My 3yr. old won't eat her vegetables ! what should I do?

Question

I try doing that little "here comes the plane" or "the train is going in to the tunnel" but she still won't eat them. About 10 pm she will come to me saying... I am hungry. Help me please!

Answer 1

Save the vegetable (in the fridge) until she is hungry .
If it's at 10, give them to her at 10 . As Dr Phil says, as long as the food is presented , the kid won't starve or go hungry . They WILL eat when they are hungry , even if you give them veggies. (but warm them at 10 so as to put her to sleep)

Answer 2

Feed the child a miniture version of whatever everyone else is eating and then say this is what we are eating and there are plenty of people around the world that go hungry so you either eat this or go hungry.
You then make sure that the child can not have anything else to eat except what is served at meal times.

You could also spank the child ( worked for me sorta )I still don't like certain foods but I am more than willing to either eat them or go hungry.

On the last note everyone should go hungry once in a while just to have some empathy for the many that have so little.

Answer 3

Why not cut them into interesting shapes? Or you could let her help with the preparation, make her feel involved. I get my 3 year old son to help and he loves it. Last night we made pizza and he cut all the mushrooms, peppers etc (with his dinky little spaceship knife) and had a great time. He didn't like potatoes so now I grate a little cheese over the top and he likes them better that way. It could also be that she doesn't like some particular vegetables. Even I won't eat sprouts..the very idea eugh! My son eats everything because he knows he'll get his treat at the end. If he doesn't make a good attempt at dinner (doesn't necessarily have to eat the whole lot) no ice-cream. He's gone through funny little phases at times where like your daughter he just won't eat what he's given. Usually it doesn't last though. I think all mothers have this irrational fear that if their child doesn't eat for one night, they'll starve to death lol. I used to fret over it a lot when he was younger and wouldn't eat much but all kids are different and they're still learning so much at this age. Maybe you could do a star chart and if she eats her dinner for a whole week, she gets a special treat like making fairy cakes or a trip to the zoo. Maybe you could get her some really nice kiddie cutlery? My little one has a spaceship cutlery set and loves it! Good luck x

Answer 4

At three she should be feeding herself. My baby feeds himself and he is 9 months. Put her plate in front of her at meals with the same thing as everyone else. What she eats she eats NO BATTLES!

If she doesn't eat most of it wrap it and put it in the fridge. When she is hungry later bring it back out. If she does eat most of it, when she is hungry later give her a healthy snack.

Also it may help if you let her "help" you make dinner or at least pick the veg (from a choice of two). She can also put things in pots and whatnot (before things are hot)

But by making it a battle you are only teaching her that some foods are better than others.

Answer 5

Try giving them to her with ranch dressing or some type of dip. My kids love anything they can dip. Try giving a large variety of vegtables too, change can help. Or let her help pick out the ones she wants to try when you are grocery shopping. Also, do you eat vegtables around her often? Sometimes they'll start eating something just because you eat it so often they think it must be great. (I'm a compulsive baby carrot eater and my 2 & 4 year old both eat them like crazy too.) If that doesn't work, don't worry. Just keep offering them to her and tell yourself it's just a phase. She'll probably outgrow it. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Hide them in other things. My daughter loves vegetables so much, so I never had to worry about this. My SIL makes macaroni and cheese and cuts up the broccoli into tiny pieces. She mixes it all together and my niece said, "Why is my mac 'n cheese green?" My SIL told her it was Shrek's mac 'n cheese. My niece adored Shrek at the time so she gobbled it up. To this day that's the only way she'll eat broccoli.

Also, when my SIL makes hamburgers or meatballs, she chops up carrots really small and puts them into the meat. The kids never even know they're eating the carrots.

I hope I have helped a bit!

Answer 7

Don't make a big deal about it or make it into a show. Kids are too smart for that. Give them some more credit.

I put canned, drained, green beans in a bowl and I snack on them in the living room while watching TV. My 2 year old loves snacking so he usually picks out of my bowl.

Another trick we have used is to put salad dressing on the side for dipping. My older son loves to dip green beans and raw mini carrots in ranch dressing. His favorite veggie is canned spinach, drained, with zesty Italian on it.

We have also started emphasizing how the kids are growing up and that they are building big strong bodies. We talk about how each food on their plate builds different parts of their bodies: meat for muscles, milk for bones, etc. Admittedly, this is with my older kid so it may not work with a 3 year old, but since they all really, really want to be big like Daddy, it sometimes works and makes for interesting dinner conversation.

Good luck!

Answer 8

What does she eat?

Does she like Mac & Cheese? Try putting frozen peas in it!

Serve one-dish meals --heavy on the vegetables -- so pushing the veggies aside is harder.

Try a no-crust quiche. (about 2 cups milk, 6 eggs, 1 cup grated white cheese, and 2 cups chopped broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, or any combo of the above. Bake in glass pie plate or roasting dish at 375 for about 45 min., until lightly browned & knife comes away clean). Since it tastes like scrambled eggs, most kids love it.

On a similar note, make dinner-omelettes with lots of veggies!

Or a home-made Veggie pizza. (Do the english-muffin kind, or try the Boboli crust.)

Make a stir-fry, and offer her veggies using chop-sticks.

FORBID her to eat any veggies. Make a really colorful, yummy dinner featuring lots of good veggies... and eat it with gusto in front of her, not letting her have any. "No, this is for Mommy & Daddy. You can eat your peanut butter (or whatever). ~aside~ Mmmm.... That's SO good!" (After about 2 meals in a row like this, she'll probably be begging for the forbidden food!)

Try dips. Raw veggies in a yummy dip (ranch dressing works well) tempts many toddlers.

Ants on a log: Cut a celery stick, fill it with peanut butter, and line up a few raisins on it.

Meatloaf & spaghetti sauce: Both are great for "hiding" pureed veggies! (They'll never know they're eating them)


I've got more, but that should get you started!

Answer 9

The pediatrician told me to let them eat what they want. My son went thru a stage where all that he would eat is spaghetti-o's and PB&J sandwiches. He eats anything now. With my daughter we could get her to eat anything if we associated it with My Little Pony of Smurfs or some other cartoon character. We told her that brussles sprouts were Smurf Cabbages and salads were pony food. If she's hungry feed her, it's a stage. Good luck!

Answer 10

Look, I totally went through this too. But it wasn't just with veggies it was with food period. I talked to her ped and she said that children go through phases where they don't want to eat and then they do want to eat. Just continue to put it on her plate and ask her to try it. It isn't a big deal. Her ped also said try giving her a vitamin everyday that way you know she is getting all her nutrients and sometimes vitamines boost their appitite. She is only three most three year olds don't like veggies. But as long as she is eating the rest of her food I don't see why she couldn't have something too eat later on.