Can't Get My Two Year Old to Eat, Help!

You have to stop catering to him. He needs small portions of what everyone else is getting. he will eat it before he starves, trust me.

Stop giving in and making him something different. I know you don't want him to be hungry but he knows you will give him what he wants.

You have to find a weekend when you willing to deal with the behavior of him being hungry get everyone in the house on board. No one can offer him anything but what he should eat.

It will get better. Hang in there.

Kids go through food phases, and they grow out of it.
Offer him whatever the rest of the family is eating, and tell him that after he tries it, if he doesn't like it, he can have something else, but he has to actually taste it before he can declare that he doesn't like it.
I never tried to force my daughter to eat something that she had tried and didn't like - after all, I don't eat foods I don't like.

I always offer new things and especially what we're having for dinner, but I was a much happier and probably better mom when I realized that there are 3 things you absolutely cannot force a baby/toddler/kid to do: EAT, SLEEP, and POOP!

Stop fixing him something different to eat! He has learned if he refuses the food you are eating you will fix him what he wants!

I would give him what others eat - don't let the food touch other foods, don't mix together. Give him 6 or 8 items, just a few bites of each. If you don't offer the hot dogs & cereal, he'll pick something else. If he doesn't eat it, clear the table. If he's hungry 30 minutes later, put the same dinner out. Don't make something else. He will not starve at this age.

The vitamin drops aren't helping much. Most doctors will tell you that they are pretty much making "expensive urine" - I know you are trying but there's more you can do. You could give him a more comprehensive supplement with high absorption rate and more nutrition in it to begin with. I work with a foundation that feeds kids world-wide and this is all they get due to poverty - still, they thrive. Happy to give you more info.

Just continue to offer him the things that the rest of the family eats. Discontinue making him something you know he'll eat - that will only encourage him to continue to refuse the foods that you know he should eat. Once he realizes that what's offered is what he gets, he'll begin to eat. He won't starve! Right now, he knows you'll make him something else, so why even try the other foods?

Our ECFE teacher always tells us of the story where the little girl would only eat hot-dogs for like a year of her life... it drove her mother crazy... but she survived and turned out to be a normal healthy adult. Don't sweat it... some kids are pickier than others. Just keep offering the things you are eating and let him choose how much he wants to have. We have a 2 yr old that doesn't seem like she eats anything... I can't even name favorites like you can. It is very frustrating.. I agree.. but she is growing and is a healthy little girl so I don't worry.. too much. ;)

Offer him what you eat and have him take at least a couple of bites each time. He'll get used to eating what you eat. He can manage two or three bites of each thing you put in front of him. Most of my kids were picky at that age and they're all good eaters nowl

I wouldn't worry about it. He'll eventually starty eating. I stressed over it with my first. Not so much with my second. My 2 year old will only eat cherrios with milk, waffles, bisquits, chicken nuggets, and knows how to say pizza really really well. I decided to make her homemade pizza and hide squash in it ; ) and use lowfat cheese and whole grain pita bread. She has no idea it's healthy. The other day she licked a carrot before throwing it across the room. That was an exciting moment for us! They'll gradually change their eating habits.

My 5 year old eats veggies now lol. That's crazy talk to me lol. If someone told me when she was 2 that she would eat mixed veggies at 5 I would have thought they were nuts. He'll grow out of it. As long as you are giving him his multivitamin he'll be fine. Hang in there mama!!!

Your kids are picky eaters. How do you get them to try something new? Or just eat their veggies?

1. Allow your kids to help plan the menus. If they have voice in their meals, they are more likely to accept those meals.
2. Have your kids help you prepare the meals. Let your kids see how the meals are prepared and what the ingredients are. If your kids want to “tweak” a recipe here or there, give their suggestions consideration. For example, does Timmy want to add cashews to his orange roughy? It’s an unusual combination, but it may be good. Give it a try and see if you like it.
3. Ask lots of questions and provide reasonable accommodations. “Janey, what is it about that veggie that you don’t like?” Some concerns can be addressed by minor modifications to the dish you are serving. Is the broccoli “too boring”? Ok, top the broccoli with melted cheddar cheese. Is the stew “gross” because of cooked carrots? Ok, substitute a different veggie for the carrots or reduce the quantity of carrots in the stew. (TIP: some moms are tempted to finely chop the carrots and “sneak” them in the stew, but when your kids find out about the sneaky carrots, and you know they will, they’ll distrust other dishes that you serve thereafter.)
4. Get creative. If Little Pat doesn’t like cooked green vegetables, would Little Pat be willing to eat raw green vegetables? If Timmy doesn’t like plain orange roughy, would putting it in a casserole or adding a small amount of drawn butter be more appealing to Timmy? Would Janey like her carrots if they were in chicken noodle soup rather than stew?
5. Have patience. Don’t approach food with... http://blog.care4hire.com/picky-eaters/362

I must be a softy. My boy, I make him try most things, but in the end I give the little bugger what he wants! So what if he wants cereal for dinner, I'm cool with that! Go ahead - judge me. HA! But seriously. I make sure he gets all the food groups in a good variety and balance. I talk to him and negotiate with him about healthy choices daily. So what if he doesn't want anything with onions or tomatoes right now. As long as I keep offering, his tastes will grow and mature over time. I didn't like mushrooms or onions growing up and love them now. I have found enough things he likes that are healthy to be sure he is thriving and little by little he is getting to be a bit more adventurous. In the meantime, I don't need a battle at dinner everynight after coming in from a battle at work and a battle in traffic.
If your son used to eat great and has had a change in appetitie - that's oh so normal! They listen to thier bodies much better than we do. The next growth spurt he has you will see a sharp increase in his appetite. One thing to try is to deconstruct dinner for him. If you are having brocoli chesse casserole. Put a little pile of brocoli, a little pile of rice, and a couple cubes of cheese on his plate. Toddlers dont like stuff all mashed together. Or even touching, frankly. Deconstruction gets him eating the same flavor elements as you. Just reserve a bit of each ingredient to the side before you season or mix it together.

I do. He's playin ya! Ignore it. Give him his food (family dinner) and leave it at that. It's been said a zillion times, but it's true. If he's hungry, he will eat.
Make sure he's not filling up on fluids--especially juice.

My oldest brother used to wake up in the morning and tell our mom "I'm not eating ANYTHING today." And she would cry. The pediatrician told her to ignore him. Guess what? It was her reaction/time & attention he was after.

Hang tough!

I know it will take extra time to prepare his dinner if you do this but my suggestion is to turn his meal into an art project. If you are serving him cheese and crackers, arrange them on the plate/tray in a picture or get a bit of cream cheese and stick the food together in the shape of a snake or something. For pancakes you can hide a bunch of healthy fruit in them and if you mix up the batter as per the instructions and then take a very small amount of batter out and add a teaspoon of powdered chocolate milk mix you then make a picture in the heated frying pan and then pour your pancake batter over top. When you flip the pancake the picture is in the pancake. Also if you can get him to eat chicken nuggets I know there are recipes out there where it calls for sweet potatoes to coat/bread them so he would be getting some nutrients there.
Thats my food for thought =)
Good Luck

It sounds like going for the soft foods may not be the things to try.
Although you can't make a child eat, you can put the plate in front of them for the opportunity if they choose to take it.
Don't save the uneaten meal for the next meal because then it becomes a battle and you'll lose every time. If it makes you feel better to do so, give him one meal you know he'll eat in a day and the rest of the day offer what you make. If he is not a strong-willed child, he'll start eating when he figures out he can't control you.