4 y.o. NEVER hungry, 35 lbs. - Page 2

[PenelopeJune]

Your 4 year old sounds just like my 4 year old. I don't know how much he weighs, but he's very thin, although I don't think he looks unhealthy. He's INCREDIBLY picky, and won't even try anything. The whole "he'll eat when he's hungry" does not apply to him. At all.

I just try to make the few things he eats as healthy as possible (PB&J is on whole wheat, fresh ground peanuts, and organic jelly, etc.)

We have three meals and two snacks a day, although I do allow fruit at will, pretty much. (Although the only fruit he likes are bananas and raisins.)

My 2 year old DD is completely different, and eats most things and will try everything. It's very frustrating.

[Juvysen]

We're fighting this battle, too, but the battlefield is constantly shifting. That is, one day Dd will eat spinach, the next day no spinach. that kind of thing. It makes me crazy. FWIW, she just had her 4 yr appointment (2 months late) and was 30 lbs. She's in the 10th percentile for weight and height and has been since she was 7 months old and started walking

[eko_mom]

Its good to get some replies from some people who have the same kind of kids. I love all the suggestions from others but I must admit that around home, people sort of think that its something I do or don't do that causes her excessive "discernment" with regard to food...when, I guess, she just came this way.

I am trying not to make a big deal out of it or label her "picky" because I don't want it to be an issue. I just keep offering, and sometimes--she chooses to try something. Last night she ate French toast for the first time. I only had to offer it about 700 times.

[PenelopeJune]

eko mom, it is NOTHING that you did or didn't do. I'm sure of it. My son has been picky since I first started feeding him solid foods. My daughter, on the other hand, was not. I didn't do anything different with her. Everyone thought it was something we were doing/had done to DS until DD came along and was completely different.

DS is sad and wishes he could eat like everyone else. It causes him a great deal of stress, even when no one is putting pressure on him to eat anything. We're at the table eating our normal dinner, and he's eating PB&J, and looking longingly at his sister's colorful and varied plate. He's actually said before, "I wish I could eat that." I offer it to him and he's suddenly terrified. It's very sad.

[momtoS]

eko mom--my 5.5 year old is a picky eater. 38 pounds. yup and tall! Doctor said he has no worries...she is healthy and active. Prehaps it is just the way your LO is?

[eclipse]

I have an older "picky" eater. He turned 9 in January. It is complicated with him because he has a lot of sensory problems and is probably what they call a "super taster." He has very brand specific and recipe specific tastebuds - one little change, and he can't take it. For example, if I get a different brand of mozzerella cheese sticks and give it to him without the packaging - he can tell the difference. He has one brand he likes, and that's it. I can't use any of those "hide the vegetable" recipes because he can taste it, even when no one else in the family, including me, can. It is very, very frustrating, but I try to not make it a battle. I try to just keep the healthiest food that he likes on hand and let him eat from those freely. I make meals for the rest of the family, and if he chooses not to join in, that's his perogative. Sometimes he can't even sit at the table with us when we're eating things with very strong smells, so he takes whatever he made and eats it on the patio. Other times, he joins us with whatever he's eating. I do worry that he's not getting the nutrition he needs (the only fruit he will eat is mangoes and the only vegetable is potatoes cooked certain ways and carrots and onions, but only in one specific dish. He will also have pasta sauce. It was a huge victory for me when I managed to get him to stop eating his pasta plain.) but I found a multivitamin he will eat, and I try to make sure he gets that every day. My other two kids will eat almost anything, so I know it has nothing to do with how I've taught him about food. Interestingly, he was always in the 98th+ percentile for height and weight. My youngest, who is a human vacuum cleaner, weighs 33 lbs(and probably 3 lbs of that is hair) at 4.5 years old and is frequently mistaken for a late 2 year old/early three year old. There's no rhyme or reason when it comes to how kids grow vs how they eat.