Picky 7 year old!

b00b0084

I am working on eatting smaller portions and adding new foods. I am and always have been a picky eater, but my palate has grown over the years. My son is extremely picky. These are the only foods he will eat: Toast (jelly no butter), grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti os, pb&j (warmed 10sec only, not cold), Spam, candy, strawberries, buscuits, snack cakes, candy, and peppered turkey. He refuses to try anything new. Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get him to try new foods?

GorillaNJ

I use the hunger method with my boys... they eat what I cook or they go hungry. MAYBE if they do not finish dinner I will let them have a piece of fruit or a low fat yogurt... but normally they have to finish most of their dinner for that treat.

MamaBear57

I started using the same method as GorillaNJ....kids eat what I cook other than that the kitchen is closed. I do not have the money or time to cook multiple meals and they will eat healthy. Now if they eat something new and do not like it I will fix them a sandwich or something. If it is something that I know they like or have eaten before They better eat enough to get through the night. If all the meal is eaten without a fuss then they will get a cookie. (frozen kind that takes 12 minutes to cook in convention oven).

april_beth

i agree with G....and as a mom i KNOW this is not easy but our kids will not starve and they will eventually eat. our kids are picky because we let them be...they eat those foods because we give it to them. if we do not give it to them, they cannot eat it...

BUT the other thing i would add in there is i woudl start off small cause i mean really, he/she is only seven. so instead of X amount of nuggets, only give him two and then add in something healthy and just stick to your guns mama...its not easy especially when they look so pathetic at us like we're starving them LOL

digitaldigital

I tried to be picky but my parents did their method.

Trust me it works.

ilookthetype

I use the hunger method with my boys... they eat what I cook or they go hungry. MAYBE if they do not finish dinner I will let them have a piece of fruit or a low fat yogurt... but normally they have to finish most of their dinner for that treat.

I love you.

Mmmary212

I am working on eatting smaller portions and adding new foods. I am and always have been a picky eater, but my palate has grown over the years. My son is extremely picky. These are the only foods he will eat: Toast (jelly no butter), grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti os, pb&j (warmed 10sec only, not cold), Spam, candy, strawberries, buscuits, snack cakes, candy, and peppered turkey. He refuses to try anything new. Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get him to try new foods?

He only eats spaghetti o's? Hot dogs? pizza? SPAM? candy? snack cakes? WTF?

No, this is what he eats because this is what's provided for him. SMH

Healthyby30

My son is almost exactly the same way, he's just over 8 1/2. This past year, he's changed a lot as far as his stubborness towards at least tasting new foods. One thing I'm not fond of is people lying to their children and "hiding" veggies in meals. I want my kids to eat them without having to trick them into it. For the most part, I can get him to at least try things. I always make things with our dinner that I know he likes, healthy things, but in order for him to eat them he has to try things he says he doesn't like. I make him take at least two bites of the other kinds of foods before I give him the things he likes, if he likes them he usually doesn't ask for the other food because he's full off the new stuff that he discovered is actually good. I also do not give him unhealthy food to begin with like mac & cheese, hot dogs, etc. Sometimes he'll say he doesn't like something but he's never even tried it, or he's tried it years ago. Other times, I know he truly doesn't like something..so those things I do not make him eat. I HATE mushrooms and seafood, I wouldn't want someone forcing those things on me.

Make sure he's eating nutritious foods he does like. He can't live off hot dogs, spaghettios, spam, etc. Make nutritious foods you know he'll eat and throw in a new thing, and tell him he HAS to try it.

My son also loves fresh fruit and eats a lot of veggies. I don't give him cookies and chips for lunches. He gets gets yogurt, fresh fruit and veggies like celery with pb or carrot sticks. I make my own dip with greek yogurt, so its not as bad as sour cream or mayo based dips. We start dinner everyday with a small salad, too. Their snacks when they're home are fruit and yogurt for the most part. At school he takes homemade granola bars, or trail mixes made with nuts and dried fruits for snacks.

Just make sure he's getting nutritious foods in, he will start to come out of it. I give him a multi-vitamin plus iron because he doesn't eat much meat.

I also recently discovered green smoothies...they're just frozen fruit, water and baby spinach (you can use other greens, spinach is the mildest I've tried). You cannot even taste the spinach, my kids LOVE them!

Also, try different cooking methods. Maybe he won't like steamed broccoli, but he'll like oven roasted broccoli.

b00b0084

I am working on eatting smaller portions and adding new foods. I am and always have been a picky eater, but my palate has grown over the years. My son is extremely picky. These are the only foods he will eat: Toast (jelly no butter), grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti os, pb&j (warmed 10sec only, not cold), Spam, candy, strawberries, buscuits, snack cakes, candy, and peppered turkey. He refuses to try anything new. Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get him to try new foods?

He only eats spaghetti o's? Hot dogs? pizza? SPAM? candy? snack cakes? WTF?

No, this is what he eats because this is what's provided for him. SMH

Shake your head all you want. When you spend 7 years on $200 a month food stamps and 8 of those months homeless that is pretty much all that you can get.

He used to be way more open to different foods. As a baby he loved anything green: spinach lasagna, chicken and broccoli, ect. He used to love steak and pork chops. The older he got the less he was willing to try. I have tried the "you can only eat what I cook foods" and that resulted in him sitting at the table for 3 hours not eatting anything. I am not the type of person to force a child to do anything. Not for 3 hours at least. Don't think that he gets away with what he wants and doesnt have to do anything he is told, that is not true. His Dr has told me not to worry too much about what he eats because right now he is perfectly healthy and not over weight at all. He is 50 inches and only weighs 60 pounds. He is not a big child. He is very active as well. I am just wanting tips on how to get him to add healthier choices to what he already eats. I could care less if he eats hot dogs and pizza, but I would love to get him to try some celery or carrots with some peanut butter or maybe try eatting a small salad with me a few times a week.

morganadk2_deleted

I am working on eatting smaller portions and adding new foods. I am and always have been a picky eater, but my palate has grown over the years. My son is extremely picky. These are the only foods he will eat: Toast (jelly no butter), grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti os, pb&j (warmed 10sec only, not cold), Spam, candy, strawberries, buscuits, snack cakes, candy, and peppered turkey. He refuses to try anything new. Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get him to try new foods?

He only eats spaghetti o's? Hot dogs? pizza? SPAM? candy? snack cakes? WTF?

No, this is what he eats because this is what's provided for him. SMH

does he do the shopping? if you don't buy junk he can't eat it!!

rbryntes

Shake your head all you want. When you spend 7 years on $200 a month food stamps and 8 of those months homeless that is pretty much all that you can get.

I remember being on food stamps and being able to buy different foods than this. Not judging, though, get whatever you wish.

His Dr has told me not to worry too much about what he eats because right now he is perfectly healthy and not over weight at all. He is 50 inches and only weighs 60 pounds. He is not a big child. He is very active as well. I am just wanting tips on how to get him to add healthier choices to what he already eats. I could care less if he eats hot dogs and pizza, but I would love to get him to try some celery or carrots with some peanut butter or maybe try eatting a small salad with me a few times a week.

Actually, I am with your doctor. My brother was THE PICKIEST eater ever. Pickier than your 7 year old. Forcing him to eat vegetables never worked. He tried salad when he was 22 and broccoli at 24. Now he is 39 and eats mostly vegetables. He'll get it, but forcing him to eat it seems to be teaching him that vegetables are bad or evil.

2bFitNTrim

When a child has gotten used to certain foods, it's tough to make him eat nothing but healthy foods right away. If it were me, I'd continue to offer his favorites, but start introducing healthier foods gradually, bit by bit. You'll get a lot of tips here I'm sure on different ways to cook & serve it, but do it gradually. For example, I might give him 1/2 of the Spaghetti O's that he's used to, then fill the rest with a vegetable like peas or corn (a typical kid friendly veggie to start).

Patience & diligence! Big pat on the back for wanting to correct this! :flowerforyou:

b00b0084

Actually, I am with your doctor. My brother was THE PICKIEST eater ever. Pickier than your 7 year old. Forcing him to eat vegetables never worked. He tried salad when he was 22 and broccoli at 24. Now he is 39 and eats mostly vegetables. He'll get it, but forcing him to eat it seems to be teaching him that vegetables are bad or evil.

I cant stand most of the fruits or vegetables out there, but I have tried them lol. I make sure when I eat veggies and fruits that I ask him if he wants some and let him know how good they are. When he is ready he will try them.

GorillaNJ

He used to be way more open to different foods. As a baby he loved anything green: spinach lasagna, chicken and broccoli, ect. He used to love steak and pork chops. The older he got the less he was willing to try. I have tried the "you can only eat what I cook foods" and that resulted in him sitting at the table for 3 hours not eatting anything. I am not the type of person to force a child to do anything. Not for 3 hours at least. Don't think that he gets away with what he wants and doesnt have to do anything he is told, that is not true. His Dr has told me not to worry too much about what he eats because right now he is perfectly healthy and not over weight at all.

you are setting it up as a battle of wills... my 6 year old would sit there for a month and scream and fight. That is not how i play the game. When we are done eating we clean up and walk away. I let him leave his plate out for a while if he changes his mind before bed time. I would never force him to sit there.

Few kids are stubborn enough to starve themselves...

dls06

I find children are picky because parents gave them too many choices. They use the excuse "they won't eat anything" or "I have to so they don't starve". When a person is hungry they willl eat.
In my family and in most cultures children don't dictate meals. We always sat down as a family and ate a meal together. What ever my Mother put on the plate. I did the same with my children. If I tried to give them something frozen, they would look at me like I was crazy. Fast and processed foods are easy that's why people use them so much and why kids don't know any better.
Just my opinion.

dad106

When a child has gotten used to certain foods, it's tough to make him eat nothing but healthy foods right away. If it were me, I'd continue to offer his favorites, but start introducing healthier foods gradually, bit by bit. You'll get a lot of tips here I'm sure on different ways to cook & serve it, but do it gradually. For example, I might give him 1/2 of the Spaghetti O's that he's used to, then fill the rest with a vegetable like peas or corn (a typical kid friendly veggie to start).

Patience & diligence! Big pat on the back for wanting to correct this! :flowerforyou:

I'm with this gal.. She's got the right idea.

Give your child half healthy and half "junk".. Gradually decrease the junk and up the healthy. That way its not such a shock to his system.

Plus he's 7.. and at that age, they want to exert independence anyway and feel like they have a say in things. Do you take him shopping with you? if you do, then use it as an opportunity to show him healthy vs junk food.. I do something like that for every "junk" item he buys, he has to get a healthy item to balance it out or something.. and let him pick but guide his choices.

Healthyby30

I am working on eatting smaller portions and adding new foods. I am and always have been a picky eater, but my palate has grown over the years. My son is extremely picky. These are the only foods he will eat: Toast (jelly no butter), grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti os, pb&j (warmed 10sec only, not cold), Spam, candy, strawberries, buscuits, snack cakes, candy, and peppered turkey. He refuses to try anything new. Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get him to try new foods?

He only eats spaghetti o's? Hot dogs? pizza? SPAM? candy? snack cakes? WTF?

No, this is what he eats because this is what's provided for him. SMH

Shake your head all you want. When you spend 7 years on $200 a month food stamps and 8 of those months homeless that is pretty much all that you can get.

Sorry but if I had $200 a month to spend on groceries, I would NOT be buying snack cakes and candy. It drives me absolutely crazy when I go grocery shopping and the people in front of me pay with foodstamps and they are getting chips, soda, cookies, etc. THAT is ridiculous. You do the shopping, if you do not buy the junk he won't eat it. There's nothing wrong with eating hot dogs once in a while. But he needs more nutrition daily.. As far as your doctor telling you not to worry about it. Did you tell your doctor all he eats his junk? My doctor told me not to worry about my son being picky as long as he is eating nutritious. I'm sure if I told him all he'd eat was spam, hotdogs and candy there'd be an issue.

While I commend you for wanting to change his habits, it seems like you are enabling it by purchasing the bad foods. Have you tried having him help you make things? If he helps with it he might be more willing to try it knowing HE made it. Also, there are food pantries all over the place that will help out with the food. Buy frozen fruits/veggies. They are the same (or very close to the same) nutrient wise as fresh. Not having a lot of money to spend is not an excuse.

asyouseefit

Eat what I cook or don't eat at all. If they're hungry later, you can always offer a healthy snack.

pixlamarque

Having them help you prepare the meals is a great way to get them interested in eating them. They like the idea of wanting to eat their creation. Look at Parent's magazine (there are recipes online). I saw a good article recently about making food to go along with children's books. One meal was mashed potato "clouds" with chicken meatballs raining down on a broccoli forrest (from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). He can help make the food and it will be something special that he will remember later. I still remember being little and my mom serving everyone green eggs and ham for dinner. My dad was less than thrilled but I thought it was amazing.

This may be more for a bit younger children, but maybe with some imagination you can think up some meals that go with your particular child's interests. Whatever you do, don't give up. My nephew is 17 and still only eats nuggets, cheese pizza, powdered sugar donuts, biscuits,and French bread with butter. He was thin as a child but now is quite chubby. He has never even tasted spaghetti or a hamburger. Maybe going cold turkey is too harsh for you, but it is true that if the junk isn't in the house he won't have a choice but to eat what you provide. It may be hard initially but it won't last forever and you will be helping him to be so much healthier in the long run. Maybe then he won't end up on here like all of us.

Vegan_Chick

Not having a lot of money to spend is not an excuse.

I totally agree with this. Frozen veggies, Beans, rice, and legumes are way cheaper than spaghetti o's and hot dogs. The list goes on. Its the parents choice on what goes in their kids mouth, NOT the child's. Tough love works well, but it does take a lot of time and effort.

b00b0084

As far as your doctor telling you not to worry about it. Did you tell your doctor all he eats his junk? My doctor told me not to worry about my son being picky as long as he is eating nutritious. I'm sure if I told him all he'd eat was spam, hotdogs and candy there'd be an issue.

Yes his Dr knows what he eats. She was also my pediatrician and has known my family for 27 years. He gets his multi vitamin every day as well. And my son is the type of kid that eats few times a day (maybe 2x) because he is not hungry, then when he is going through a growth spurt he can't seem to eat enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I would just like to point out that I was asking for tips on adding healthier foods to his existing diet. I was not asking to get bashed for the foods he already eats. I eat the same stuff as him, in small portions, and still manage to lose weight. I can not stand 80% of the health food crap out there. It tastes horrible to me. So yeah my son eats the same stuff as me, but I am more open to certain things. There is a difference between giving me pointers and bashing my already made choices.

16mixingbowls

I was just listening to a child psychologist speak about a book he wrote about kids. He spoke about the brain's ability to aquire new flavors easily, but that the nest way to achieve this is to alternate bites of unknown foods with known foods. You can also make a game out of it. Kids are learning at school about patterns (red block, blue block, red, blue. I know, I'm a teacher.) So make a pattern with his food. Literally, on his plate, arrange a bite of chicken nugget, a bite of grilled chicken, chicken nugget, grilled chicken, etc.

Then, on another plate, have a bite of macaroni, a cooked carrot, a bite of mac and cheese, a cooked carrot.

Having a known flavor/texture mixed with the unknown allows his brain to expect what's coming, as well as quickly swallow the unknown/disliked flavor quick and get back to what he likes. In the process, though, he will learn the new flavor/texture.

The psychologist also MIXES foods. His daughter loves ice cream, so he literally mixes in cooked veggies so that she gets the flavor of ice cream and the texture of the veggies. He gradually decreases the ice cream and ups the veggies, over a period of a few days. Finally, he sets a small portion of ice cream across from his daughter so she sees her motivation.

Lots of parents mix veggies INTO the food they make. Puree carrots/beets/spinach and mix them into your pasta. (Please just get dry pasta and a jar of marinara. It has much less sodium and additives than Spaghetti Os.) Or cauliflower mixed into mac and cheese. Yeah, you can't do Easy Mac, but you don't want to take shortcuts when it comes to you child's health, right?

There is a great cookbook called Deceptively Delicious, by Jerry Seinfeld's wife Camille. It's written for parents who want to incorporate a more diverse food menu into their cooking.

Unless you live in a food desert, which I know exist in many inner-city communities, you can definitely get fresh foods and veggies. This week, at my local natural-foods store, I got 5 types of in-season veggies and all were on sale for under a dollar per pound. That's like 5 big zucchini for a dollar, and a beautiful acorn squash, and 6 crowns of broccoli, and at least 10 carrots. That's enough veggies for a week and it was less than I could have ever spent on processed convenience food. (Yes, the same store can charge $6.99 for a single serving of precooked mac and cheese, and they offer steaks for $24 a pound, and their cookies/crackers/cereals are all spendy, but I don't eat those foods anyway. I stick to the outer isles and bulk bins.)

Good luck!

Mmmary212

I am working on eatting smaller portions and adding new foods. I am and always have been a picky eater, but my palate has grown over the years. My son is extremely picky. These are the only foods he will eat: Toast (jelly no butter), grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti os, pb&j (warmed 10sec only, not cold), Spam, candy, strawberries, buscuits, snack cakes, candy, and peppered turkey. He refuses to try anything new. Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get him to try new foods?

He only eats spaghetti o's? Hot dogs? pizza? SPAM? candy? snack cakes? WTF?

No, this is what he eats because this is what's provided for him. SMH

Shake your head all you want. When you spend 7 years on $200 a month food stamps and 8 of those months homeless that is pretty much all that you can get.

He used to be way more open to different foods. As a baby he loved anything green: spinach lasagna, chicken and broccoli, ect. He used to love steak and pork chops. The older he got the less he was willing to try. I have tried the "you can only eat what I cook foods" and that resulted in him sitting at the table for 3 hours not eatting anything. I am not the type of person to force a child to do anything. Not for 3 hours at least. Don't think that he gets away with what he wants and doesnt have to do anything he is told, that is not true. His Dr has told me not to worry too much about what he eats because right now he is perfectly healthy and not over weight at all. He is 50 inches and only weighs 60 pounds. He is not a big child. He is very active as well. I am just wanting tips on how to get him to add healthier choices to what he already eats. I could care less if he eats hot dogs and pizza, but I would love to get him to try some celery or carrots with some peanut butter or maybe try eatting a small salad with me a few times a week.

Your excuse is being on food stamps? So? Food stamps are not stamps for junk food. Make better choices and you'll actually spend less because yeah healthy food can cost more, but you actually end up eating differently and it stretches farther. I spend more per shopping trip, but I shop less often. I spend less per month buying the right stuff than I did buying 'whatever my kids liked'

I'm sorry you were homeless for a time, but you're not homeless now and you can talk to a 7 year old and they can actually understand what it means to eat healthy vs unhealthy.

If they are hungry enough, they'll eat. Why are you wasting 3 hours of your day? If he doesn't want what you made for dinner, then run along child...you can wait til the next meal. It's rough at first, but if he gets hungry enough, anything will be good enough to fill that belly.

ninerbuff

I am working on eatting smaller portions and adding new foods. I am and always have been a picky eater, but my palate has grown over the years. My son is extremely picky. These are the only foods he will eat: Toast (jelly no butter), grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti os, pb&j (warmed 10sec only, not cold), Spam, candy, strawberries, buscuits, snack cakes, candy, and peppered turkey. He refuses to try anything new. Do any of you have any suggestions on how I can get him to try new foods?

Yep. Don't buy the stuff. He's picky because you give him those options to eat. Kids will eat anything when hungry.

ChantalGG

My son is 7 too. Remove it all from the house, serve him what you want. You are the boss. My son is picky but i make him eat 95% of his plate and he must taste everything even if he doesnt like it. By making him taste everything he has started liking mushrooms and other veggies that were on the gross list before.

Qarol

Few kids are stubborn enough to starve themselves...

Yup...he will eat something pretty soon.

b00b0084

Few of you are helpful, but the majority of you seem to think that asking for tips means judge my choices. I will feed him what he likes regardless, but I asked for tips to ADD healthier foods, not replace with. Thank you, but no thank you.

cramernh

Easy - you need to make a game out of it where one day per week he has to try something new. Put a bunch of different types of foods on a piece of paper, put it in a hat... he grabs one and that is the mystery item to try. OR, grab three hats: one hat is vegetable, the other starch, the other is protein. Grab one from each and you have to come up with a meal with those items. This could be your own little version of Food Network's "Chopped"... and it can be fun. Let your son be part of the prepping process.. you can take this opportunity to teach him about cleaning the vegetables before working with them, teach about washing your hands and work area... get him involved!


To be honest, if you dont start kids with different foods from a young age, they end up being picky like your son.... That was something I avoided with my daughter altogether and never had a problem with her trying new things. She is 18 now and she still explores trying new things to this day.

Our kids learn from us, so you will have to work with your son on trying new foods as a fun thing to do... Come up with a special prize or special thing to do at the end of the week, if you do this, say, three times per week... Have a goal at the end of the week for being a 'grown young man' trying new foods...

b00b0084

I was just listening to a child psychologist speak about a book he wrote about kids. He spoke about the brain's ability to aquire new flavors easily, but that the nest way to achieve this is to alternate bites of unknown foods with known foods. You can also make a game out of it. Kids are learning at school about patterns (red block, blue block, red, blue. I know, I'm a teacher.) So make a pattern with his food. Literally, on his plate, arrange a bite of chicken nugget, a bite of grilled chicken, chicken nugget, grilled chicken, etc.

Then, on another plate, have a bite of macaroni, a cooked carrot, a bite of mac and cheese, a cooked carrot.

Having a known flavor/texture mixed with the unknown allows his brain to expect what's coming, as well as quickly swallow the unknown/disliked flavor quick and get back to what he likes. In the process, though, he will learn the new flavor/texture.

The psychologist also MIXES foods. His daughter loves ice cream, so he literally mixes in cooked veggies so that she gets the flavor of ice cream and the texture of the veggies. He gradually decreases the ice cream and ups the veggies, over a period of a few days. Finally, he sets a small portion of ice cream across from his daughter so she sees her motivation.

Lots of parents mix veggies INTO the food they make. Puree carrots/beets/spinach and mix them into your pasta. (Please just get dry pasta and a jar of marinara. It has much less sodium and additives than Spaghetti Os.) Or cauliflower mixed into mac and cheese. Yeah, you can't do Easy Mac, but you don't want to take shortcuts when it comes to you child's health, right?

There is a great cookbook called Deceptively Delicious, by Jerry Seinfeld's wife Camille. It's written for parents who want to incorporate a more diverse food menu into their cooking.

Unless you live in a food desert, which I know exist in many inner-city communities, you can definitely get fresh foods and veggies. This week, at my local natural-foods store, I got 5 types of in-season veggies and all were on sale for under a dollar per pound. That's like 5 big zucchini for a dollar, and a beautiful acorn squash, and 6 crowns of broccoli, and at least 10 carrots. That's enough veggies for a week and it was less than I could have ever spent on processed convenience food. (Yes, the same store can charge $6.99 for a single serving of precooked mac and cheese, and they offer steaks for $24 a pound, and their cookies/crackers/cereals are all spendy, but I don't eat those foods anyway. I stick to the outer isles and bulk bins.)

Good luck!

I will have to check out that book, and I like the idea with mixing known and unknown foods on his plate I will have to give that a try. My sons loves pickles, so I tried the whole "a cucumber is just a pickle out of the juices" thing and he looked at me like I was nuts for trying to get him to eat a cucumber slice.

kateroot

Few of you are helpful, but the majority of you seem to think that asking for tips means judge my choices. I will feed him what he likes regardless, but I asked for tips to ADD healthier foods, not replace with. Thank you, but no thank you.

Why would anyone want to feed their kid garbage? I'm not judging, but I'm curious. We ate junk food as kids maybe once a month as a "treat." We didn't expect spaghetti-o's every day. Junk food is not supposed to be part of your everyday diet, especially as a growing child. Processed junk on a regular basis is just setting a kid up for an unhealthy future.

vim_n_vigor

You can start by adding to the stuff he is eating. Puree some real veggies and put them in the spaghetti os. Upgrade the cheap hot dogs to chicken or turkey brats, maybe try some items from the vegetarian isle for replacements too. It will look and taste similar.

Put together a try new foods booklet - you may be able to find ideas online for this, or actual books to purchase. Give him stickers or stamps on the pages like a passport booklet each time he tries something new.

The other piece is that you have to take control. Kids will eat what you allow them to eat. As long as you cater to these food demands, he has no reason to change.