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My son usually prefers to drink rather than eat. I have the hardest time getting him to eat food, unless it's peanut butter and jelly, fruit (must be mushy, not crunchy), green beans or corn. He used to like cheese and eggs but lately he's developed an aversion to that as well.

Maureen Whitehouse Replied: This too shall pass! Perhaps even by the time you find yourself reading my response you son will have changed his appetites and his mind about what he likes and doesan't like several times. The less commotion you make about food issues, the better off everyone will be. The over all theme of my book, Soul-Full Eating - is: Eat with love, what's grown with love, prepared with love and served with love. Focus on Love! That is all children (and adults :) crave any way. Tell your son,to eat what he loves while focusing on REALLY loving it. Then he'll always feel a sense of fulfillment. Fulfillment in the knowing that you LOVE him. If you want him to to eat healthy, nutritious and delicious food - then you love and enjoy healthy and nutritious foods right in front of him and share your love of what you're eating as well as the food itself. But do not force anything on him. If you love good, wholesome food, then he will too. If not immediately... very, very soon.
Posted On 2010-06-21 19:53:10

Naomi Drew Replied: Try making some nutritious shakes. Put some bananas, protein powder and other fruits into a blender. Add vanilla and sweeten with honey. In terms of veggies, even if you have to overcook them a little to get them mushy enough for him to eat, at least he's eating them. Kids go through food phases. This is probably one of them. I would suggest picking up either of these books: Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld or The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine. They'll give you a wealth of information. Cook with your son too. Kids are more likely to eat recipes they take part in preparing.
Posted On 2009-09-22 09:52:25

Eleanor Taylor Replied: First, how old is your son? It is normal for small children to go through periods of food rejection. Congratulations, your child's current choices seem to be healthy. Continue to offer at least one food he loves at each meal and snack. At the same time, stay relaxed and continue to offer him a variety of other healthy foods - even those he is currently rejecting. It is especially important for you not to beg, force or in any way make food rejection a big deal. If you want your son to have a particular food that he is currently not eating, like eggs or cheese, you might want to use them in pancakes or muffins without comment. Or, you can wait a few weeks, and casually offer the food again. To foster long-term peace at the table, you can create some eating rules for the whole family. For example, the "Just Look At It" rule (from my book listed below, Feeding the Kids): everyone (including adults) has to tolerate a small serving of each food on their plate, but no one has to eat anything they don't like. Research shows that after 10-20 exposures, most children will sample a food. All adults and children have some unique food preferences, so your child may continue to reject a certain food - but there is no one food that is essential for health. In the meantime, enjoy your own food and happily offer to eat your child's portion. Watching parents enjoy a variety of healthy foods often inspires a child to join in.
Posted On 2009-08-01 07:27:13

Charlotte Cowan, M.D. Replied: There are lots of issues hidden in your question, but the biggest concern I hear you talking about is whether your child is eating/drinking in a healthy way. It would be easier to address this if I knew how old your son is. Based on your description of his favorite foods, my guess is that he is preschool age. First of all, I would like to ask what your son is drinking. I suspect he prefers liquids to food because he is drinking juice or soda, either of which I would delete from his diet almost completely. If he prefers milk to food, then I would simply let him have 3-4 glasses a day and then give him water. A trick for getting a child "weaned " from juice or soda is to gradually dilute the sugary drinks with water—more and more water every day—until the child is drinking water instead of juice. A child who is drinking a lot of liquid loaded with calories will not be hungry for his food. Secondly, it is entirely normal for children to go through phases of liking one food or another and being somewhat "picky." You do not want to battle with your child over what he eats—bribing or rewarding, praising or punishing. An excellent trick is to offer him a variety of healthy food at every meal (and snack) and then just let him do his thing without concern or judgment. The parents who get into trouble are those who offer healthy foods with doughnuts and then get upset when their child chooses the doughnuts…or those who "make" their children clean their plates before doing something fun or having dessert. It is entirely appropriate for your child to decide how much of which foods he wants to eat. You can't know how full he is!! I hope this helps. Best of luck, and do discuss this with your pediatrician. Healthy eating is really important and your child is lucky that you are concerned about this. What a great Mom!!
Posted On 2009-07-28 07:46:55