Getting food into 3.5 year old

[RomansMamma]

I started ds out with organic food made by me or Earth's Best jarred. Snacks were raisins, dried cranberries, rice cakes, fruit, etc. DH introduced him to Goldfish, Oreos, etc. At 20 months we discovered he had some sever food allergies so a lot of the crap was thrown out.

However, he still has quite a taste for junky type food. Any ideas on how to encourage him to eat what we're eating? We usually have to prepare a meal for ds and then us. I have a handle on dh with 2nd ds, so at least he's eating whatever we eat with some organic jarred when I'm pooped.

[loftmama]

Let him get hungry, real hungry. I don't cook a separate meal for my 3.5-yr-old, although sometimes I probably should. We're on a tight budget right now, so we don't have all the yummy goldfish, cookies, etc. we used to have. Basically, all we have is the minimum you need to thrive.

For instance, he really loves peanut butter, but it's the yummy stuff with all the bad oils in it. So, I've started buying the all-natural, but more expensive, peanut butter and he's refusing to eat it. Today, though, he was really hungry and I put an extra amount of honey on his pb sandwich and he ate all of it. I think the taste change will just have to grow on him.

[root*children]

definately stop making him a seperate meal. We went through a huge picky eater phase and it still pops it's nasty head up once in a while. We did several things to curb this. DS1 is very involved in the meal process: from grocery shopping, to picking food from the garden, to helping cook. We also started making rules. ITA with loftmama, sometimes you just gotta let them get hungry. That is sometimes when they find out that they really like a food! We have a "one bite rule of everything" rule if he wants to be excused from the table, and a "finish your plate" rule if he wants anything else to eat before the next meal. Keep in mind, an appropriate serving size has to be available (their stomach is only as big as their fist). This alleviated alot of the begging and bribing and nagging we used to find ourselves doing at the table.

[loftmama]

Originally Posted by dready*mama

We have a "one bite rule of everything" rule if he wants to be excused from the table, and a "finish your plate" rule if he wants anything else to eat before the next meal. Keep in mind, an appropriate serving size has to be available (their stomach is only as big as their fist).

we have the one-bite rule, too, and it has worked great for us. sometimes he'll eat more of it. sometimes, he fights his one bite. but we always enforce it. the good thing about this rule is that after x amount of introductions to it, he becomes familiar with the food and will eat more and more of it. i read somewhere that a new food has to be introduced 8 times (I think) before it's something a child will eat.

We don't use the "finish your plate" rule b/c dh and I both have bad memories of it. However, we put enough on his plate to expect a majority of it to be eaten, then dh and I eat what's left. I don't know if that's good or bad.

By the way, I am a very picky eater, and unfortunately so is my son. I think the one-bite rule has helped him not be as picky as me!

[root*children]

I know lots of people who don't like the finish the plate rule.My experience w/ it has been that I had that rule and as an adult I will try just about anything (except meat!), but my husband's folks always cooked him his own meal and was never required to eat what was given to him. Even now, when we visit his folks' house, they make him a seperate meal from what everyone else is eating! (it is actually quite infuriating - as he is still having picky-eater issues). But I do like finishing the portion that was given to a child before they can have other food because it teaches the important lesson that it is not okay to waste food.

[ajsmom]

Get the junk out of the house...

Our son, 3 1/2 is only picky about some things and right now for some reason he won't eat chicken, one of his favorites.

He eats a modified, if necessary, version - usually less spicy - of our meals. I am trying to make sure he's really hungry at dinnertime. If the timing is off then he eats what he can and we leave the plate on the table. He'll come by later for "Leftovers!" He loves leftovers...

If he wants "something from the cupboard", snack items vs. from the fridge - fresh food, I open the door and ask him to pick something. Then I also give him fruit or veggies with it and it all gets eaten.

We are trying to make more of our own snacks when we can, cookies and crackers, so we save some money. We don't eat hydrogenated anything or corn syrup so we don't even have to think about most food on the shelves. We never go to chain grocery stores and are very lucky to have Trader Joe's and a local natural foods store nearby. By staying out of the chains and being good role models, most of the time, it makes a huge difference.

Having said all that, ds did have his first chocolate bunny this Easter, very small and very dark. It took him a week to eat the whole thing. He never eats candy but loved the look and idea of the chocolate bunny. I think for him the reality was a bit of a let down. I hope.

[rainsmom]

We let dd eat what she wants. She goes a few days, eating very little, then a few days having large meals......I think kids eat when they are hungry and crave what they need. My dd also gets bored with the same thing, so I do try to mix it up with new food items from time to time. THings like natural ranch dressings and hummus for dipping veggies, dried fruit, fruit smoothies with flax seed oil and other things to get their nutrional needs met....all make me feel a little better cos Im sneaking in things I know she needs..


WHOLE FOODS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY has great recipes and at the bottom of each one, they tell you at which part of the recipe to take out for a baby or toddler....really helpful and has helped me do that with the rest of my recipes as I tend to use alot of spices.

Coming here for ideas also helps

[RomansMamma]

Thanks so much for the advice! He has just now gotten to a point where he will at least try something new. We're going to start working on "eat this or nuthin'". I don't believe in the clean plate senario either. I just want him to eat what we're eating, when we eat, or at least a little earlier if need be.


Thanks again!!!!!!