don`t play games with her, just carry on normal family conversation and ignore her.

If she hasn`t eaten after 20 minutes then say "Are you going to eat your lunch/dinner because mommy is going to leave the table and take it away" the chances are she will scream and throw a tantrum. Stay calm, take the food away. Take her away from the table.

At bedtime when she is `hungry` explain to her that you need her to eat her food at the table and tomorrow she will have breakfast.

I know it is heart breaking and upsetting and soooooo easy to give in to her pleas...but if you give in each time then you will be controlled by a 2 yo and eventually by a teenager.

It will probably take about 7-14 days to get control of things and it will NOT be easy, but it is a small price to pay for a life of you being the adult and her being the child. She won`t starve.

I am a retired childrens psychologist (25 years experience) and this is a very common problem with children.

Be consistent, don`t shout at her, when she does eat something new, tell her how pleased you are. You can get through it xx

lilcupcake213

I am a mom of 3 and alot of what people said makes complete sense and is great advice. But you also have to remember that she is only 2 years old. My son for a while would only eat cereal. day in and day out for a loooooong time !! Now at 4 years old he eats anything and everything. You have to give her time. If that's all she wants, what is in the harm in giving it to her. I understand she isn't getting the proper nutrition that she should, but give her some time. This is just another phase she'll grow out of. I doubt your gonna have an 8 year old only eating chicken nuggets !! haha good luck!