How Do I Start Serving My 3 Yr Old Different Food?

I took my then 18 month old to a Casino Buffet. I put a plate in front of her and let her dig in. If she spit stuff out fine...if she loves something in paticular I tried it again at home.
Weird I know, but it workd for us, lol.

I have 2 kids.
My youngest, my son is UBER picky.
I never battle eating, never force it, never get highly structured about it.
He is now, 4 years old, and long/tall/lean/solid built and dense/little muscles on his shoulders and legs, and super healthy and rarely gets sick, and is the size of a 1st grader.

For my kids, sure we have 3 meals a day.
But, I also, go by my kids cues for hunger and they do too.
So, my kids KNOW their bodies and when they are full or hungry.

I never use food as a consequence or reward.

You feed your child at meal times, and if/when hungry.
Also, when my kids are hitting growth-spurts... they EAT AND EAT like there is no tomorrow. Normal. They then gain height inches.

Feed him what he will eat.
That simple.
Just don't feed junk food.
If he wants to eat the same thing all the time, so what?
If he does not want to try something, so what?

My UBER picky son, now at his age... has NATURALLY expanded his palate, without my interference.
He now eats, a lot more stuff. He KNOWS himself and I do too.
I cook what I cook everyday, and I know he will eat something from it.
He does not starve nor gorges himself.
He is also a 'grazer', like his Dad.
Versus my Daughter eats TONS at one sitting until she is full. But she is also tall and lean, healthy and solid.
Different styles of eating. Just like adults.

MAIN thing for my kids, is that they eat according to their body cues. Full. Hungry. Not just eating for emotional reasons or being forced to.

Even if my son is super picky... and some days he just is not real hungry... he does NOT starve. And the reason is: he KNOWS his body and his body's cues.
That is good.

Eating and feeding a child... does.not.have.to.be a battle.
It is a choice if it is.

all the best,
Susan

First, your child will NOT starve!

Breakfast - Cream of Wheat (comes in box or small packages) I suggest the box because its more cost effective. Prepare it with milk, serve with a "tiny" bit of butter, brown sugar, rasons or dried cranbarries, and a little more milk (I suggest warm milk but cold is OK. You could also do oatmeal or rice with the same touches.

Lunch - carrots, celery w/peanut butter, small bowl of soup (chicken noodle or tomato), small portion of yogurt (drink - apple juice). You could vary with a 1/2 sandwich of tuna, chicken, ham w/cheese of choice. (A few chips won't hurt....I really mean a FEW)

Dinner - What ever the rest of the family is having (smaller portions) NO deserts UNLESS he finishes his dinner. (same for breakfast and lunch).

As I always say...teach/train your children to be good eaters with a well balanced diet. (Keep portions for children in mind----small portions....if they need more they will ask). This does not mean more potatos when all else is left on the plate. Teach them while they are young...However, for those of you who have become short order cooks...STOP IT. Don't give you children a lot of money for junk food. (PS I love a good chip and dip and chili too), but I don't do it all the time. I love lobster, but once or twice a year, its a treat, but don't do it all the time.

No don't serve the same thing each day.....BORING! be creative and balanced. I have learned over the years, one can usually make a NEW dish out of left overs. (ALL YOU MAMA'S, please send us suggestions of what you makes with left overs).

Here's another suggestion: If our child does not eat what is on his/her plate, let he/she know that what they do not eat for breakfast, Will be serve for lunch or dinner and there will be no in between snacks or drinks (other then water). As another posted said: "They Will Not Starve". In addition your are raising your child and insuring good eating habits.

Lastly, you and dad are in charge of your child...He will eat if he is hungry. Don't give milk or juice. Water is OK but not until they are ready to get down from the table. Trust me, unless there is something physical with your, he will NOT starve and he will start eating on a regular basis.

Stay strong and consistent.

Blessings.....

Keep us posted

When my son was a baby I made his baby food and I introduced him to ALL kinds of foods. I'd take him to the local organic grocery store and he'd pick out different veggies. I'd take him to "Foods Around The World Night" once a week and he tried and ate all kinds of crazy and interesting foods. I love to cook and always cook a variety of healthy foods at home. My husband and I enjoy all foods. He liked all kinds of things and I was a proud mom about how I was doing everything right. Then around age 2 and a half he suddenly became picky....really really picky. I have consistently not catered to him and given him small portions of what we are eating and just tried to be positive about it (I don't want food issues!).He has to try one bite of something he claims to hate. But no...nothing works. He is about to turn 7 now and is the pickiest kid I have ever met. I can list the foods he will eat on a small piece of paper. Even normal kid foods that most kids like...he does not. He does not give in - EVER and will not eat things he does not like even if that means not getting enough dinner. He is not happy about it though and will make our entire evening MISERABLE. He never gives in. He is tall for his age and extremely skinny. I can never find pants that fit him. I have now started to give in and I will give him just plain chicken or just plain mashed potatoes just to get him to eat something. I think for some kids it is some sort of weird personality thing. It drives me CRAZY but I don't show it to him. I don't understand why why why???!!!!! I know this does not help you but I want to let you know even if you do everything right you child will not necessarily be a good eater. I have met SO many moms who are quite proud of themselves and how they have done things right and that is why their child is a good eater. It makes me mad bc it has very little to do with them and everything to do with the personality of their child.

HE WILL NOT STARVE HIMSELF! No healthy kid ever starved himself!

Some easy things to start offering for breakfast include whole wheat toast (my DD likes it with a small amount of butter and cinnamon), oatmeal, yogurt, a banana, and any non-sugary cereal (i.e. Cheerios, Life) with some milk. Give him a choice of 2 items so he feels he has some control, but each of those 2 items needs to be something healthy and not one of the things he is accustomed to eating.

Lunch can be a sandwich (ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, tuna, PBJ) or try some Spaghettioes or soup (alphabet, chicken noodle, tomato).
Snacks or sides can be apple slices, apple sauce, carrot sticks, melon, berries, or a cheese stick.

Dinner is whatever you guys are having in tiny portions. Usually DD (who is 3) will eat what we will eat if we give her some ranch dressing or ketchup or BBQ sauce for dipping.

Basically, I would start with offering 2 choices, but let him know these are his choices, he doesn't get to pick something else - and stick to it. Again, he will not starve himself. This is more about him being on a power trip than anything else and you need to take back control.

First I have to say that trying to tackle the food challenge while also taking care of a newborn may be overwhelming for both you and your son. 3 is definitely the age where they are pushing hard on boundaries and parents patience. But if you do try, here are a few simple thoughts:
- start at breakfast when your son is the most rested.
- no milk after breakfast unless foods are tried. Offer water. Never any juice as it will just be a sweet "filler" and allow him to continue to skip the food you're offering.
- during one of your newborn's naps, prepare a meal with your son. Involve him in the measuring or cutting or anything that can help him feel ownership over the meal. Plus it's some nice 1:1 time with mommy so hopefully food time becomes a positive.
- only react to the positive actions, like trying a food. Don't keep asking to try or offer treats for eating. Food is for energy. You eat when you're hungry. If you choose not to eat, then you are not hungry.
- never request they finish anything. Again, food is if you are hungy.

For our family (two little boys), this has seemed to work pretty well. I'm not saying my boys eat everything or will eat the same thing they enjoyed the week before. But they eat what we are eating and if they get dramatic about it, we calmly take the plate away and remind them that that is the meal if they are hungry.

GOOD LUCK! and be patient. at 3 years old, this may take a long time to really sort itself out and a 3 year old will remember if you ever break your own rules. they are so crafty!

Do any of your friends and family have older children that he looks up to? One thing that helped my kids broaden their palates when they were preschoolers was watching my friend's older children when we got together for lunch - they were much more interested in trying what "Big Girl Sarah" and "Big Boy Mikey" were eating even though they wouldn't have tried it if I had just served it at home. Also, sometimes even preschooler videos motivated them - they were much more interested in eating pasta after watching one Clifford the Big Red Dog episode where Emily Elizabeth enthusiastically ate a bowl of spaghetti while exclaiming how much she loved spaghetti.

This does not sound like the right time to get really hardcore about your son's eating. Since you have a new baby, he might be resistant because of all the changes going on. Plus, you are not going to have patience with him and you might under or over-react. I didn't see your previous post but I am sure you got some great ideas. My son is not an adventerous eating but I find that you just have to keep offering a variety of foods in a variety of setttings and applaud even small accomplishments. My son just fed himself a fruitcup of pineapples and that was the first time he ever fed himself with a spoon an entire serving of something (eventhough he is fully capable). I was really proud, and he is almost 3.

remove all treats from the house and all of his "comfort foods" first and make sure he knows they are gone.
Our son at 3 wouldn't try anything new but at daycare would "copy" the older kids and his buddies and eat what they ate - even veggies! He had a really bad gag reflex and would barf if he didn't like the texture of something - so we were afraid to push the issue. HOWEVER...
We noticed that he would willingly try new stuff at restaurants too...so I finally realized that he KNEW that Daddy would break down and give him yogurt and graham crackers if he refused to eat his dinner but he also worried when we were out that there was no yogurt for him so he was more open to new stuff when he was really hungry!! So I had to train Daddy too!
3 years old trying to control his world - one of the only things he can control is what he eats and when/where he goes to the bathroom.
Start at breakfast - be upbeat but firm and if you give in you will make it worse. Watch an episode of Too Fat for 15 to steel your resolve.
There are some cute kids books about picky eaters - maybe a fieldtrip to the library will help set the mood and start a dialog.
Our son is STILL really picky - but after a really bad bout with constipation he now will at least eat his 5 servings of fruit a day -veggies are still a battle.

My children have always loved it when I use our muffin tin and fill each cup with finger foods for them to nibble on through out the morning or for snack. Maybe your little man will find this method fun and be willing to try new foods.
I've filled our muffin tins with:
Apple slices
pineapple chunks
cubed melon
grapes
strawberries
clementine wedges
carrots
celery
cucumbers
yogurt
cubed cheese
whole grain crackers/triscuts
pretzel sticks (I've used the pretzel stick to poke the cheese cube and allow them to make shapes)
peanuts
almonds
goldfish
popcorn
raisins
peanut/almond butter
hummus

I have mini cookie cutters that are holiday related and have used them at times to make fun shapes, as well. I've never been one to worry much about how much my kids were eating or what meals when they were little. I truly believe they know and will eat when they're hungry. I've felt my job is to offer healthy choices and plenty of water. He won't starve himself.

Breakfast
Scrambled or hard boiled eggs with oatmeal
Yogurt with fresh strawberries or blueberries and granola
French Toast
Choc. Chip Pancakes

Lunch
Turkey or Ham & cheese stick wraps
Cutter shapes sandwiches
Any type of finger fun foods have always been a big hit with mine.

Dinner
Anything you're having. I make one meal with a protein, grain and 2-3 different veggies.

I have 4 children and our oldest is 11. When his siblings were born, I found it helpful to prepare some foods for the week over the weekend when my husband was home. He could tend to the kids while I did food prep. During the week, I could grab the food and get it ready without much hassle or time. I also recommend having foods that you want your son to eat readily available in the fridge, at his eye level. He'll reach for those foods. If there are foods you don't want him eating, don't bring them in the house.

Good luck and congrats on your newborn.
J.

I'd give him a good breakfast of foods you know he likes and would not give him snacks. Sit down at the table for lunch, give him something he likes and also a new food. It can taking giving these kids a new food 10 times before they'll like it. Our rule is 2 bites of everything on our plate to give it a try. If you don't eat your meal, no snack. If you're hungry this is what we made...we do make sure to offer foods that we know are liked in the meal. Let him help you pick out foods at the store or to prepare them. If I know we're trying a new veggie for dinner, I'll give my daughter a choice of another part of the meal...she gets to help in deciding what the family eats for the meal, etc. I don't know if this makes sense, but it works for our family. Try not to get frustrated. He'll eat when he's hungry! and try not to give him too many new things at once.

Foods magically taste better with dips -- save those little plastic cups or use a small measuring cup and put some salad dressing or ketchup or syrup in it and let him dip his veggies, his fish sticks, his french toast or waffles (that you make as normal then cut into strips), whatever it is, he'll eat it better with dips. He can also dip fruit into yogurt, apple sauce, etc.

It takes an average of ...8?... trial tastes to get used to a new food (I forgot the number, I'm sure it's an average anyway)

For dinner/bigger meals, I make sure that when I'm serving something that he potentially might not like (or is new to him) that I *also* serve something I know he'll eat - for my son, it was rice, bread, canned peaches, etc. So if I was serving a new casserole dish, I'd make sure to have a salad or fruit or bread so that there was something to go into his stomach. (Now, my boy is SKINNY, he even now at 8yo is barely on the growth chart, always been in the 1% range so I don't know if I would be the same if he were a chunky kid in the 90th percentile....)

The best "new food advice" I got was from here a while back - tell them they must have 3 bites of something new - first bite is to taste, 2nd bite is to see, 3rd bite is to decide (my own wording here) Basically, kids often decide something is "yuck" by sight alone. So, first bite to get it into their mouth (they can still "know" it is "yucky" with the first bite) 2nd bite is to taste it, see what it is really like. Then one more bite to decide (and get used to it!!) if they can eat more of this food (after all, you're serving good food, not nasty stuff, right Mama??) or they truly don't like it after all.

My son is 8yo and we have been doing this a while and while we dont do it all the time, there are occasional days when he looks at and turns up his nose at something new. So I tell him 4 bites then if he truly does not like it, he can have a peanut butter sandwich for dinner instead. (not so much for a 3yo tho)

Be considerate of him and his tastes - there are foods YOU dont like or wont eat much of, so it's only fair he has his opinions and "food moods" as well. Dont turn it into a battle (ie, no having anything else at all until he eats the ____ that you think he should like but he finds repulsive...)

I have told my son that he can have 2-3 foods he really does not like (for me, it is olives. yuck they're nasty to me, he thinks it's funny because HE likes them.) He can't dislike half of the foods that are in the house, but if he has *strong* dislikes for a certain flavor/food, I respect that and can work with that. I respect my husband's dislike/intolerance of certain foods as well, so no fish/seafood when he is home but if it's just my son and I for lunch, we have fish sticks! Vice versa, when I have a green salad, I leave the tomatoes to the side or in a bowl so Dad and I can add them but he doesn't get the tomatoes. Tomatoes are his dislike food - and I say, he now says too, that he'll like them when he's grown up but for now, he doesn't like fresh/raw tomatoes. :-)
Mushrooms are another one but last week when I made spaghetti, I opened a can and cut them up small, unfortunately he saw me and so he knew it was in there. During dinner, he said he didnt like the mushrooms and I said I know, that's why there's only a little bit (mind you he's 8yo, I couldn't have had this discussion with a 3yo, but you get the idea) in here mixed in with all the other foods and the spaghetti flavor to mask the mushrooms, this is my way of helping you get used to mushrooms so that when you are big and gone from home you can eat what other people serve you. He immediately said yeah, I'm getting used to it. ! :-)

Another thing - their tastes change, often. Sometimes I think they dislike something one day only because it was a flavor/texture they weren't expecting (I had a college friend react bad to a drink I handed him, because he wasn't expecting the carbonation, it was simply 7-up and koolaid mixed together. It's not that he doesn't like the drink, it's that he wasn't prepared for the taste. I couldn't get him to finish his cup that evening. So I've always remembered that, and that's why the 3-bite rule of thumb works I think.) Anyway they either aren't expecting the flavor, or they're simply not in the mood for it that day, or (and I truly think this happens LOL) they forgot whether they like it or not!!!

So if they absolutely won't eat their mashed sweet potatoes tonight, fine. Don't force him to stare at it for several meals in a row until he finally chokes it down (swearing he'll NEVER EVER eat it again LOL) but do have him have his 3 bites and eat the rest of his dinner. Then a few weeks(at least) later, have your chunks of sweet potatoes baked with chunks of regular potatoes and carrots (with onions, a favorite dish of ours!) then he may forget that he didn't like sweet potatoes last time.

The only punishment I attach with eating his dinner is if he doesn't eat his dinner, then as soon as it's over, he wants dessert. Ok, no ice cream no sweets, no "dessert" food for dessert. He can either have his dinner then dessert. OR he can have toast, banana, carrots, fruit, something HEALTHY and nutritious (more so than usual, ha) but NOT ice cream or sweets for dessert when he didnt finish his dinner.

I like the dips suggestion! When my little girl was in a "crackers only" phase, my pediatrician suggested having a meal with one thing she liked and one or two new things. So, when she liked crackers, we would have crackers and soup, crackers and cheese, crackers and chicken bites, etc. Then, when she liked something new, we added one more thing: so we'd have crackers, chicken bites, and broccoli. We also had a lot of success getting my son to eat more veggies by melting cheese on top of them. He especially liked cauliflower with cheddar sprinkled on top. Now he will eat cauliflower without cheese, too.

Especially considering you have a newborn, I really suggest you don't stress over this!! If your three year old is picky now, that doesn't mean picky for life. Also, he's probably not going to let himself starve. I would not serve the same thing every day until he tries it simply because I think that would set up a power struggle.

Best wishes!!

lot's of questions and I don't blame you, I would say to get Jessica Sienfelds book, gives you all sorts of info for food, I am lucky, since my son was 3 he is now 10, I have introduced him to a lot of diffferent foods, his fav now is sushi, it is all on the parents, introducing them to all sorts of things at a young age...good luck on your adventure...

I try to give my toddler food I know she will eat and food she might eat. I encourage her to eat what's new, if even to taste. I also find that if everyone else is eating it, she's more likely to try. She wants to "be big" so if she wants to try my artichoke leaf, okay. I praise her for putting it in her mouth.

I also make snacks things I know she will eat so she's not starving but will get something healthy, like Cheerios (we like multigrain) or cheese and crackers, fruit, yogurt, etc.

I'd probably try lunch, since you might have your coffee by then and be a tad less bleary...or dinner when your husband may be home.

I heard this on the radio a few months ago, I think it was on the John Tesch show. A study was done with pre-school children and food. What they found out was children should be introduced to as many foods as possible before they reach 3. Going way back to the hunter/gather style of life at 3 yrs old children were able to start gathering food, if the child did not recognize a food item he (she) wouldn't pick it. The food may be poisen so that kept the village safe. This behavior only lasts a short time maybe up to a year.
So moral of the story is introduce as many different foods as possible to your child before they reach 3. I would still keep introducing him to new foods and tell him he needs to eat at least two peices. He will develop a taste for new foods but it will take a while. Good luck.

Looks like you have enough food suggestions listed below. However, I would add that when it's time to eat that you also join in. eat casually as though it's no big deal and you aren't trying to get your child to try something new. I found with my child that when i ate something and seemed to enjoy it, he too would follow along. I never say things like, eat your veggies or this or that.. I just put the food on the table and act as though there is NO pressure. i think once kids feel pressure to try something, sometimes they simply won't do it just to not do it. so try to keep it calm and casual.. and as mentioned, join in and look as though you are really enjoying your food..

good luck

I wouldn't make this a Mexican stand-off! LOL
Give him O. thing he likes and something new...if he likes fruits for breakfast, cut up a waffle too, etc.
No-don't serve the same thing every day until he tries it! Mix it up, give him bites of YOUR stuff.
Try to make it fun for him.