any hope for a 2.5 year old to maybe eat real food one day????

[lin7604]

ahhh my almost 2.5 year old is turning me grey with his eating habits..  i hope there is hope in the near future for him to eat real food more often.. is that too much to ask for??? he is sooo picky i am thinking there is no hope!   he still hasn't ried one new item since he was 14 months old!!!!!  he used to eat everything up till tehn and then decreased his variety one by one!  since 18 months or so he has not eaten one of those "old" itmes or tried a new one!!!!  he still will not eat pasta, cheese, meat ( besides a chicken nugget) or veggies.  He will eat fruit, nutella sandwiches, soup
( chicken noodle or chicken rice) won't eat noodles or rice on it's own though....  and loves cereal, crackers and of course cookies once in awhile.... I have tried and tried to get him to just "try" a bite but he refuses!  any hope in the near future.....

[irish3680]

Are you sure he is hungry enough for meals? Does he snack in between? We can't let Ella have snacks in between meals because then she is not really hungry and super picky, so we cut those out. I usually give her some choice about what she has for breakfast and lunch but dinner is nonnegotiable because I make one for the family and that's it. If she chooses not to eat it that's fine, but she doesn't get anything else or different.

[lin7604]

ya we are doing the same, this is what i make and if you don't eat it oh well.. your choice.. he chooses not to eat almost every single night!  H really doesn't get snacks all that much only if i know dinner will be later but then it's limited.  he is once again refusing his favorite foods and only wanting rice krispie cereal!!!! i don't give in. he eats what we have or nothing..

[We Three]

I read once on here that it's a good idea to offer at mealtime one thing you know he'll eat, one think you think he might eat, and one thing you're pretty sure he won't eat. This way, you are setting him up for success in some way.  Plus, when he sits and sees that one thing he likes on his plate, his anxiety will lessen, making meals more pleasant for everyone.  All you can really do is keep offering. You are SO lucky he will eat soup....you can sneak all kinds of stuff in there...some pureed carrot or peas. My dd hates meat of any kind, but loves my chicken soup. I make the chicken soooooo tiny she can't even detect it. That way I at least know she got some protein into her!!

Pay attention to the things he likes and offer things of a similar texture. If he likes cookies, maybe try making your own oatmeal cookies...sneak some pulverized wheat-germ into them.  If he likes toast, try french toast so he'll get the protien of the egg. If he'll eat cake, try banana bread made with whole whaet flour.  Just brainstorming for you...I know it's tough!!

[irish3680]

Ella will do the same and refuse a lot of foods for a week or two and then her appetite comes back again. I know it is frustrating. I just try to roll with it and know she won't starve herself. She eats a much better dinner when she gets some good exercise/activity in the afternoons. Now that our weather is getting nicer we have been outside a lot more and that has made a big difference.

[lin7604]

thanks everyone... he's allergic to eggs so nothing in that form   With soup it can be successful like you said b/c i cut up carrots and celery very tiny and he eats it.. he even asks me what it is and i tell him and he eats it but if it's in anything else , etc he won't touch it??? weird hey!  he won't eat cream soups so nothing purred, he will only eat rice or noodles in the soup too not on their own....  i try and try but it's been 1.5 years pretty much already and no success....

[Vicku]

I know how you feel... My DD is also very very fussy with food and hardly ever tries anything new. I have stressed somuch about it ever since she started solids but now I'm so done with the stressing I try not to think about it and just give her stuff she'll eat mostly. We do the same as you on the family meals and offer what we have but she usually refuses it unless it's one of the rare things we eat that she likes
Haver no good advice for you but just want to offer some hugs and to say I know how you feel.

[lin7604]

thanks for the support and re assurance!   I just find my self making the same thing for him every other day!  soup, butter on bread and begals!!!  the only sandwich he will eat is a nutella one and he can't have that at daycare b/c of the no nut policy!  so thne one less thing that he WILL eat i can't give him.... supper i am so frustrated with b/c i'm not eating spegetti or lagagna more then once a week..... so then he's going hungry!  i wish i could get him to eat hotdogs, pizza, anything... although none of those are exactually that healthy but at least it would be variety adn then when we are on a all inclusive holiday at least i know there would be something for him to eat there......ahhhh