i can't get my kid to eat!

@kerrina (104)
Canada
October 22, 2010 5:32pm CST
my kid is super stubborn and just won't eat anything else besides grillcheese, waffles, cereal and bread and SNACKS most especially. i can't take it anymore it's driving my nuts. it's come to the point where he wont even eat his food at daycare because he's so sick and tired of it. im trying to get himto eat different food but he's too stubborn. someone help me ? what do i do ? i need advice from a professional or something. .
2 people like this
9 responses
@Kirinx (1688)
• United States
22 Oct 10
Well I'm not a professional but I can give you info from my point of view. The way I see it your the parent and you know whats best for your child when it comes to what he should be eating. You have to enforce it though and show no signs of giving in otherwise he will keep doing what he wants. Hm if he is still being hardheaded and not eating I would pop his little fingers with a small ruler like my mom used to do to me, put him in timeout, or give him a mean pinch that will catch his attention and give him the idea that your the Boss and he is just the child. Hope this helps Goodluck!
@kerrina (104)
• Canada
22 Oct 10
i do sort of what you've suggested, but after locking the fridge and having him cry for a while because he does't wanna try what i've suggested, his father comes upstairs and hugs him cuz he says the more he wont eat if he feels like ur forcing it n stuff so i just dont know what to do after that =/ he's only 3 years old yenno .
1 person likes this
@Kirinx (1688)
• United States
22 Oct 10
Ah so your hubby's a softie :) yea I dont know what to do after that perhaps you can have a talk with your hubby and try to have him see your way its worth a try I say. (oh and tell him if he keeps eating unhealthy he will gain to much weight and get sick) he cant argue with that ^_^
1 person likes this
• Philippines
23 Oct 10
well, he's only 3 years old. you can't really force that age to eat healthy foods. but i can suggest that leave him eating the things he liked and just let him drink milk. that would be just enough. later on, he will get tired of eating those foods.
23 Oct 10
Have you tried mixing the foods he does like with those that he doesnt slowly, just to see if he will eat it without noticing. Maybe put abit of fruit in his cereal cut up in small pieces. Theres always things you can try and sneak into kids food, but i know what you mean as my daughter is starting to become picky on what foods shes eating too.
1 person likes this
23 Oct 10
I don't know what to suggest. I guess with time he'll learn to try things especially when he's around friends. Certain foods I was funny with myself and through friends *cough and my wife I've open up new doors. Sadly I hated Coke Cola until my wife pretty much forced me to drink it and now I quite like it. It's a strange thing, when we don't like something originally but then get used to it. Goodluck though! :)
@kerrina (104)
• Canada
23 Oct 10
hi there, i've tried doing that but he's WAAAAY ahead of me. He observes the food and the one thing he sees thats different about it he totally rejects it.. too smart for me. :(
1 person likes this
• United States
22 Oct 10
Kids go through phases. You might let him see you eating healthy snacks like veggies and dip, or you could put cheese sauce on broccoli-maybe fill a bowl with melted cheese and let him dip the broccoli or other veggies; things like that. Sometimes it's just a control thing. Kids like to make choices-the trick is to give them healthy options to choose from. Another idea is to make up a tray with a variety of food choices on them-finger foods, small portions of say mac-n-cheese and such-an ice cream scoop size portion in a cupcake liner makes an attractive and kid size "dish" to sample from. You can also have a make you own pizza night-let him top his own pizza crust. This might make him feel like he has more "control" over what's going into his mouth. Sometimes, that's all it's about. As long as he's getting a mostly balanced diet, I wouldn't go crazy just yet. Good luck!!
@shia88 (4571)
• Malaysia
23 Oct 10
Hi, I am just wondering how old is your son now?It is not goof to eat too much snacks as he is still in the stage of growing up and he need to have proper healthy meal everyday for his growth. Try to minimize his intake on those junk food. Try to cook different kind of food for him.You can also make some vegetable nugget or try to cook vegetables in different way and let your son try. If he likes to eat meat, try out grilled chicken or stew chicken or chicken soup. Change the menu daily. For my son, he also does not want to eat the food given by daycare centre. So I always takeaway some food for him to eat at school like sandwiches,steamed Pau,bread,cake. I don't give biscuits and cereal for my son as he can't eat those heaty food .also no junk food for him. I am pretty strict in term of food that my son consumes.I cook for my son everyday and I seldom dine out. I believe home cooked meal is always the best with nutritious.Since my son does not like to eat meat, so I will cook vegetables and fish for him. Don't give up and feel stress up because of your son's eating behaviour, He may just picky on certain food,but with your patience to feed him and explain to him how good is the food, he may give it a try and try to eat together with your son. Kid like to imitate others doing,so when he saw you are eating those food, he will try to have a bite and probably he may like that food too. Good luck and takecare.!
1 person likes this
@tomitomi (5429)
• Singapore
22 Oct 10
Hi kerrina! I realize that Sometimes when I give too much attention to my kids at mealtime they'll start to be picky and up with their nonsense. I'm learning to ignore some of those attention-seeking behavior. And I'm beginning to see a positive change which was quite a surprise initially. But of course we still try to provide a few kinds of food as options and present them as appealing as possible. And we still watch over them at mealtime but try hard sometimes like we don't.
1 person likes this
@pastigger (612)
• United States
23 Oct 10
I have a daughter who is also three and I was to the point I was making her a different meal than we would eat. I stopped I make one meal and if she doesn't eat then she doesn't she will not let herself starve. Until he know that he will not get something else he will continue to do this. At this point it sounds like he know if he throws enough of a fit he will get what he wants. It is hard to see them not eat but at this age they will not go hungry. If they get hungry they eat. It is harder with stubborn children I know I have have one, but the more you focus on something and make it a big deal that he didn't eat the more he will get his way. Serve a meal and if he doesn't eat then don't cave. My daughter does usually get an afternoon snack as it is a long time between lunch at 11am and dinner at 630pm or later. You may have to offer a food many times before he eats it but keep trying he will come around. I would say always serve a new food with one that he likes so it is not so strange to him. My daughter is starting to eat broccoli and bananas now it has taken a while but she is eating them now. Keep offering the new foods again and again. Everyone would rather eat their favorites all the time but that is not possible.
@kerrina (104)
• Canada
23 Oct 10
hi there, just yesterday i locked up the fridge and gave him a whole lot of food suggestions. the first thing he had in the morning was cereal which was at like 9AM. and i made it clear that he's not going to be eatting junk food any more and we want him to eat. he knows what im trying to do, it was his father's plan too to lock the fridge and get him hungry enough to eat. but again, he's way ahead of us.. he's such a smart kid. yesterday he SERIOUSLY did not eat a THING since 9am and it was already 8 oclock.. he'd rather starve then eat something we want him to eat. and we obviously didn't want him to go to bed hungry so we fed him waffles.. i feel like such a bad parent cuz hes so stubborn when it comes to food.,.
• United States
24 Oct 10
I know that this will sound really mean but he will not starve in one day. If he refused to eat then send him to bed, he knows that you will cave offer him the food that is good for him don't give him food suggestions give him what you make and that is all in this case you have to be more stubborn than him. If all he eats is cereal then that is all he eats I bet tomorrow he may have a different view. One day won't do it. You are not a bad parent but sometimes we have to take a hard road to be parents. As long as he is drinking during the day he will be fine. Kids are very smart they know what buttons to push and how far they can push things in a way you have to change the rules. Stand strong and let him know this is what he is eating and if not then he will not be getting something else. Right now he still has all the power. Get rid of the junk food in the house. Most children will be stubborn about something or another, my daughter it was potty training we had to get rid of the pull-ups and just let her have accidents it was the only way. The day she told me she wanted her princess diaper (pull-up) that was it I got rid of them yeah it was harder as pull ups are easier for the parents but they were not teaching my daughter anything. After getting rid of the pull-ups she was potty trained in a few days. My daughter has gone to bed with no dinner when she refuses to eat what it made.
@magrylouyu (1627)
• United States
24 Oct 10
I've got 4 children. I had a small problem with my oldest who's now almost 7. When she was about 2-3 years old she started getting very picky as well. I just gave her healthy foods. For a snack it would be a banana. If she didnt eat it oh well, she went with out. You should have a talk with your husband and tell him to stop being a softy. Your some may only be 3 but the longer it goes on the harder it will be later on when he's 4 or 5. He needs to know that you and your husband are in charge, not him. For dinner make him a 3 course meal, chicken, potatoes and a veggie. Maybe 3 bites of each. If he doesnt eat it he goes without. Garrantteed after 3 or 4 days he will realize that you mean business and start eating healthier. Good luck.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
5 Nov 10
First off it is important to know that children will eat when they are hungry, so you really shouldn't force them to eat. That said, one of the things that you as a parent can do in order to make the range of foods that your child will eat greater is to offer different foods to the child on a regular basis. By doing this, they will at least try a bite of different foods and they will most likely find other things that they like. Don't give in on changing the food on his plate to his favorite foods just so he will eat.
@kristenc (107)
• United States
24 Oct 10
It is normal!!! Somewhere between 2 and 4 almost every kid goes through a picky stage. My 5 year old did, and now my 2 1/2 year old is. Some days it seems like she eats almost nothing, or only eats one particular thing. And she has the weirdest preferences. She won't eat green beans, peas, greens, hardly any kind of vegetable, but she will eat corn, sweet potato fries, and "salad" (lettuce with dressing). I am not a professional, just a 3 time mommy, but what I have learned through personal experience is just give him what he will eat in healthy amounts (cut bacck on the snacks, let him snack on cereal) just try different stuff with him to maybe find something new he will eat. And when he does find something else he likes, work it into his diet. Also, another thing I learned with my daughter, one of the ways I ould get her to eat vegetables was in soups and cassseroles. She would eat it when it was all mixed together.