My 3 year old daughter is such a fussy eater, help?

Question

She wont eat fruit or veg, ive tried mixing it into her food so she cant see it and still no joy we have had family meals but no joy still.
She would rather go hungry than eat them and yes even tried that

Answer 1

My daughter was exactly the same, and i just persisted with it, put it on her plate, but dont force her to eat them, let her get used to the way they look... she'll try them without thinking when she has got used to the way they look... I got fruit into my daughter by making fun smoothies, naming them together with fun and bizarre names, and asking her to help me to make them.. it worked, now she's hooked and has sided with the fruit and veg, and leaves the crisps and choc..

Answer 2

Try to make eating these foods fun.You can make funny faces with fruit. Try pureeing fruits in a blender and then freeze it to make a Popsicle. You can make a tiny snowy forest using broccoli as trees and dipping sauce as snow. Cover them in what ever they like, even if it sounds disgusting, My daughter wouldn't eat bananas unless they had maple syrup to dip in. Start putting less and less of the stuff on it until they get used to the taste. You can take a piece of yarn and a needle and string fruit or veggies on it to have a yummy necklace. Take a safe non-sharp stick, such as a Popsicle stick or a straw and make a kabob. Have fun activities for her like dipping fruit into melted chocolate and let it harden. There are many fun ways to make kids eat healthy. Have Fun!

Answer 3

I agree with Wench let her pick the food she wants when shopping and then she will be more likely to eat it. Don't worry to much even if she only eating a small amount as long as she is still active and seems healthy then there is no real problems. All children go through fussy periods during their lives. Good luck

Answer 4

Don't worry. many fussy eaters turn into big eaters later. Try to give dried fruits that taste like fruit gums, Call them sweets so she thinks they are treats. Get her involved in the cooking process. Try making shapes & faces from food so it looks fun. As a child I would only eat past, now I eat anything.

Answer 5

My 2 year old is also a very picky eater. He will smell his food before trying it, and if it is something new he will watch someone else eat it before he makes an attempt to touch it with his tongue. I have never forced him to eat anything in particular yet allowed him to try anything he might be interested in trying.

Try getting your kids to help prepare their own meals. Make pizzas. Make it a build your own pizza party. Have lots of topping choices even unusual ones and allow them to put it all together themselves. Sometimes the art of creation will inspire kids to eat. Ask you child to make a choice between 2 items. Do not give more than 2 choices because you will end up with a power struggle. The choice makes them feel empowered, and makes you happy because you are getting them to eat.

Answer 6

Reverse psychology? Don't let her have it, just eat it in front of her, making a big point of how nice it is - but she can't have any. You may find she tries to pinch yours then!

Alternatively, perhaps let her pick the fruit / veg that she wants to try, and let her help prepare it? Sometimes a little involvement goes a long way.

Answer 7

Get very colorful food or cutting the food into fun shapes, and play games with her when it comes to eating.
When I was small, my mother would play "dinosaur" with me, in which brocolli were trees, peas were 'dino candy' and other such things.
And also, make sure you always eat all of your veggies! If you don't than she won't. Another good tactic is to get someone she admires, like one of the 'big kids' to eat said veggies around her. This might propt her to mimic the activity.

Answer 8

My son is only 13 months, but his pediatrician told me when he goes through phrases where he doesn't want to eat certain things, don't force them just take them out for a while and reintroduce them again later. Like two weeks ago he wouldn't eat meat and this week it is all about the meats and he does not want fruit. It is just a phrase and she should get over it, ask her what she would like to eat.

Answer 9

I remember when my sister was a toddler my mom get her to eat vegetables by giving her ranch dressing to dip it ("dippey") and she also got her to eat brocoli by telling her that they were mini trees, she loved that. She could never get her to eat cooked veggies but the kid loved raw veggies dipped in ranch, any veggie as long as she had something to dip it in. She did the same with fruit, she made it fun to eat. She did the peanut butter and celery thing, she made a boat out of it, she got her to eat grapes by telling her they were little balls. I don't remember any other tricks she used. Good luck!

Answer 10

my daughter had to see a nutritionist when she was a baby because she was really sick, the lady told me to just give her whatever she likes that has nutritional value and she had to drink pediasure for children .. she only weighed 12 lbs until she was 2 and she has a twin that was way bigger than her but she has caught up now and she will eat anything . so maybe your daughter is just going through a phase.