How can I get my 2 year old son to eat anything other than junk?

Question

I try to cook healthy food but he just plays with it then leaves the table. I don't wanna force him as it sends the wrong message, help!

Answer 1

Don't have any junk food around your house. If he knows there are cookies in the cabinet, he will want them. You can also try things like making sandwiches and using cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of them. Just get creative, and be a good example by eating the types of foods you want him to eat. Another trick I used with my kids is eating the food I want them to eat in front of them and saying stuff like, "Mmmmm, this is SO GOOD!" And if it was on my plate to begin with, they will especially want it. Good luck. Oh, and if you must have junk food, hide it and eat it after he goes to bed.

Answer 2

You need to take the junk food away and force him to eat healthier. It doesn't send the wrong message, it sends the message that you care about his well being. This is what a parents job is. The earlier you start him on healthy eating the easier it will be. Habits are easier to break when kids are younger.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Just don't let him have access to junk food. Get it all out of the house and only offer him healthy meals and snacks. We of course eat healthier too, now that our house is clear of junk food for our son's sake, which is a nice bonus.

Can't imagine what wrong message providing only healthy choices sends.

Answer 4

Simple. Don't give him the junk. He won't starve to death. Give him a good kids' vitamin every day and wait him out. Do not let him fill up on milk. Offer him a few different items at each meal such as a protein a fruit and a vegetable. Offer him a healthy snack between meals. Toddlers do better with a small meal every couple of hours then they do with three meals. Thus will require patience but eventually he will eat. You can then introduce a few special treats.

Answer 5

Sends the wrong message? You're his mother not his friend. Stop being afraid of being mean. Raising a child the right way requires hard choices and if that means he's going to hate you for 10 minutes so be it. He's 2. He's not going to get traumatized b/c you forced him to eat his vegetables.

I'm not saying don't be cruel or abusive, but don't let your kid run over you.

Answer 6

All toddlers go through a really picky phase. It will pass.

I asked for help on here and got a really good suggestion - V8 makes a combined fruit & vegetable juice called Fusion that my son loves. It got him some veggies through his picky phase and he still loves it. I don't buy any other juice unless someone is sick, so it's all he has to choose from besides water or milk.

My boy is now 3 and still not up to eating what we eat, so I try to keep offering healthy alternatives and slowly his palate has indeed been expanding. His doctor said that if he doesn't eat enough vegetables, just up his fruit intake and keep offering the veggies.

Good things to offer: cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit, fruit cocktail, raisins, dried fruit, frozen grapes or berries, lunch meat like turkey or ham slices with ketchup, hamburger patties, mashed potatoes with veggies in them, mac & cheese, spaghetti, pickled beets, french cut green beans, cole slaw, anything with salad dressing. For snacks, whole grain goldfish, fig newtons, pumpkin seeds, nuts, cheerioes, cheese and fruit, granola bars.

Sometimes he'll take a bite of our chicken or steak or baked potatoes but isn't up yet for a whole one of his own. But it's a good sign. My Mom says when I was 2 I'd only eat mashed potatoes and gravy, but now I have the most exotic palate of anyone I know.

Answer 7

You don't have to be forceful, but you don't have to serve him anything else. If you're into giving him options... give carrots and broccoli and let him decide. He might actually be a bit hungry for a day or two, but his survival instinct will kick in and he'll not starve for sure. He may complain his heart out, but you gotta stick to your guns! If he eats fruit, let him have some so he won't get too hungry, but limit to 1/2 a banana with his dinner, or 3 strawberries with his chicken soup.

Answer 8

My daughter went threw a phase where she didnt eat much at meal time. I didnt buy junk foods......... I made sure I always had fresh cheese, yogurt, fruit and veggies........... so if she wanted to snack it was good for her.

Between 2-4 they go Thur many times when they will pick at food. It all works out. Just make sure they have good snacks available.

If he is not eating veggies well try cooking it different like steaming........... maybe drizzle a little bit of melted cheese over it.............. for like broccoli

Answer 9

Easy - don't give him 'junk'. Let him have things that aren't necessarily 'healthy' foods, but are still good for him. Like plain crackers and things. And limit those amounts. Avoid letting him have real junk foods, like desserts and chips and things. He can only eat what is available, so limit what is available and let him choose to eat it when he wants.

Answer 10

Refuse to give him junk. Tell him if he doesn't eat healthy he doesn't eat. That's how my friend got her kids to stop the Cookies and Chips. Don't buy junk food. And you don't eat junk food either.