Replies to 'Picky Eaters'

Man, do I hear you!! Dinner time at our house is NEVER a good time. My son, like your daughter will not eat meat or vegetables or pretty much anything else for that matter. He will only eat a very limited list of dinners. I refuse to keep making the same things over and over. I am a pretty good cook and my husband enjoys all the different items I make. The TV is NEVER on during dinner and I have tried the 2 big bites of everything on the plate but all that turns into is a screaming match between the 3 of us. I keep telling myself, he will get better. He ate fantastically as a baby but as soon as the table foods started, he went downhill, and fast.  He is now going on 5 and still horrible. He will not try anything new and will not even taste anything. I am at wits end. He won't even drink pediasure because he doesn't like the taste. I don't know what else to do.

Your daughter sounds just like mine in many ways.  As an infant she had problem with breastfeeding, took forever to drink 1oz of formula and has always been in the 5% in the weight curve. Up til now, meal times have always been a struggle.  From age 1-2 all that she would eat willingly was plain rice and plain pasta.  Now that she is 2 yr 2mos old, I noticed she is starting to open up to new foods.  What works for me when I introduce a new food to her is I try to make it a lot of fun.  Like yesterday I wanted her to give fresh blueberries a try.  So after her regular breakfast I sat with her at the table and read to her a Berenstein Bear story book.  I had filled a small bowl with blueberries and as I read her the story, I would pick up a berry and say casually, "Hey Katelyn, did you know that bears love to eat blueberries" and I would pop it into my mouth.  Instantly she wanted to try one.  It wasn't until the 3rd try that she stopped spitting the berries out of her mouth and finally decided that she liked it.  This morning I gave more of them to her as a part of her regular breakfast and it was as if she has always loved them.  So I'm going to continue to try and find fun ways to incorporate other fruits and veggies into her diet with her consent and quit the begging and pleading that I used to do with no success.  If you discover any other methods, let me know too.  Seems like we're on the same boat.  :)