i look after a kid that eats nothing but pasta shapes from a tin, chips and sausages, and thats it. he might drink juice but it has to be the mi wadi brand or he will not touch it. u can even put a different brand into the mi wadi bottle and he can still tell. he wont eat any sweets only buttons. he wont even taste any other chocolate, he just says i dont like that. he doesnt drink milk, eat any kind of bread and refuses to eat any meals what so ever. he gets no meat, potato or veg.his parents dont seem 2 mind one bit. they give him petite filous yougurts
and chips most days. im totally worried. when hes with me all he wants is his mammy and daddy.
hes 3. anyone got any views??
I know a child who just turned 7 and is the same way, except the only three things he will eat is bread, chicken strips from a deli, and pepparoni pizza. His father took him to the doctors and the doctor said that's okay, just give him a children's vitamin everyday. His dad tries to get him to taste something new almost everyday. He doesnt force him to try it, but he asks him to try it and tells him that he doesnt have to eat it if he doesnt like it. He also sometimes gives him a reward for trying new things like saying "if you try a bite of this then you can have an extra 10 minutes of TV." and he has tried many more things lately. He even started eating many more items, still only about 10 different things, but hey the list has grown from three to about ten. At first he wouldnt try anything and even if he just took a lick of it not even big enough to taste then he would say he didnt like it. However, he started taking bigger tastes and eating more things. I know it would be harder to get a 3 year old to try more things, but maybe try rewarding him for tasting new things.
I agree with Laura. My child would only eat a few things at first - wierdly enough, salad, fruit, bread and chips (quite healthy but still very restrictive. I do the same - ask him to taste something new every so often - I've managed to increase what he eats and also do home made versions of the junk food he likes; ie potato wedges, home made chicken nuggets etc, but that probably wouldn't work with the child you are referring to as he is obviously very clear as to what he will like
My son is also going through a stage right now. He's 20 months and he is turning into a little vegetarian. He won't eat any type of meat. I've talked with his doctor and he assures me that this is normal and that almost EVERYTHING with kids is a stage. He also recommended to continuously try to introduce new foods. Sooner or later he'll give them a try. He also assured me that it is the parents (guardian's) job to provide a healthy selection of foods, but it is the child's responsibility to eat them. You can't force the child to eat what you want. So, if there are a few healthy things they will eat, let them. Just keep introducing new varieties. Best of luck to you!
My son is the same he is really picky with his food, he'll only eat plain pasta, cheese, root vegetables, fruit and sweets of any variety! However at his childminders he eats anything she gives him!
I dread dinner times as its always such a battle, however recently I have started to make it into a game, we all sit together and play who can eat the chicken the fastest, he starts off by saying I don't like it. After he sees his Dad and me playing and laughing he joins in. It took a long time though and a hell of a lot of patience and encouragement. I often do the old reverse psychology "You can't eat all that chicken" that often works!
