getting 3&4 year olds to try new foods - impossible?

[boongirl]

My 3 year old actually tried a new food today - raisins. We are very low on food, need to go to the grocery store tomorrow, so I offered them to her as the only snack alternative she could eat while watching tv. I was sure she was going to say no and agree to eat something messier in the kitchen but she did not. She tried them, ate them all, and asked for more! Miracle of miracles! This is very rare!

So, how do you introduce new foods to preschool aged children? Any ideas and advice?

[lucyem]

I know it does not help now but from age 1 we continually introduced new foods. DS had to at the very least taste a tiny bit with his tongue. As he got older he at the very least had to try one little bite. We try and get him to swallow it even if he thinks it tastes bad but we do allow spitting out in a napkin if he is totally grossed out I remember my cousin in preschool/first grade having a homework assignment of eating a new food once each week. We had to pick out the new food and then try it and have his mom write down what he thought about it. Seemed like by allowing him to pick it out it did not seem so bad to him and made him less against trying it. A thought would be to make Sunday your try a new food day and have your child pick out the food. You try something new too. Make it part of your family routine.

[**guest**]

I struggle with new foods too. I am constantly offering new foods to ds but he won't even try them. My ds does have sensory issues though and is on the autism spectrum...So it's more than just a 'picky' eater.
It's frustrating to say the least.

I wish ds would eat fruit and even one other kind of veggie. And I would even be happy if he ate homemade mac & cheese! LOL. (he won't touch pasta at all).

[4Marmalade]

My ds has just recently started asking to try new things. His diet is a little more limited than I would like and it's hard to not push him. But we have tried really hard to not make food a battle and always given him the option of trying things. Lately, when and if I make something new and we sit down to the table he will ask what something is and then usually ask to try it. So, he takes one bite. Most times he says this "I sort of like it but I sort of don't" which to me sounds like "I don't mind the taste but because it's new I need to warm up to it". I usually just ask him what he thought and then say something like "Well, I'm glad you at least tried it because now you know if you like it or not" So, we seem to be making progress but it is slow.

One thing I find helpful is asking ds to pick out a new fruit or vegetable when we're grocery shopping. If he picks something out he will almost always try it.

P.S. If your dd likes raisins you might try dates and prunes too. My ds LOVES all 3.

[**guest**]

Originally Posted by Mama to one

If he picks something out he will almost always try it.

Rofl.....Ah, if only it were that easy with Reluctant Feeders.
Ds is constantly helping me pick out new fruits and veggies and seems very excited about. He'll even help me peel or 'cut' it. Then, he will completely ignore it and refuse to try it.
He'd rather go hungry than try a new food.
Not fun.

[edamommy]

my ds (3.5) hates food. BUT I've found he WILL TRY any food he HELPS make. So, we do a lot of cooking together... and it works!

[boongirl]

I pretty much do all of the above. We've been introducing new foods since she was around 1. SHe was a late eater and had food aversions to the point where she had to do rehab therapy to learn to eat solids. (she has neck issues which affected swallowing.) She often picks out new foods at the market but will not try them, even if they are put on her plate. She usually gets upset when we put new foods out for her. I try not to be a short order cook and have read both of Ellyn Satter's books on feeding kids but dd is just a picky, strong-willed little girl. I guess the raisin incident just shows me that being patient with her and offering her new foods will occasionally pay off.

[Ellien C]

I just don't make a big deal out of the new foods. I just set them down and offer them. My neighbor served tofu, which isn't something we eat to both of our 3 yo. And she made this big deal out of how yummy it would be and how important it would be to try it. DD wasn't having any of that. But it was on her plate and pretty soon she forgot it was an issue and popped it in her mouth. Then my neighbor praised her for trying the food and told her how good she was and out it came! (Can you tell I'm an Alfie Kohn kind of mother?).

Anyway, my advice is not to make a big deal out of it. I was pretty sure DD would give a taste of whatever was served to her so I didn't want to say anything. Accept that you may go through long periods where they are unwilling to try new foods. Just keep offering like it's the most natural thing in the world. Don't praise, and don't force tastes or "just one bite."

[lisac77]

My DS is just reluctant to try new foods. Period. I don't know why. Some days his repertoire is so limited. It's hard when we are already low on food and his choices are limited.

He has a few full dinners that he loves, so I try to make those when I'm home. He's also into anything I'm eating these days, so if I try something he is likely to want it. It doesn't mean he'll eat it the next day though...

[hipumpkins]

My DD is not picky but my sister had 2 picky eaters so she would put the food only on her plate and her (than) husbands and say it was only for the grown ups. Her kids would plead for it so she would give in and let them have some spinach. They gobbled it right up.

[boongirl]

Originally Posted by hipumpkins

Her kids would plead for it so she would give in and let them have some spinach. They gobbled it right up.

That is hilarious! I will have to try that one!

[flyingspaghettimama]

I have a question for those of you with "selective" eaters - were either of the parents selective themselves as children or today as adults? I.e. to texture, color, large varieties of fruits/veggies? I just wonder because it seems to be a common theme with people I know - the children are selective, but so are the parents (either today or as children themselves), who are then frustrated with the children (who are like them, after all).

There was an EXCELLENT article in Brain, Child magazine a few months ago about this very issue. The author's son would only eat one particular kind of yogurt. And the mom had a lot of sympathy, as she was one herself as a child; but then changed quite a bit once in college. So she just didn't push it at all, and served him what he liked with a vitamin. That would be her advice to you - just go with the flow completely, model new foods yourself. It was funny and interesting to me, and helped me have more empathy for those with the "selective eaters." Because we are lucky in not having any food issues in our house, and we are all pretty adventurous at the local ethnic restaurants (mmm, marbled quail eggs, anyone? anyone?)

UNLESS you try to feed me bell peppers. Ack. Bleh. Spit. Yuck. NASSSTY!

[4Marmalade]

Originally Posted by flyingspaghettimama

I have a question for those of you with "selective" eaters - were either of the parents selective themselves as children or today as adults? I.e. to texture, color, large varieties of fruits/veggies? I just wonder because it seems to be a common theme with people I know - the children are selective, but so are the parents (either today or as children themselves), who are then frustrated with the children (who are like them, after all).

There was an EXCELLENT article in Brain, Child magazine a few months ago about this very issue. The author's son would only eat one particular kind of yogurt. And the mom had a lot of sympathy, as she was one herself as a child; but then changed quite a bit once in college. So she just didn't push it at all, and served him what he liked with a vitamin. That would be her advice to you - just go with the flow completely, model new foods yourself. It was funny and interesting to me, and helped me have more empathy for those with the "selective eaters." Because we are lucky in not having any food issues in our house, and we are all pretty adventurous at the local ethnic restaurants (mmm, marbled quail eggs, anyone? anyone?)

UNLESS you try to feed me bell peppers. Ack. Bleh. Spit. Yuck. NASSSTY!

Interesting. I think I was probably a pretty "selective" eater growing up. I have memories of my mom making 2-3 different vegetables for a dinner. I liked peas . It wasn't until university that I started enjoying a much more varied diet. Growing up we were pretty much a meat and potatoes type of family. Now I am a vegetarian so my likes/dislikes have changed a lot. So, that's why I'm not too frustrated with ds. He may not eat a huge variety but the diet itself is fairly balanced. I mean...who says that you can't just alternate between raw carrots, bell peppers and cauliflower as your vegetable serving? Like I said above, ds has been more open to trying things lately so hopefully he comes around sooner than I did.

And...bell peppers??? Yummmm! A favorite here

[familylove]

These threads always make me feel a little better about my "I eat 10 things and and that's it" 4 yo.

When he was 2 yrs and younger, he ate everything. Yogurt with wheat germ and kiwi, sweet potatoes, eggs with flax seed oil, etc. He now has about 5 basic main dishes he will eat, 4-5 fruits, 1 vegi and lots of healthy snacks. We try to buy the healthiest version of everything and we give him a multivitiman, but there are days it makes me SO frustrated. I offer whatever we're eating to him with the promise he can spit it out. This works about a 1/6 of the time. I try to be laid back about it and not push the issue or make a big deal, but it does get very frustrating fixing 2 separate meals. Plus, our families are rather obsessed with his eating habits and are constantly hovering around him urging him to try things even though I've requested numerous times that they just let him be. Pestering just makes it worse.

As to flyingspaghettimama's question: I was a rather picky eater myself. I can eat the same thing over and over and over and I like it that way. I once went on a *seven* year streak where I ate the turkey, broccoli and cheese pockets EVERYDAY for lunch: Freaky, huh? I've also done the same thing with spaghetti, mac-n-cheese and certain types of cereals.

So I can't blame the kid, he comes by it natural

I'm just hoping that, as he gets older, he'll expand his menu...can anyone provide reassurance on this point? Picky eaters turned smorgasboard lovers?

[hubris]

I've found that the best way to get Griff to try new foods is to let him decide on his own to try them. No offering/suggesting/pushing from me - if I do that, he'll say no just about every time. But if he happens to see me in the kitchen, slicing something up, and he doesn't recognize it, he'll ask what it is. I tell him what it is, maybe eat some myself, but don't offer. 9 times out of 10 he'll want to try it and I nonchalantly say "oh, ok, here's a bite". Probably half the time he discovers that he likes the new food.


I also remember disliking lots of different foods as a kid and my tastes changing as an adult, so I figure that he'll eventually get more adventurous and his tastes will change.

[OakBerry]

My ds would eat whatever I served him at age 2, and at 3 began to get very picky. He pretty much eats chicken, peanut butter, fruit, bread and butter, salami, and raw carrots and peppers.

I offer new food regularly and model good eating habits, what else can you do?
Sometimes if dh or I sit down during the middle of the day and cut up a new/different fruit or vegetable, he will immedietly want some, just because it's out of the ordinary. Sometimes if another kid is eating something, he will try it to see if he's missing out, lol.

[veganf]

My 2 1/2 and 3 3/4 year olds will try just about anything. Now that's not saying they like everything, and what we do offer is always vegan, but for the most part they will try anything at least once. I think it took the 2 year old 50 tries with whole greens beans before he'd eat them, but now he'll ask for thirds!
I just serve whatever it is, and I don't offer alternatives (I'd offer pureed green beans if we're all eating green beans, but not a different food). Plus, I try to offer a very wide variety of foods, rarely repeating any food over the course of a few days except something like toast at breakfast.

- Krista

[veganf]

Originally Posted by hipumpkins

My DD is not picky but my sister had 2 picky eaters so she would put the food only on her plate and her (than) husbands and say it was only for the grown ups. Her kids would plead for it so she would give in and let them have some spinach. They gobbled it right up.

Yeah, we did a bit of that too. Now they'd throw a tantrum if they didn't get a regular serving of ma po tofu & veggies made with XXXX hot sauce! And they devour spinach if it's got a little soy sauce on it. Ditto just about any green veggie.
Of course I don't hesitate to give them cookies or a piece of cake on occasion, but I don't make a big deal out of it at all, I just say here's your snack. Though my 2 year old will often turn down something super sweet and beg for a second pear instead. LOL.
And the cutest thing is when big brother feeds a new food to his little brother. He loves to try anything that way!

[veganf]

Originally Posted by OakBerry

I offer new food regularly and model good eating habits, what else can you do?

You're right, I think that's all you can really do. Model good eating habits and only offer healthy foods. As long as they always have food available and a cup of water, they'll rarely starve.

[cornflower_3]

*