My son's eating habits. What to do?

Question

My 10 year old son has an extremely limited diet. He eats bagels, chicken fingers, peanut butter sandwiches, cereal, grapes and apples, salty chip (and of course sweet treats). Obviously my wife and I have constantly encouraged some variety but we've had no luck and my wife believes we could do more harm psychologically by forcing the issue. Any suggestions or should we let him outgrow this?

Answer 1

Stop buying it for him until he learns to eat other things - you don't buy it he can't eat it.
you are not going to hurt him psychologically by doing this you are going to be helping him in the long run.
When I got my grand kids 6 months ago they didn't even know what a vegetable was! all they wanted was chips,candy and cereal - we told them in this house we eat right - the first week was pure heck they didn't want to eat at all but when they seen I wasn't giving in they started eating - now they eat there fruits,vegetables and meat - they get 3 meals a day and 1 snack and not sweet things and 3 pieces of candy a week only- they sleep better and are doing real good in school now .
All you can do is try it ,yes he will fight you at first but he will learn

Answer 2

Well some of what he eats doesn't sound totally unhealthy. Peanut Butter is a protein, grapes and apples are a good choice too. Try switching his bread to a healthier one if that is your concern. Same with the cereal. Give him a few choices of healthier cereals instead of sugar filled ones. Introduce him to oatmeal which is very healthy.

My son loves chicken nuggets and was on a brief kick until I stopped it and decided I could make healthier ones at home. I buy chicken breast and cut it up into cubes and dip it in a water/ egg substitute batter and then lightly dip it in Ovenbake (similiar to shake n bake but different company). Bake them in the oven for about 20 - 25 minutes and presto delicious homemade healthier chicken nuggets. My trade off when I make something like this is it can not be eaten alone and must accompany two veggies - one of my choosing and one of his.

Picky eaters can be trying at times. IMO, I am willing to make trade offs to get in the foods that I want him to eat. Want pizza? Then also eat some salad.

Answer 3

He is eating some good things. Just don't buy the bad things and just let him eat the whole grain bagels, baked chicken fingers, peanut butter on whole grain bread, whole grain cereal, grapes, apples. Take out the sweets and the chips. Make sure he drinks a lot of water. He's not as bad as some kids. Is he overweight? Make sure he gets a lot of exercise. Go hiking or bike riding with him or play sports. Make it a family thing and he might eventually change his bad habits.

Answer 4

My oldest son is a very picky eater. He's now 15 and hasn't really grown out of it. He likes cheeseburgers so I grind up vegetables or even add V8 juice to the hamburger. Same with meatloaf, and I add things to buns as he loves bread. He doesn't know the difference. I've been doing this for years so he gets nutrition. But I also don't believe in torturing him with making him eat food he doesn't like. We're used to making two different meals, have since he was little. He'll never ask for anything different, he'll just say he's not hungry. We just don't keep any junkfood around, no candy or pop, so at least we know he's healthy.

Answer 5

The old-fashioned way is the best way. Every so-called child expert out there these days seems to discourage forcing a child to eat things he/she does not want to. You put it on his plate and tell him/her to eat it. If he/she does not eat it, straight to bed hungry. When he/she learns that what is offered for the meal is to be eaten (or he/she gets hungry enough) they will eat. A 10 year old is old enough to know by this age. You will also know if he is possibly allergic to anything that he may not have been exposed to previously. This may seem hard to do to your child but it is for his own good. He may go to bed hungry but will definitely not starve. Some self-discipline on your part will have to be enforced to make this work. You are not being mean or abusive, just a little more strict as to his diet. If you give in to his desires for the food he wants to eat, this only enforces his power over the situation and he will not outgrow this.

Answer 6

First of all the only thing psychological about his eating habits is that you let him eat what he eats. He's ten, you're the parent, lay down some law. Make something for dinner, and if he doesn't eat it he doesn't get desert, and he certainly doesn't get to leave the table either. After a couple nights of this he'll eat what you tell him to eat. And he's not going to starve either from not eating a dinner here and there. The problem is that you let a ten year old choose what a parent should be teaching.

Answer 7

the rule when i was growing up was "if you don't like what mom cooked, then you can make yourself a bowl of healthy cereal."

the way i dealt with my own kids' eating problems was very simple, i didn't purchase junk food in the first place. once in a while, i'll buy them chips as a treat, otherwise they only have healthy options. they have, on their own, come to call chocolate covered granola bars "candy bars".
if you don't want your kid eating junk, don't buy it. true, he will stop eating for a while and will start complaining, but eventually he will get hungry enough to eat what is provided. The bonus is he will lose the taste for the junk food over time.

Answer 8

my daughter is 14 and still does the same thing...I blame it on having worked most of her life and having to rush through meals and only preparing what she'll eat. Now I have the luxury of staying home and I still have to cook separate meals for her.
I am frustrated at the whole thing too, I believe you should eat what is put in front of you.
If I had been home when she was that age I would have pushed it. (all this psycholgical stuff is nonsense...we need to start being parents again)
sorry I have no advice but good luck...(just wish it on him when he's a parent)

Answer 9

you mention he is eating grapes and apples, so he is getting some kind of variety of food groups. I would by some celery and carrots and leave them in the "peeled and ready to eat" in the fridge, and dont push him. When he's hungry let him eat whatever he wants in the house, just make sure to have a variety of foods available to him, if he is really hungry, he'll eat whatever he can find ...

Answer 10

i have a 10 yr old cousin also and he eats about the same thing your son does.... but for now what we have don't is give him a reason to eat other foods... we buy what he eats only if he eats a regular family meal(all of it) when we all do... it works... he knows that if he don't eat what was cooked then he would not be eating at all until he does... i know it sounds hard but it has worked although if he can have his was he would not be eating anything that was cooked for family dinner... try it... it may work for you too.... good luck..