Help! Feeding picky eaters

[preschoolteacher]

I'm getting into the swing of things here! I could use some advice for meals and snacks.

My question is--what do you do when kids refuse to eat the healthy meal you have served? These kids are both toddlers--one is just 15 months. Puffs, Cheerios, and crackers are consumed without a problem, but this little one will not try healthy snacks like watermelon or strawberries, or most of the lunch foods I serve.

With an older kid, I would offer the meal and leave it at that. However, for such a young kid, I worry about them going hungry. However, I don't want to serve puffs all day (and quite frankly I can't afford to be buying puffs by the tub!).

What would you do?

[Willow]

Age is moot.

If you cater now they'll expect you to cater when they're older too. Serve them exactly as you would any other child

[Unregistered]

For the carb addicts I would limit how much you give them.Snack time would be fruit or veggies every day for two weeks before I would give them any crackers or puffs.They would eventually eat it.Keep offering,they will start to try new things eventually.

[melilley]

I usually offer and if they don't eat the snack/meal then that's it, especially for lunch. I will not make something else for lunch if they don't eat, I wouldn't be able to afford making something different for each child. Sometimes at snack I do feel guilty though and will give them something else along with what they won't eat, but will only give a few of the puff/cracker type foods along with the fruit or veggie or healthier food. I also keep offering, they say it takes many exposures before a child will try a food. Also, if they are really hungry, I have found that they will usually eat. I too can't afford to buy a million different snacks for each child either!

[Blackcat31]

Age is moot.

If you cater now they'll expect you to cater when they're older too. Serve them exactly as you would any other child

My meal routine and refusal to get into ANY meal time tug of wars is the same for ALL ages.

I serve. They choose to eat. Or not.

Honestly the ones that are that age, "get it" much sooner than the older ones. If you are hungry, you'll eat what's given to you.

Unfortunately most toddlers are simply occupied by use of food at home. Travel cups, travel snack containers, travel size trays, travel size portions/packaging....etc

[Leigh]

I'm getting into the swing of things here! I could use some advice for meals and snacks.

My question is--what do you do when kids refuse to eat the healthy meal you have served? These kids are both toddlers--one is just 15 months. Puffs, Cheerios, and crackers are consumed without a problem, but this little one will not try healthy snacks like watermelon or strawberries, or most of the lunch foods I serve.

With an older kid, I would offer the meal and leave it at that. However, for such a young kid, I worry about them going hungry. However, I don't want to serve puffs all day (and quite frankly I can't afford to be buying puffs by the tub!).

What would you do?

Do what you do with the older kids. Give them the food and 25-30 minutes to eat it. After that, you've done your job. There is no way I would buy those puffs for a daycare kid. Stop offering the snacks, and the kid will be more likely to eat the meal. Kids under 2 get a SMALL snack between breakfast and lunch at my house (a cracker, a small piece of fruit, etc.) if they want it (I don't schedule it). I have a new kid right now that had a 10 minute tantrum this morning because I wouldn't make him pizza at 9:45. He spends all day asking me for pizza, animal crackers, and cookies. This is the first meltdown he had over it, but at lunchtime he ate more than he has since he started here.

I know you don't want them getting hungry, and neither do it, but if they had their way, they'd have ice cream and chips at every meal. It's hard to say no, but they have to get hungry before they'll eat. Your job is to serve healthy meals, their job is to eat it. You do your job, and eventually they will do theirs.

[preschoolteacher]

Thanks! You're right! I think I'm contributing to it as well (by accident) by having those snacks available and offering them up. I will start offering other things beside snacky crackers. It's annoying because the food program wants kids to have a grain for breakfast and for snack... I'm running out of grain ideas! These kids are too little to be eating much bread. I also don't find bread to be any healthier than puffs, cheerios, etc. Thoughts?

Switching gears a bit to talk about my son in specific. He is in love with watermelon and asks for it specifically (wa-mel-ooon). He points at the fridge and says that no matter what I give him. It's healthy... but do you think it's a bad habit to start by giving it to him whenever he asks for it (at meal time). He is 13 months old! He eats other things, but watermelon could easily account for 1/2 his diet in the last two weeks...

[Leigh]

Thanks! You're right! I think I'm contributing to it as well (by accident) by having those snacks available and offering them up. I will start offering other things beside snacky crackers. It's annoying because the food program wants kids to have a grain for breakfast and for snack... I'm running out of grain ideas! These kids are too little to be eating much bread. I also don't find bread to be any healthier than puffs, cheerios, etc. Thoughts?

Switching gears a bit to talk about my son in specific. He is in love with watermelon and asks for it specifically (wa-mel-ooon). He points at the fridge and says that no matter what I give him. It's healthy... but do you think it's a bad habit to start by giving it to him whenever he asks for it (at meal time). He is 13 months old! He eats other things, but watermelon could easily account for 1/2 his diet in the last two weeks...

The kids need WHOLE grains...it's a very important part of their diet. Have you tried whole wheat tortillas for breakfast? My kids love them (even plain). We have breakfast burritos often. We use a whole grain bread with a little jelly/jam on it or even a teaspoon of brown sugar now and then. Once the kids get used to eating the whole grains with the sweets on them, they're happy to eat them without them.

Whole wheat english muffins topped with eggs and cheese go over well. You could roll out a whole grain dough (make it in the breadmaker) and fill it with eggs, ham and cheese then roll up and bake for 25-30 minutes. You could fill whole grain pitas with breakfast fixings, serve pancakes, or french toast.

Oatmeal and farina cereals with fruits or yogurt are popular at my house. You can even serve whole grain noodles or wild rice at breakfast. Fruit breads (banana bread, raisin bread) fulfill the grain requirement, as do turnovers, granola bars, and soft pretzels.

It doesn't have to be bread (I try to come up with other ideas than bread, myself) to be a healthy grain. Whole grains have many health benefits-it's the processed white breads that are "unhealthy" to use often.

I hear you on it being difficult to come up with new ideas-it's easy to fall into a rut. Consider subscribing to a few cooking magazines-I rarely get one in the mail where I don't find at least one recipe that the kids like. Good luck.

[Willow]

Thanks! You're right! I think I'm contributing to it as well (by accident) by having those snacks available and offering them up. I will start offering other things beside snacky crackers. It's annoying because the food program wants kids to have a grain for breakfast and for snack... I'm running out of grain ideas! These kids are too little to be eating much bread. I also don't find bread to be any healthier than puffs, cheerios, etc. Thoughts?

Switching gears a bit to talk about my son in specific. He is in love with watermelon and asks for it specifically (wa-mel-ooon). He points at the fridge and says that no matter what I give him. It's healthy... but do you think it's a bad habit to start by giving it to him whenever he asks for it (at meal time). He is 13 months old! He eats other things, but watermelon could easily account for 1/2 his diet in the last two weeks...

Whole grain ideas:

Toast (12 grain)
French toast (using 12 grain)
Pancakes (using whole wheat flour)
Belgian waffles (using whole wheat flour/flax)
Muffins (using whole wheat flour/flax)
Breakfast burritos (using whole wheat tortilla)
Crepes (using whole wheat flour)
Breakfast porridge (I use steel cut oats as opposed to oatmeal here)
Cinnamon rolls (using whole wheat flour/flax seed)
Quinoa (with cinnamon, dried cranberries, raisins or fresh fruit)
Homemade baked granola (my rep said I can call it oatmeal)
Homemade granola bars (waaay easier than you think and super cheap)


Excessive consumption of watermelon always gave my kids the runs so I can't help you there