My child won't eat right, what do I do?

Question

He is 4,when he was a baby he would eat fruits and veggies, now he'll only eat chicken fingers,pizza,grill cheeses, sometimes apples and bananas, and he won't drink milk. I try to make him,but he gags, what should I do??

Answer 1

He doesn't NEED milk. There are plenty of foods that are fortified with calcium and protein that he needs. Plus most dark green vegetable contain everything that milk does and them some. My niece never drank a glass of milk in her life, she hates it, and she is an Olympic soccer player; it never hurt her.
My son hates milk and his doc says its fine and my niece's doc said the same thing. It doesn't hurt to talk to your doctor, he/she can give you some reassurance and if need be test your son's calcium levels.

Answer 2

Don't let him see you anxious or panicky, and never, ever make him eat. Be cooooooooooool:-)

The more anxious you seem, the more he'll stand his ground. You have to be SUPER relaxed. Babies always eat well. Somewhere along the line people started giving him a bit of junk food, and maybe you and your husband, family and friends do, too. So now he's got the taste for these things, and if you eat them too, he's going to want to as well, right?

So make healthy meals for the two of you at the same time, and if he has horrible tantrums, and doesn't eat for 2 days (yes, they can be stubborn, it's a war of wills. LOL!), do not be frantic. Keep up the old nonchalant regime, don't talk about food as you're eating it, and he's howling and chucking it against the wall, ignore the tantrums, and keep going. On the third day or before, he'll eat the healthy stuff - he'll be really hungry. But you and those around him have to be fair and eat healthily in front of him, too:-)

Answer 3

I am going to guess that (unless he has developed an allergic reaction to healthy foods) the gag reflex is a trick to keep mommy from offering anything but what tastes good. Try making him eat healthy by either hiding the vegies in foods like pasta or pizza, or make him eat two bites of veggies and one drink of milk for every bite of yummy food. Make sure to praise him a lot with hand clapping and kisses at first but then as he becomes more independent back off on how much you praise him.

Answer 4

Try making veggie pizza, or let him help you cook or serve the food, he will be more likely to eat then because he has helped, give him a childrens multivitamin, mix some chocolate or strawberry in his milk this may help him drink it, you just have to be persistent, make sure you sit and eat with him and encourage him, dont let him frustrate you and dont cook him a different meal than what you eat because then he will get used to you doing that and really be a picky eater.

Answer 5

Don't give him the option of eating chicken fingers, pizza, etc. If he knows he can get junk food if he rejects his healthy food, he'll keep doing that. If he knows that the healthy food is the only thing he's getting and his only options are to eat it or go hungry, he'll eventually soften up to it. People tend to grow up liking whatever they were fed as kids, so remember that what you feed him now will determine his obesity risk later in life.

Answer 6

Be the parent. My kids developed terrible eating habits while I going through school because my eating habits were terrible. First we changed to caffeine free pop and only once in awile. My kids like kool ade (so do I). Then we made McDonalds a rare occurance. Instead, we'd go to Subway. I started buying Lean Cuisines and things they would have normally turned their noses at, they saw me eating and decided to try. Now one of their favorites is Lean Cuisine pizza because it's their own mini pizza. They also like to eat the beef stroganoff and I mix in peas. Now when we go to McDonalds, still only once in awhile, we get the fruit and walnut to share and my 8 year old son likes the snack wraps. Now that I am eating better, so are they. I no longer buy chips and pop. Cookies are now low fat Chips Ahoy or Baked Cheetos. Over the last year, my kids learned they liked a lot of the foods I tried to get them to eat but they refused because they knew chicken nuggets and fries were in the freezer. I no longer buy that stuff and I still make things they like but I find ways to cut the carbs and fat. Low fat peanut butter and mayo. At breakfast they have to have either 1/2% milk or oj before anything else. Or water of course. Snacks, they like apple slices with peanut butter, grapes, reduced fat twinkies, cheese and crackers, gogurt, trix yogurt or granola bars. If you don't have junk in the kitchen, they'll have little option but to eat healthier. But, they will never be healthy eaters if your're not a healthy eater. They learn by watching us and if healthy food it all that's available, eventually they'll start trying it. Hope this helps. It took about a month to faze out the pop and junk food so it wasn't a big shock to them. But now they ask which is healthier when given choices when eating out or selecting lunches for school for the next day. Stick to your guns and they'll become healthy eaters and make healthy choices on their own.

Answer 7

Try mixing milk with chocolate or strawberry mix. Also you would have to cut down on ready food such as chicken fingers, ect. This is junk food, why not give him crackers with cream cheese or something small but at the same time healthy.

Answer 8

Well, I am a kid. I am 10 years old. And I hate milk, cheese, yogurt and more. And when I was little, I used to eat all of that stuff. My mom often worrys about me, but I am fine so he might grow to like the healthey foods again.

Answer 9

Eating habits do change but realize that they are also learned. We have a rule at our house that what mommy cooks is what we eat, no exceptions. We don't force our daughter (who is 3 1/2) to eat but we urge her to try at least one bite of what ever it might be that she seems to not like (she usually realizes that she does in-fact like it). However, she has gone to bed hungry once or twice (in the beginning). It seems to work pretty well for us.... good luck.

Also, now that I think about it my wife involves our daughter in some of the cooking process. She helps snap peas, shuck the corn, stir the vinaigrette and pour it on the salad, things like that. It makes her feel like a "big girl" and she wants to eat what she worked so hard on to make...

Again, Good Luck.....

Answer 10

Get the kid to the allergist and have him tested. He could be lactose intolerant. My parents used to force me to drink milk. I'd hurl, and they'd get angry, saying I was being difficult.

Once you rule food allergies out, then you know you've got a stubborn kid. Don't offer alternatives to the healthy food you're offering. Once he gets hungry enough, he'll eat anything.

The child will not starve himself. He might whine, but it's up to you to make sure he is eating a health balanced diet.

Good Luck,