my picky 20month old toddler does not like meat except sometimes chicken and sausage patties?

Question

she loves vegetables and fruit but is tiring of the standards like greenbeans, brocoli, carrots, corn. She will not eat potatoes or bread. What can i feed her.

Answer 1

my 2 oldest were teh same way, one of them still is...the pediatrician said as long as i was giving htem protein (nuts and beans) put them on a vitaminwith iron in it and let them be. my 5 year old has never in his life eaten any meat at all. my 6 year old eats only chicken and fish. at 20 months old she can eat pretty much anything you eat as long as its not too salty or spice.......macaroni and cheese usually goes over well at that age, my kids have always liked rice too ( boil it with chicken or beef broth in place of water for a change of pace) also maybe try putting cheese sauce or some sort of seasoning on her veggies if shes tired of the same old stuff. other than brocolli which is the favorite of all my kids mine prefer veggie blends to just one veggie. if you look in the frozen food section there is a huge variety of them. if you get the mixed stuff it seems to them like more of a variety because its not the same blend even if its the same old vegetables.

Answer 2

Oh the headache of a chore to feed our little ones!!! It's so hard isn't it???

I also have picky eaters, really picky!! The thing I have to think of though is the same thing doctors recommend when first introducing foods.....try, try, try again. If you are looking to introduce peas, then do it every 3 days or so. Baby will realize this is something she's seen on her plate frequently and will give it a try. She may not like it the first few times but the persistance will pay off I'm sure. Same goes for trying to introduce any new food item....meats, veggies, fruits.....

My other words of wisdom are this; she IS eating. You are giving her fruits, veggies, and meats. Throw in a Pediasure every day too just so you know she's getting all she can. If you keep introducing new foods over and over, she's bound to catch on. Keep giving her the 'standards' that she likes too though just so you know she's getting something.

Feeding our little ones is so hard. Just gotta keep beating the pavement until they get a little older and realize that this is what is for dinner, no other choice. Just hang in there!!!

Answer 3

It's OK for a child to not like meats. There is nothing wrong with that. As some of the others have said, there are other places to get your proteins. My 12 year old was never big on meat, and still isn't. But, through what meat I can get down her, plus peanut butter and lentils, she gets enough.

Keep trying new fruits and veggies with her. And try new recipes with the old standards. Add some different seasoning, sauces. Summer is fast approaching.. lots of fresh fruits and veggies to chose from.

Check out some vegetarian recipe sites for ideas... I'm sure there are plenty out there!

Good luck!!
(PS. Mine went on a food strike... nothing but cheerios for breakfast, snacks and lunch for over a month. She's now an overly bright, perfectly healthy, avg height and weight, 12 year old!)

Answer 4

peanut butter contains protiens that are also found in meat. peanut butter on a spoon is soo cool when your little.

grapes, oranges, pineapple, cherry fruit cups, peaches, pears,...you said fruits but wasnt sure what you give her so here's a couple suggestions. raisins

my son is 4 and he wont eat any meat (and never has) besides chicken nuggets (which he rarely gets). he just started eating bread but only plain peanut butter sand. no potatoes either, and his veggies are very limited as well. loves fruit. our doc said to feed him other foods that can substitute whats missing. vegetable crackers for a veggie, wheat thins for a grain, strawberry frosted mini wheats went over big and is a grain, frozen peas dont have the ucky taste and are an interesting thing to put in the mouth, granola bars, yogurt (i highly suggest this). my son is in the 85th percentile for height and weight and i swear it seemed like he never ate more than fortified crackers until he was 3. find out what your baby likes and get creative.

Answer 5

As parents we decide what we feed our kids, our kids decide what of that they will eat.

Force feeding is not the answer, hiding food with other food may be.

Your toddler does not need very much meat, only about 3 oz a day. and 1 egg is 1 ounce. I wouldn't worry about meat, unless she eats none.

Try pastas with small chunks of meat.

Is she not eating potatoes or bread because they are plain? use yogurt on potatoes and bread for flavor.

My 31 month old LOVES potato soup, if you want the recipe I can email it!

Try mixing different veggies, like beans and potatoes, peas and carrots, broccoli and caulaflower, maybe serve with low fat dressing for dipping? kids love dipping.

Answer 6

there are thousands of foods you can feed her, always offer, her tastes will change and keep changing, but if you call her picky, that's what she will be, try telling people how great she eats for a while, let her hear you, wow what a difference, tell her you like that i made it cause you loved it so much last time, you hold the key, calling her picky is making her picky, i see this a lot, my children eat so many foods most children will not touch, it's all in the presentation

Answer 7

Mine were like that. Still are. I gave them sweet English peas, butter beans, even baked beans for protein and they always liked chicken. Cheese is also good as it has protein and calcium. If you want her to eat starches such as potatoes and bread, make her pasta, like spaghetti or mac and cheese instead. Children are picky and it seems like when you finally find something they like, they change their minds. Also she should be old enough to take children's multi vitamins. The gummy ones are the best and they add to her diet what she may be lacking. A salesperson at GNC, Vitamin Shop or Vitamin World will be able to select the best vitamin for your child.

Answer 8

My son was a picky toddler and I kept asking the doctor what I should do. He kept saying "don't force him to eat something he doesn't like" and keep introducing "different types of foods into his diet". It has been a while and my son is still picky but is expanding to other types of foods. Especially if he sees his friends eating something new, that seems to be really encouraging to him because he doesn't want to feel left out. Peer pressure at that age was my son's greatest motivator.

Answer 9

At her age, it's fine that she doesn't like much meat. She gets protein from milk, cheese, beans, peanut butter, etc. It's great that she loves to eat fruits and veggies. Introduce her to new things if she's getting tired, like squash, tomatoes, etc. She'll go back to the old ones, likely. She will probably like meat more as she gets older, and as long as she's getting protein, it doesn't matter where it's from. Take care!

Answer 10

You should be happy she likes healthy foods! Try her on different fruits and vegetables and then keep rotating until she's back at what she's already tried. Go with spinach, yams, apples, peas, bananas, etc. Meats aren't so good for kids anyway. They're chock full of hormones and antibiotics. Gross.