My three year old will only eat a couple of things, need advice on how to get him to eat more.?

Question

My three year old will only eat pizza, yogurt, cream of wheat, oatmeal, hotdogs and mac and cheese. He won't eat bread or sandwiches, should I just wait it out or does anyone know of a good way to get him to try new foods.
thanks!

Answer 1

3 year olds are notoriously finicky. Boys are even worse, because once they find something they like, they'll latch on to it and not want anything else. My 4 year old doesn't care for bread, unless it's a peanut butter sandwich, and even then I have to cut the crust off for him. (Sandwiches aren't that good for kids anyway, so no worries there)

The best way to get him to like new things is to just keep offering it to him. You may have to offer something 10+ times before he'll actually eat it and like it. But don't give up. You can also try to pair up flavors together so he doesn't notice he's eating something new. I got my son to eat broccoli by putting spaghetti sauce on it and telling him it was lasagna. Now he'll eat it on its own.

Answer 2

Okay, what I do with my 3 year old, I tell him something like " it's candy" or " it's pizza", even if it's not really. I Had a hard time getting him to eat things too. I know he like's grilled cheese, so when I make him like a ham and cheese sandwich, i tell him it's a cheese sandwich because I know he likes cheese.To me, it doesn't sound like anything unusual for a 3 year old. If you are concerned about proper vitamins and stuff, try buying little flintstone vitamins and cutting them in half and telling him " it's candy". They taste pretty good and he won't know the difference. If you want some info on things my kid eats that you could try on him, feel free to e-mail me and I might have some more tips for ya. I have also been trying to make my son eat whatever I put in front of him. He isn't allowed to have anything else until he eats what I make for him. Trust me, if they are hungry enough, they'll eat it. My son is learning really quick on that one. lol! Good luck hun!

Answer 3

My daughter is almost three and was the same way. For sandwiches, I let her help me make them and then together we use cookie cutters to make them into neat little shapes, she loves it and eats them! For other foods, she loves fruit but hates veggies. Corn is about all I could get her to eat. So, I started making a game, I take what she likes and put it seperate. In order to get her "good" food she has to take three bites of the other. This usually works, especially if you make a big deal out of it. ( ie. WOW that was A BIG bite, the goofier the better) Then I have also started giving her examples of what animals eat what food...carrots and rabbits, etc. So I will tell her that carrots are baby rabbit food and ask if she can pretend to be a baby rabbit. This works well too, though it is a little silly. If all else fails, you child seems to like some healthy foods and I wouldn't worry, my Dr. said she would out grow it! :) Best of Luck!

Answer 4

Relax, it's normal for a three year old. Ours does the same thing, but he only gets the things he likes when we're eating them too.

All you can do is serve him his meal whether he likes it or not, and let him know that's all he's getting to eat.

Ours really likes milk, so we have a policy that he doesn't get his milk with a meal until he has taken at least one bite of everything on his plate.

xxxxgatexxxx - unless you actually have a three year old, shut up. I used to feel the same way about parents with this problem, but it ain't so easy - ours has gone an entire day several without hardly eating because he wont' try new foods -and he's still refuses to try new foods.

Answer 5

i was a very picky eater as a kid. i was like that because if i liked a certain kind of flavor, then i just want to eat it all the time. now, i'm no longer picky...i eat everything but really weird stuff. it's possible he may just grow out of it, but for health reasons, he can't be eating just pizza or hotdogs. be creative and just have him try all kinds of things..also watching u eat all kinds of things may help. for example, maybe u can make some easy healthy pizzas. ..get sandwich bread (wheat), put some tomato paste (contadina italian herb tomato paste is very good), put low fat mozzarella, small pieces of onion/green bell peppers, and chicken. if no chicken then take 7% fat ground beef and make little sausages. avoid introducing more junk food into his diet. (he can't crave for something he hasn't tasted before.) also try one of those kids meal cookbooks...they generally seem to focus on how to make things look fun to eat.

Answer 6

you need to persuade him to eat healthier food. Tell him if he doesn't eat sandwhiches, that you'll take away his favorite toy or take away the pizza and the mac and cheese. Or tell him, this sandwich tastes so much better than the mac and cheese. or you could hide all the food and make up stories about how the food disappeared. he's just a kid anyway.

Answer 7

OMG I hate parents like you. The child will eat what you give him if your a PARENT. Stop giving him a choice and try actually being in charge. I doubt he went out and bought the damn pizza and hotdogs and cooked em up for himself. You had a child now do your damn job and raise him instead of him training you.

Answer 8

It's normal, and whatever you do, don't punish him....that causes bigger problems. Don't with hold food either. Try rewarding him if he eats something new, with something you know he will like. For instance, if he eats his eggs, he can have some yogurt. Try different foods, a little and mix it with what he likes. This usually works...well atleast it did for me.

Answer 9

I'm not a doctor, but I'd just wait it out. If you think it's a problem, call his pediatrician and set up an appointment to get a professional answer. Good luck!

Answer 10

if the problem is really serious, try consulting your nearest doctor.if it is minor, try to feed what the he or she likes or what u feel is good for him apart from the foods u have mentioned. it shouldn't be a big problem though. moreover, there are medicinal tonics like ''MOM IAM HUNGRY'' specially designed for kids to get hungry in thier way..go to a pharmacist.