It seems that lately my easy-going 18 month old has decided to become a very picky eater. He used to eat whatever the rest of the family was eating. Now he is stuck on the same types of foods all the time. At his one year check up, the doctor was concerned that his iron count was low but did not want to take any action at that time. He said to try to incorporate more iron-containing foods into his diet, and he would recheck the situation at his 18 month visit. Well, he is going next week for the check up, and I don't know what to do. Any suggestions on how to get him to eat more variety?
I want to thank everyone for the amazing responses I received. I took my son in for his 18 month check-up. He has not gained any weight in several months. The doctor said he would run some routine labwork, which I knew he would do. He said if it came back normal, then Brenden would probably be destined to be a skinny child. He thought that his diet was just fine.
However, the next day, the doctor himself called to tell me that some of his labs did not come back normal, and he has set us up to see a pediatric GI physician. He seems to think that there may be something more going on such has the small intestines having difficulty absorbing nutrients thereby hindering weight gain. We are going to see the GI doctor in three weeks and hopefully get some answers. Keep your fingers crossed!
Hi, N..
After I gave birth to my son, I was very iron-deficiant; so the doctor recommended I eat Cream of Wheat in addition to taking iron pills. It has a lot of iron in it, and I know a lot of kids see to like it, since it is similar to oatmeal. Frosted Mini Wheats also have a ton of iron in them. Giving him a vitamin like someone else mentioned is also an idea. Hope this helps!
Take care,
H. C
I recently had an opportunity to listen to a bio-chemist. Her subject was Iron Deficiency. Take a ways from the lecture were; work with a doctor who is versed in Nutrition.
Diet suggestions were eat more plant based foods. Legumes, dark leafy greens and black strap molasses all have high
iron nutrients and are bioavailable. You also can look into a whole food supplement. Check the link below. Fruits, Vegetables and whole grains in capsule, chewable or gummie form. Hope this is of help.
N. - Nutrition Naturally
www.jp4ahealthieryou.com
FYI eating or drinking something rich in Vit C at the same time as the food containing iron increases the absorbtion of iron. On the other hand, calcium inhibits the absorbtion. Also, Earth's Best has quite a few snack foods and breakfast bars that are high in iron that are marketed for toddlers. Look for it in the baby aisle of the grocery story. Your son might be open to those! Multigrain Cheerios and Quaker Oatmeal Squares have lots of iron. Start reading the labels of breakfast cereals. It is surprising! Good luck!
According to the book Healthy Eating For Life For Children, by Amy Lanou, PhD., and the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine,
To find a good balance, your kids (and you!) should eat plenty of vegetables and beans daily.
There are many healthy food sources of iron. Eating them along with vitamin C-containing foods (especially broccoli, which has lots of iron AND vitamin C) will help with iron absorption. Some of the foods are:
vegetables:
broccoli, collards, squash
beans:
soybeans, navy, and Great Northern
It's important to know that too much iron can be toxic. Often, a children's multivitamin will contain far too much iron for children. One that does not contain iron is Pixie-Vites by Dr. Fuhrman. (www.drfuhrman.com) He suggests obtaining iron through food sources alone.
While meat does contain iron, it also has plenty of fat and cholesterol, and can even contribute of an overload of iron.
Dairy products actually inhibit iron absorption by irritating the digestive tract, and causing a loss of iron-rich red blood cells.
All children go through a period where they get picky. With mine I just refused to give in to it. They have known since they were little that they have to try everything on their plate. They have to finish what is on their plate if they want a small treat afterward...like a small bowl of icecream after dinner. They are not allowed to spit food out...they must chew and swallow one bite of everything. I always put everything I've cooked on their plate.
I do not allow in-between meal snacks if they don't eat their meals.
A friend sent me episodes of Lazy Town on dvd since we don't have cable. The kids love it and now they make a big deal out of eating "sports candy"...fruit and veggies for energy. They exercise around the house all the time.
I'm always introducing new things as well. I have tried to encourage an adventurous spirit in them. I also let them pull a chair up to the island so they can help me cook...they seem more likely to eat something they have helped cook.
Google iron rich foods and put one on his plate once a day everyday.
I'm giving you techniques that my own mother used on us. She knew we wouldn't starve if we got stubborn and didn't want to eat. She refused to cater to our picky tastes because she wasn't a short order cook and knew we would eat something stupid like cereal every day for every meal if given a choice.
As a result we are all great eaters and will try anything to this day. My husband and his siblings (as well as my one brother's wife) on the other hand were never required to try anything. They were never required to eat what was cooked and could often get something else if they didn't like what their mothers cooked.
None of them eats a good diet now. They are all very picky. They have terrible eating habits. It has taken me 16 years to get my husband to try things, eat more fruit and veggies, or even care about nutrition. I think the only reason he does now is because we have kids of our own and he wants them to develop good eating habits.
Try eggs with cheese(and ketchup of course:)orange juice mixed with water,and carrots if he will eat them.
Try adding spinach to red sauces used for pasta and the like.
There are some children's chewable multivitamins with iron, but you have to make sure it says "with iron."
My pediatrician recommended this for my 2 year-old who was also going through a picky stage and not getting much iron in her diet. This was an easy fix for us.
Here's a list of vegan sources that I know of:
*Dried fruits
- prunes
- raisins
- apricots
* Legumes
- lima beans
- soybeans
- dried beans and peas
- kidney beans
* Seeds (pumpkin!!)
- almonds
- Brazil nuts
* Vegetables
- broccoli
- spinach
- kale
- collards
- asparagus
- dandelion greens
* Whole grains
- wheat
- millet
- oats
- brown rice"
Try cooking in a cast iron skillet. This actually adds trace ammounts of iron to the food and is actually good for you. Look up "cast iron cooking" on google etc. I'm sure you'll find an artical that describes this. You can even purchase nice old antique ones that can still be used at auctions, antique shops and even on e-bay!
Hi,
molasses has tons of iron in it.Maybe you can bake muffins with raisins,even some chopped up spinach in it,your child wouldn't know.
MC
