What can I do to help my 7 yr old son try new foods?

Question

My 7 yr old son is a very picky eater I know sometimes this is normal for kids his age but he won't eat even the normal kids stuff like hot dogs. If anyone has any suggestions please let help me. Thanks

Answer 1

A couple of tricks I've used that worked.

1. Remove all junk food from the house.
2. Limit snacks especially before mealtime. Kids that are really hungry are a lot more likely to eat whatever is served.
3. Never serve a meal that doesn't contain at least some foods he will eat. (but not so much he'll be full enough to not touch the new food).
4. Don't require he finish anything, however kids that don't make at least a good attempt at dinner don't need dessert (I'd hear ..I'm full, then "can I have ice cream?" The answer would be no..you are full dear). Better yet, eliminate desserts for a while. You can offer up a healthy snack before bedtime instead.
5. Encourage him to try new foods but don't require him to do so.
6. Don't ever serve soda or sweetened drinks with dinner, they can fill up on them and they're empty calories at best.
7. Get him involved in meal prep and cooking. A lot of kids love the one on one attention and they are a lot more likely to eat what they cook.

If mealtimes are a war, the kid will always win, so you do have to back off and let him do his thing, the above suggestions are manipulations so that in time he will broaden his choices.

Odds are good nothing will change at first, so give it time and back off. Don't be afraid to let him be hungry. If he whines about being hungry you can always say something like "oh well, you had a choice to eat dinner or not and you made your choice."

Also remember that if you're like most adults, you don't even buy the stuff you don't like, so respect that he will have his own set of likes and dislikes. I used to let the kids grab an apple, yogurt or make a sandwich if I served a meal I knew they would just hate..but only did this after they were willing to give it a try. However, do not allow this flexibility UNTIL your child has become a more open-minded eater and the choices still need to be good ones.

Keep in mind that when our parents were kids and big families were common, there was no money or time to cater to picky eaters. Kids either ate what was served or went hungry. NO kid starves to death in a house with food, so that isn't even worthy of your concern.

In a nutshell, cut out the snacks and serve up the meals without a fuss. Let him eat what he will and ignore what he won't. In time, (anywhere from a couple of days to weeks), he's going to eat because he's hungry.

Oh..and hotdogs are mostly crud anyway. Give him real food and stop pandering to what you think a kid should like. Mine eat everything including vegetables and seafood, slightly spicy and ethnic cuisine.

You might watch the TLC tv series "Honey We're Killing the Kids." (monday nights). It's a cool show where a nutritionist goes into households and revamps their eating and exercise habits. The kids always revolt, but over the 3 week period, they all do become better eaters. It might offer some useful inspiration.

Answer 2

I have in the past displayed food on toothpicks, something about it makes it fun for kids to eat things off of.

But if you say picky eater, what kind of food does he eat. I have a daughter who is 10 now and has never really cared for meat (used to pick off the pickles and onions, tomatoes off the burger to eat and give the meat and bun back). I guess I can be thankful that she's a healthy eater compare to so many other kids her age. My son is the meat and potatoes boy. They both will at least take a bite of something and if they don't care for It then I won't try it again for a month or so. Good Luck!

Answer 3

I had a lot of problems getting my son to eat anything other than chicken, fish and rice. He even hated, ice cream, pizza, hamburgers and all the junk food most kids love. He was on medicine for ADHD as well which really suppressed his appetite.
The only way I could get him to eat was by making his food fun. I drew happy faces and other things on his food with ketchup, made circles on his plate with mashed potatoes with slices of carrot for the eyes and a strip of bacon for the mouth and any other ideas I could come up with. Every mealtime I'd serve him a new surprise and tell him he had to eat an ear, or an eye or part of the face etc. It was a lot more work but it got food in him and he slowly developed a taste for different foods. He's 14 now and he still won't eat anything green. His Doctor gave me a tip too and that was to let him eat a lot of small meals instead of making him eat 3 large meals a day. He said it's actually healthier that way and they will eat a lot more.

Answer 4

You really sound like you are started in the right direction. The positive behavior rewards are good. Whether you actually document these things or find ways of reinforcing it, verbally, praise always wins out over negative comments (which kids get in school, much of the day). You are also wise in looking into the dairy-free and totally wheat-free diet, for a temporary measure. It would take about one to two weeks to see a difference if these are bothering your son, but that is ONLY if you are totally free of these items. (If he cheats at school or a friend's house even a little, you may not see a difference, and deam it unsuccessful). Even better, find books by Dr. Doris Rapp (used online booksites) and read them thoroughly. Also, try removing all peanut products which can effect behaviors, too. You sound like you are coming up with some realisitic things to try, but be sure to do some reading to understand how to implement these, properly. Look up the elimination diet, as well as leaky gut. Work with your son, let him know you are on his side, and keep a sense of humor. That is key in working with ADHD kids. They need that in order to maintain a positive attitude. Another thing you can do, is to make a list of all the positive things about him that you and he can think of. It can be rather elaborate, and this can be fun. Then, you can refer to it, whenever needed, and ad to it, too.

Answer 5

Be creative!!! I had to do the same when my 6 year old step-daughter and 3 year old nephew refused to eat anything... I would cut the food into bite sized pieces... no more than 10 or 15 in a plate... then drew a circle on a sheet of paper for each bite. When they ate a bite, they got to color a circle until they were finished... they were very proud of themselves and liked to show off who ate the most bites. Another thing they liked was role play... I would make the food talk by giving them voices or personalities... like, they would taunt them into saying, "You can't eat me, you can't eat me..." and they thought it was so silly, they couldn't help themselves to biting the food... to this day my nephew still asks me to make the veggies talk. My step-daughter isn't into the gory veggie talk. She preffered that I have a puppet made out of a sock be her waiter... The sock, who had an "outrageous French accent" would seat her, take her drink order, and bring her the house special. She felt so special and always finished. Sometimes "Maurice" would ask if she would like seconds and she would try it. The key is to not put too much food on their plate, remember that our stomachs are about the size of both our hands cupped into a fist, that's pretty small if you think about it!!! Wait for your son to ask for more, instead of forcing him to eat what he thinks is an entire feast... Also, if there is less or no food left on his plate, you wont have the subconscious urge to finish up his left overs... I know this is common with families, so it can be good for your health as well. Good luck and best wishes!!!

Answer 6

Make the food fun for him. My daughter is also 7, she used to be the pickiest eater. But now it's a different story. She loves almost all foods now. For example, make an octopus out of his hot dogs by cutting them several times longways but not all the way to the end and then put them into boiling water. They well come out looking like an octopus. You can make all kind of animals out of food. And let him pick his own sauces, even if you think it is a gross selection. Maybe this well help. I hope so. Good Luck!!!

Answer 7

I am dealing with this myself. I had to made special meals for him. The older he got the more he was curious of what I ate and what his friends in school were eating. He still does not like a lot of things, but he's doing better and better each year. Also I only cook healthy food at home, and I am not a very good cook, but he thinks healthy food taste that way (as oppose t big mac), that's why it's healthy.

Answer 8

Mine did this picky eater thing for along time. Finally we just stopped buying the things he liked and bought what we wanted him to eat. He didn't eat for a few days but wonder of wonders.. that old maxim "hunger is the best sauce" took hold, now he eats whats put in front of him. Don't coddle him. Just tell him this is whats for dinner like it or not.

Answer 9

If you have the ability to grow a garden, have him help plant it. He can pick out the vegetables, help plant the seeds, help pick the fruits of his labor.

Also, he's at a good age where he can help cook too. Kraftfoods.com has a lot of really great kid-friendly recipes, that he can make himself (with parent help, of course). My kids now love to help cook, and even bring me new recipes that they found, that they want to try.

The more he gets into food, the more he'll be apt to eat. Clean the junk food out of your house, completely. My kids were junk food addicts, and I finally realized that it was my own addiction to Doritos that was making them gain weight (and me). We now eat very healthy, and they only eat chips on school trips. Which saves me TONS of money!

Also, talk with him about health. What makes the body grow. How milk makes the bones work, how red meat helps the red blood cells, and brain cells. How carrots are good for the eyesight. It's good that kids learn that what they eat, matters to them as to how they grow.

Answer 10

Try a small rewards program with him If he at least tries to taste 5 new foods this week, he may pick out something at the store such as a toy. Or allow him to look though the grocery store and pick out a food item he hasnt tried that looks interesting to him. I dealt with one who would only eat peanut butter, chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. I started the reward program and asking opinions on different foods as we shopped and he soon enjoyed the new food experience. Now my question is: how do you make a boy STOP eating everything in site..lol
Good luck to you...