One day, she'll eat melon. The next day? She friggin' hates it. Yesterday, she gobbled up her chicken. But veggies? Disgusting. Don't even come near her with them.
The hubster and I had a couscous salad the other day - but Anna was having none of it. Then, just because I was snacking on the leftovers yesterday, she suddenly had to have some.
The child is odd.
I, on the other hand, will never say no to a good meal. Or a snack. Or an appetizer. Or a dessert. Or an amuse bouche... So I have a little trouble understanding my somewhat picky eater right now. (Mind you, my Mom tells me I was an INTENSELY picky eater when I was little. This must be my karma/payback).
So anyway. On with the point of the post.
Who out there has tips on getting your picky eater to eat healthy stuff? There are tons of things Anna will snack on, but I feel like she's living on cheese, yogurt and crackers and hummus. She should be eating other stuff, shouldn't she? How do I get her to love veggies again?
On a side note - how horrid would it be if Anna single-handedly brought back scurvy? (I'm Mom-of-the-year just for thinking that, aren't I?)
Help me out Mamas. What do your kids eat?
I really do think that they are pretty good at getting what they need. For example, Liam will eat 5 eggs (only the white part, he hates the yolk) in one day, and then won't touch them for weeks. Or they'll both go through I love meat stages, and then won't touch it for a while.
ReplyDeleteAnna won't starve, or get scurvy (lol)or be malnourished because she's picky. If her body needs it, she'll probably start eating it.
Liam was not picky at all as a baby, he'd eat ANYTHING until 3. Then it started to go downhill. Now with his school lunches, I'm banging my head against the wall. One day he likes hummus, the next day he hates it. Same with grapes, celery, you name it! All the healthy stuff he loved, he now hates (or randomly likes/hates it to keep me on my toes).
Nate was always a bit pickier. He loves to pull grossed-out faces and say "ew" whenever I put anything "different" looking in front of him. We've found though that if we make a huge deal of just trying one bite, we can generally get him to at least try it. And most times that leads to him actually eating it.
My big rule is: you don't have to love it, or eat it all, but we are going to at least try one bite. This seems to be working for us.
Also, one tip I read that really works is to make sure you make 1 thing you know for sure she will eat with every meal, and then put the new (or "gross") item on the side. She'll be more likely to try it and you won't have to spend your whole meal trying to force her to eat something.
Plus, kids that size really only need the most ridiculously small portions, so even though it looks like she's not eating much, she might be doing just fine. Just keep putting the stuff out there - it's your job to feed healthy food, but HER job to eat it. She'll come around eventually.
Hope this helps!
Kim
I just tought of one thing you could try: DIP. My kids LOVE dipping and sometimes they'll actually eat something they normally wouldn't because it has dip on it. The love ranch, BBQ sauce, ketchup, italian dressing etc. Maybe worth a shot?
ReplyDeleteKim
Kim - you need to be nominated for Best Mama Ever. You have the most awesome advice and are very wise when it comes to all-things parenting. I love your comments! You keep me sane!! :)
ReplyDeletehahaha! And here I was all day thinking, geez, maybe I should tone it down a bit! I'm a bit longwinded! Glad you actually got something out of it!
ReplyDeleteKim
Just as Kim said keep putting it on their plates. She may eat it,she may not. Remember as humans we also have a lot of social and psychological issues around food. Right now she has realized she can say no to food, that is powerful for her and important. Forcing kids to eat when they don't want can often lead to issues later of not being able to tell when they are full.
ReplyDeleteAt this age she will eat what she needs. Providing her with choice throughout the day (not neccessarily 3 meals) is easier for their small system to digest (plus they are too often busy to stop playing to 'sit down' for a meal.
PS if your really worried about a lack of veggies/fruit make shakes (you can throw anything into them) you can even put it in one of your glasses with a straw (amazing how if your drinking/eating something all of a sudden it is fantastic-Bry is particularly bad about that)
As always listen to your own instinct and know she is happy and healthy and that is all that matters.
Cheryl
Thanks guys! Just to clarify... I don't force any food on Anna. And I feed her throughout the day as opposed to just 3 big meals. I was just curious to hear how you get your kids to eat their veggies and what sorts of foods you feed them.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your feedback!!! :)
Oh yeah, as Cheryl said, drinking them is huge in our house too. Smoothies are VERY popular. I sometimes don't put in as much milk and it turns out more like ice cream. They love that!
ReplyDeleteWe have a mini-party whenever one of the kids tries something new and they get so excited that we're so excited they keep eating it. Nate will often yell "I try!" and put up his hand for a high-five now when he takes a bite of something. You only have to catch her trying something new a couple of times and clap and dance etc. and I'll bet she'll do it again just to get the same reaction.
That's it. Enough said by me on this subject! I've written a novel by now. ;) It's just a daily stress in my life still so I like to talk about it.
Kim
Kailyn is the same way. Yesterday, she inhaled five of those baby corn-on-the-cob things (what are those called?). Last week, she hated them. I just keep putting stuff on her tray and hope for the best! I do notice that if I put something she really likes first (ie blueberries) then she will get in some sort of eating rhythm and I can add other stuff later and she will just continue to stuff her face (thinking that it is all blueberries, perhaps). She is also obsessed with rice so I add corn, peas, beans to the rice and she doesn't notice as I am spooning it in her mouth. She is a big fan of "dipping" too...she loves sour cream and ketchup (ick..not my choice to introduce that one). But she has learned that she can just suck the ketchup off of whatever she is using to dip, and not actually eat the veggie. Ugh! She's a wiley one, that K.
ReplyDelete