Straight From the Bottle

oh, oh, pick me, pick me...tonight I bribed my 4 year old with soda (GASP!).  For every bite of fish stick, she got a drink of soda [shame, shame]

My boyfriend is a wonderful, intelligent, handsome, and funny man who most loves chicken fingers, french fries, cheese pizza, and various other configurations of cheese and bread - a beige diet.  We've been together for almost 5 years and he's slowly added fried eggs, mexican rice, chicken fajitas, chicken tikka, and recently hummus!!! to his diet.  Even if Archer's diet continues to lean towards the beige food groups, I'm sure he'll still be wonderful, intelligent, handsome, and funny.  Seriously those characteristics matter so much more than a love of seitan if you're a cranky, judgey-pants twitter.

BTW - boyfriend is also a skinny, high metabolism-ed bitch and I sometimes harbor secret resentment when he scarfs said french fries.

To preface, I can't even convince myself to eat things that are healthy for me half the time, but I had to share this with you anyway, since I ran across it mere moments after reading your entry:

"Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying." - Fran Lebowitz

Also, I figured Jerry Seinfeld's wife was full of it with her veggie brownies.

I'll never understand how being a parent makes others feel like they can judge your every action. Pisses me off.

My kid has been living on Mac N Cheese lately or Spaghetti and meatballs. I am abel to get him to eat pancakes and blueberries or strawberries and lots of bananas too, but I am fully aware that that can change tomorrow. UGH.

Hey, your kids eats, that's pretty damn fantastic to me! Keep it up!

I would LOVE for my kid to eat something with gusto - anything! If, for a period of time, that anything happened to be only one food? So be it. Better to have a healthy attitude about food than to be force fed. You go above and beyond with the acai smoothie + wheat germ!

I wish my kid would eat macaroni and cheese. My four year old was a champion eater whose favorite baby food and real person food was spinach lasagna. Now, it's like pulling teeth to get him to eat anything that's not a "snack." And the baby eats crackers, bagels, sweet potatoes (sometimes), fish sticks and meatballs (sometimes), applesauce (but not if it's cold), Teddy Grahams, bananas and vanilla wafers. Feeding him is like playing roulette. Let's spin and see if he'll eat this tonight. No? OK, how about this? Or this? Finally, this!! Oh, and whatever he doesn't want to eat gets thrown onto the floor. Good times, good times!

I can completely relate to this post. And I feel your pain, because our family tries to eat the healthiest foods available.

Our daughter is pretty good, will eat variety of foods, certain veggies and any kind of fruit. Our son on the other hand will not even touch anything that's not white and reminds fruit or vegetable. He even refuses to eat jam that has tiny pieces of fruit in it.

BUT... My constant worrying about him not getting enough nutrition ceased last August when we got VitaMix blender at Costco (no, I don't sell them). I started out with fruit smoothies, gradually adding more and more spinach to them and over the course of just one week my son was drinking GREEN smoothies packed with spinach(which you can't even taste), fruit/berries and some veggies! I was literally teary-eyed every time he asked me to refill his cup.  

He still won't eat any better than he did 6 months ago but I bet he gets all the recommended amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables from just one cup(often 2 and 3) every day. I can also make sauces for pasta from fresh vegetables and he can't tell. So there is hope!

I babysat for a family that had the best set-up:

They'd put out plates with little divided sections, then put a variety of foods each separate section. All foods were bite sized and tasty. Anything that wasn't eaten that would keep was left over for the next meal or snack.

The plates were like this:

id293.securedata.net/.../product_info.php

Also try switching from veggies to fruit. Apart from the extra bit of sugar in fruit, the nutritional values are pretty similar.

i'm a health food obsessed vegetarian too. as i kid i lived on alternating bacon and (ugh) fried bologna sandwiches. no lie.

it's a phase, a very common one, and the less of a big deal you make it the faster it'll be over, i think. although i don't have a kid...so maybe that's bull.

Ah, I was an extremely picky child. I swear I survived on peanut butter and hot dogs. I am still a picky adult, but my range has improved. If you're looking for recommendations (and it's fine if you're not), never force a particular food, but put it on his plate, let him smell it and taste it if he likes, and eat around it if he so chooses. Gaining familiarity is key. The worst thing my father did is make me sit at the table until I had eaten what was on my plate. My mother was sympathetic, though.

will it help if i say that 'it's just a phase'?

have you ever tried to involve him in the cooking process? i know that can sometimes help cause interest in food.

my parents always had us try at least one bite of everything from the (grown-up) food that was on the table. also my mother didn't do any short order cooking. not sure that is the best solution but it worked for us.

my nephew went through a phase when he was about four. his mother tried to sneak heavy cream into the few bites of food he would swallow to try and fatten him up a bit. it didn't last long but i assume it felt like forever for his parents.

good luck.

Im with ya 100% - my kids PICKY too!!!  I get SO tired of dumb ppl putting in their 2 cents.  The way I see it, if the ped's give him a pass, then ok.   :)

Ah, the joys of this age. I think it`s just a control thing. They have so little control that driving parents batty with food choices is a great thing for little kids. My 3 year old is super picky . . . he can literally go days without eating more than a bite of banana and sniff of avocado.

What I did is buy some cute bento cutters and food picks. I cut their carrots and things into stars and make eggs in the shape of cars and such. Not all the time, just once in a while. It`s novel enough that he`ll eat stuff he doesn`t normally touch. Oh, and cocktail swords, the cute colored ones? The other night, I did a quick boil of peas, corn, potatoes and carrots and then we stabbed the different veggies, held them aloft and screamed, "DIE PEA!" or whatever the veggie was. Sounds stupid, but hey, they gobbled up a ton of veggies and we all got to be rabid veggie pirates for an hour. :)

My older daughter is a crazy picky eater!  The only thing she would eat for about a year was finger food!  I felt like I was always being judged until she went to the doctor and they said she was perfectly healthy!  Then I realized I couldn't care less!

There are so many Twitter Twats, it's unreal.

I ascribe to the 'no thank you bite' policy: you have to take a bite to be polite and give it a try. Also--have you thought about the whole 'smoothie with yogurt and oj and some carrot' drill? It might be one way to go.

I think you are still in the clear with organic mac & cheese:)

My husband's parents gave him McDonald's money everyday during his adolescents so they didn't have to cook for him- talk about creating eating issues! Surprisingly even with all that junk he is still P.H.D. bound and now will eat many of the veggies I cook for him.

All this to say I think Archer and every other toddler having a little pickines eating will grow up just fine.

This is why they make children's vitamins.  Go buy some and don't fuss.

We've been through the carb phase and are on the other side.  My philosophy?  Try what is being served and a limited list of options if they don't like it - yogurt, crackers, fruit, cereal, something I don't have to make and that is reasonably healthy (ie. not cookies).

Last week my kid ate his weight in sushi, edamame and seaweed salad.  And I mean raw fish sashimi.  He's 7.  Go figure.  Give them options and then don't fuss. Its not worth the fight.

My 11 year old veggie-stepdaughter and I went around and around. She chose to go vegetarian at age 5. She heard me say "I didn't make the rules! Vegetarians eat vegetables!" about 1 billion times. She is as most kids are a cheese-etarian in truth. It got so bad we used mac and cheese as her reward! If she ate veggies for 4 meals in a row she could have mac and cheese.

Now she's 5 feet tall, svelt, and swimming the fly on her swim team. She's healthy and strong and that's all I care about!!

***hahaha!  "twitter twats."***

i think you should be completely proud that your kid is healthy, adorable, and heck he even likes acai smoothies with wheatgrass (i can't even get my 28-year-old husband on the wheatgrass bandwagon!)  and for the record, i agree 100% that force-feeding children is a terrible idea.  i was a super picky eater as a kid, and over the years have grown into a full-fledged health food/vegetarian junkie much like you've described yourself to be.  trust me, i'm no worse for the wear even though until roughly age 10 i lived on a diet of noodles, white bread, and chocolate milk (calcium - duh!)  i'm still SO glad my mom didn't give me a complex about food; she didn't fuss about it and i grew into my own tastes over time.  like a few folks have already said - this is why childrens vitamins are made!  power to ya, sister!  yer doin a fantastic job with both your youngsters!

happy trails!

~emily

:-D

~emily

My hubby is an intellectual type and he's read research that says kids who are exposed to lots of foods when they are 1-2yrs are much less picky eaters as adults.  Sounds like you did the right thing and hopefully it will pay off later. What kid wouldn't want mac/cheese and fish sticks. If it didn't make me fat, I'd eat it too! ;-)  

Repeat after me: Everything is a phase.  Everything is a phase.  Everything is a phase.  This too shall pass.

I really really really do think it is a phase - like about eighty bajillion people said above.  It seems like every darned kid goes through a phase where they will hardly eat anything, and what they will eat gives their parents nightmares, even if they ate foie gras and bugs previously.  So hang onto that hope that he'll grow out of it one day!

I can't believe someone would judge you for that, and on Twitter no less.  Clearly she does not have a preschooler of her own.  My little on is only 9 months and eats pretty much anything I put in front of him, but my 2 year old cousin and 5 year old stepsister are like Archer, and their moms assure me mine will do the same.  EG is right, just a phase.  Apparently a phase I went through too.  My dad tells me I would eat only mac and cheese for 2 months, then only PB&J for 2 months, then only hot dogs for 2 months, well, you get the idea.  You're not a bad mom, a bad mom wouldn't care.  You care. :)

like you said, totally normal. even the best eater goes through phases. gus has always been a fab eater than about 3 1/2 it was pasta and parm and superfood to drink-thats about it. he is way better now and still totally prefers the carbs which if they are the good kind and even the organic all natural mac and cheese is- then its ok. they all come around eventually, hopefully. especially when the parents are eating the good stuff and preparing in a way that it edible and not all mothers market on them, ha.

Oh the picky eater. I read somewhere that it's a left over from when we were cave people. Once your child got to age 2 or so and was more mobile the picky eater syndrome kicked in to ensure that we wouldn't all die from eating poisoned berries or something. So I guess it did serve a purpose once upon a time, I just wish we would all evolve out of it. Maybe in another hundred generations or so.

I feel your pain.  My daughter used to eat everything.  Now it is whole days where she will only consume one thing and one thing only.  Sometimes figuring out what that one thing is is exhausting.  There was one week where the only thing she would eat was blueberries.  In the middle of winter, where the hell am I supposed to get fresh blueberries?

We bought frozen.

I'm not a mom and maybe you've already tried this, but when i buy my greens on the weekend, I only cook the leaves during the week. I save the stems, and come weekend, I juice them and mix them with fresh apple juice. Maybe you could juice the stems and mix them into a yogurt smoothie?

ExpatMom: I love it! I am trying this as soon as I find those little cocktail swords. My son is going to love that game! Thanks so much for the idea.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you. Does that mean we're bad parents? Hell no! I love how people (childless people usually) like to tell you that you need to make your child do something. Forget those people in la la land and be thankful that one day, maybe years from now, your son and you will sit around a plate of tofu and joke about his mac-n-cheese days.

I feel for you. While my 2 1/2 year old won't touch macaroni & cheese or any type of bread, he happily eats nothing but chicken nuggets, carrots sticks, and applesauce. I've got him eating three food groups there, and a fourth counting the milk, but I dearly love mac & cheese. I would love if he would eat some with me so that I don't end up eating the entire box by myself.

I will be yelling "Die _insert food product here_" from here on out before every bite. With or without sword. It feels so... Viking. I love it!!

My kid totally did the same thing when he was 3.  It will pass, and you're a cool mom for not making a huge deal of it.

Try puree-ing the veggies in with the mac'n cheese...  it especially works with cauliflower.  Works even better with spaghetti sauce!

That story you have about Archer eating everything great at first and then all-of-a-sudden turning up his nose at everything but macaroni and fish sticks. That was me. All the way. And my poor hippie mama had no idea what to do. All of a sudden I was a sugar and card fiend. I even hated real mac 'n cheese, preferring the Kraft crap. My sister hadn't been nearly as picky. There was no explaining it.

And, I won't lie, it lasted awhile. Like, until I was twelve or so, but then I changed again, quite suddenly. I decided to become vegetarian and began learning about nutrition. My mother and I now introduce each other to new foods.

"Have you ever thrown in a pound of shiitaki with your mustard greens?"

So, do what you have to do to keep him fed. Chances are he'll come back around some day.

I think all kids go through phases. The bigger a deal you make of it, the longer it takes them to grow out of it.

I have one who will (now, at seven) eat just about anything and one (age four) who is on an applesauce and corndog, please hold the corn part, phase. It changes, so I figure it's okay. I'm like you, I won't make then eat. I offer fruit and veggies, but I'd rather pick my battles on other things....like hairbrushes not belonging on the freaking counter tops. Also and this might just be my girls, but they are low on the weight chart, like barely ever on it, so I have no problem with them eating as many carbs as I can shove into them.

Most kids eventually learn to eat. How many adults do you know, who only eat fish sticks?

Aiden has gotten incredibly picky.  He turns three saturday.  I truly think it is the age.  but I do have a suggestion/idea...more idea. I hate suggesting anything to parents. (mean twitter lady go to hell) Aiden LOVES the morning star chicken nuggets and veggie hotdogs.  I never inform them they are any different and with a little ketchup he gobbles them down.  Since they are veggie and soy I thought it might make you feel better :)

Ha ha, Sam is currently so picky he WON'T EVEN EAT MAC & CHEESE.

Haha.  I just commented re: the same thing on my friend's awesome kid-food blog.  I think you would like:  www.chowmama.com/.../tips-for-picky-eaters

Hilarious idea with the little swords (thanks, ExpatMom)! Forget my kid, my husband will love it! My daughter is still in a wonderful stage where she eats (almost) everything we give her. I have no doubt the picky stage is coming, however. She'll turn 2 in the fall. It seems this stage comes for all kids at some point! Best of luck, and thanks for sharing. I always love your posts.

Sista, right on with the no force feeding. Having been forced to finish everything on my plate as a kid, I'm sure this is part of the reason I over-eat in my adult-years.

If he's not hungry, if he doesn't want what's on offer, his choice!

It is most defiantely a phase. . mine went through it when she was about 3. . would only eat cheese ravaoli for dinner, night after night after night. .  she is 29 years old now, healthy and hates cheese ravaoli . .

I guess I am one of the lucky ones who didn't have any issues or struggles with getting my kiddo to eat. Ever. Unless he was sick - that was more of an indication of ear infection than anything else when he was younger, tbh. Now?  He loves all kinds of fruits, veggies and other healthy foods. The kid likes brussel sprouts, even. Ew. But YAY I had one less thing to stress over when he was little!

The only rule I made about meals with was if he was not hungry for what I made for dinner, the only backup option was peanut butter/jelly sandwich, or toast. Rarely would he opt out of dinner entirely and I didn't stress too much on those nights.

But I didn't come here to brag...  mostly I just wanted to say that every time I read/hear about parents agonizing over what their children will/will not eat it makes me realize how much of a pain the butt *I* was for my parents. One of the the most picky appetites (noodles with no sauce please, rice with butter only, and yes if you let me i will live on peanut butter toast) of them all. I didn't starve, I thrived and grew up to love and even prefer healthy foods.

I think someone commented earlier, "It gets better." It so does.

You should move to the South.  Macaroni and cheese is frequently listed as a vegetable on restaurant menus.  It's really quite comical... One of the many things I've had to get used to since moving to Nashvegas from Colorado.

Don't worry to much about your boy.  One day he will wake up and decide to try some new things.  My son was picky at that age and now he devours almost anything.

Some people are so stupid.  Archer will come around when he's ready =)

Caleb tries to pull this picky crap every now and again. He was a fantastic eater as a toddler, never rejected a single veggie or any food for that matter. I have found that having him help me cook dinner, and then fix his own plate works wonders. Last night we had tacos, beans and salad. I had him help me cook and I left all the veggies on the cutting board. When he made his plate he put tons of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, avocado and some taco meat,beans and a sprinkling of cheese over it all. He ate it all. Every single bite. Giving him control over his own plate seems to work.

first of all, you make me laugh. "huh HUH?" = ha ha. it made me think of an episode of the fresh prince when will is teaching ashley how to fight and she says "just mind ya business, mind ya business" while twitching. i say it all the time and just crack myself up! anyway, he may not be picky later (most children change) but i am 33 and eat like a  year old. i don't blame anyone, it's just the way i am. i don't like veggies- and i really, really want to. if i eat something i don't like it makes me gag. so i can't force feed my children either because i know how it feels. so i have no words of advice. just standing by my brother man, archer.

Hi Heather,

I'm not a Mom but I'm pretty sure this is the most normal thing in the entire world. I was a still am a super picky eater, I would only eat canned green beans, mac n' cheese and get this, pickle bologna and mayo sandwiches. One day I just said, "you know Mom, I don't think I want to eat bologna and pickle sandwiches anymore." I think she wept and thanked the gods.

I like veg but I'm really bad about getting it into my diet. I know you've already tried things like this but, what about pasta sauce, like a red sauce, that's like water for me, you can cram soo much veg in a red sauce, and you can barely tell. We usually shred squash carrots etc, it's very good and SUPER easy. We also make a veg lasagna, another place where shredding works well, so instead of having big chunks of veg it just blends in.

our daughter went through that stage.  we should have bought stock in Cheerios because we went through the stuff at an amazing speed.  then we moved on to mac and cheese.  i started making it "homemade" because i was better able to control what she ate.  thankfully, at 4 1/2, she's back to eating veggies and fruits.  i had given up hope that she'd ever eat broccoli again and then one day she gobbled it down.  yippie!  hang in there, archer will go back to his pre-starch-only days and enjoy his fruits and veggies once more.

Just hope his phase doesn't last until he's 14 like my sister's did (although it never really ended... only sort of eased up somewhat)...

And I really think it's a crapshoot because my brother and I were never picky eaters (or so my mother says) but I remember my sisters having to sit at the table for hours (until they ate their veggies!) or being told, "ok  you don't have to eat it, but you're not getting anything else tonight if you don't..." and then an hour later the crying fits... uh. hmmm maybe that's the root of all that resentment?!

Well my 4 year old lives on "my favorite noodles, my favorite sauce and lots of parmgarm cheese all over it..." Noodles are *thankfully* Barilla Plus with lots of protein and other good for ya stuff.  Sauce is nothing special, i have tried to sneak in the kind with carrots and other yummy veggies in it to no avail....  the only veggie she will touch is corn.....your not sinking in that ship alone sister!!!!

Will it make you feel better if you know there is a strong natural selection for kids loosing the adventuresomeness of their palates (I love making up words.)  Right about the time they become super mobile and independent (2 years about) they clamp down on the variety and newness of the foods they eat.  This is AWESOME if you are gathering your food in the wild and can't keep an eye on the child 100% of the time.  Said child won't eat something new/odd tasting or anything he isn't 100% sure of...  Said child won't DIE!  Once they get older and more capable of discriminating which foods are safe to eat, they can unclamp the vise on their tastes.

I had to go to a second grocery store today because they didn't have the right macaroni and cheese, because I'm pretty sure my 2 year old won't eat it if it looks different from the normal kind he eats.

I've heard butternut squash is a good mix-in with mac and cheese.  Mmm...sounds good.  I might have to try it myself!

When I was a kid we had a rule, we had to have a "No Thank You helping" meaning we had to at least try it before we could answer 'No thank you' if we were asked if we wanted seconds. I used to always complain that I could just say 'No thank you' the first time because I'd KNOW I didn't want it.  I don't know if it would work for a 3 year old, but it definitely helps with table manners later.  I think you're on the right track as far as his eating habits. At least you're trying to get him to eat other stuff. Don't give up! And someone's suggestion to have him help you in the kitchen might be good too. At least you're encouraging the healthy stuff, and eating it yourself. That's probably the best example.

mine is also very picky and we, like you, USED to pride ourselves on all the things our brilliant daughter would eat...tofu- yes! spicy thai - yes! veggies - the greener the better! now, no way. pretty much lives on bread products and dairy.  It is frustrating but I do remind myself it HAS to be a phase. We eat well and will continue to eat well, so she will eventually come around. I thought I should tell you though - hearing from someone who took their picky kid to a dietitian, I was told to measure their intake by the week, not by the day. so if archer eats all bread products "most of the time" but gets his fruit and veggies in "some of the time" over the course of a week, you're good to go!

have you tried freshly made juices at home? you sound like you might have a juicer in the kitchen, and i have yet to meet a preschooler who can resist putting their own fruit (and, gasp!, veggies) down the chute. maybe you can get him to drink his health food on a daily basis that way ... of course, the twice-weekly smoothies are already a great start.

btw, my daughter was the same way: trying every food and eating nearly everything we offered her. when she started pre-school at 3, her food preferences rapidly decreased but we're still hovering at a tolerable level (just a notch above daily mac'n'cheese). she gets those organic multi-vitamin gummies though, which she consideres a treat.

i like that you're trying hard, but not making him entirely miserable over it. he'll probably outgrow it much faster this way.

oh, and in our case shopping and *cooking* together helped as well. you've probably been down that road a long time ago...

Eh.  My two-year-old will eat almost anything, but he eats about two bites of it and then he's finished for the day.  Literally.  He's as tall as a three-year-old and skinny as a twelve-month-old.  Pants shopping is way fun, let me tell you.

My ped continues to be unconcerned, so I guess I am too.  I just make sure he gets his vitamins every day, and the occasional Nutri-Pals drink if I feel he's gone too long without a decent meal.

***Yvonne, you can find those cocktail swords at party supply places like Party City.***

MY 11 yr old son wouldn't touch a vegetable until the past six months. No joke. I mean maybe the rare carrot stick now and then. However I've been able to get him to eat a bit of veggie at his meals. I just give him a small amount and he eats that up, and now he's stopped fighting us over it. It's amazing. But 11 years and nada. Bizarre. He's also the least adventuresome with eating and hates anything with a lot of taste to it.

My 2 1/2 yr old daughter was great when she first had solid solids. She'd eat anything. Loved it all. Anything I made she'd eat. Now? The last three months or so, she's picky as hell. She'd live on ham & cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, veggie burgers and mac n cheese if given the chance. OH and the Mac n Cheese can ONLY be the Kraft kind that are Spongebob Squarepants. No joke. ONLY Bob will do. I made homemade mac n cheese last weekend and she won't touch it.

BUT she also loves most fruit and for veggies she'll attack the grape/cherry tomatoes like they're m&m's. She also will eat steamed broccoli and mushrooms(raw only). But if I make chili, or chicken, or some other nice cooked meal she turns her nose up. Dinner time has become a nightmare. And she rarely eats much at breakfast time. And at that I can ONLY feed her an hour after she's been awake. She's not hungry that first hour.

So yeah, kids go through cycles and I try not to stress too much about it. And personally, I eat pretty good but have a serious sweet tooth that's my downfall. And my kids have it too. I don't ban sweets because if they're banned they want them even more.

Yay! I'm not the only one!! My son is 3 and has refused to eat veggies for over a year now. I used to freak out and yell and scream and force him to take one bite. You know what that got me? Both of us crying and vomit on the floor. Kids are fun!

Now I try my best not to stress about it. Hopefully he will eat something new someday. I'm just glad we're all on this boat together. Thanks!

My boyfriend also eat fast food every day - if not twice a day - and is super thin, with a high metabollism (I, on the other hand, am a vegetarian who tries to steer clear of that junk).  He is also wonderful/amazing and I wouldn't change a thing about him!  Archer will be just fine!  Don't listen to those turds.

My son Kyler will eat almost anything.  But we also make him at least "try" everything.  He will tell us I don't like that.  Doesn't matter you still have to take a bite, then AMAZINGLY enough, once he's tried it, he LOVES it.  Funny how moms know best.  Don't stress it.  My brother is a twig and won't eat much of anything so when he asked for something my step-mom adds as much fattening stuff to it as she can, LOTS OF BUTTER PLEASE or whatever else she can to get him to eat something..  He'll grow out of it.  Maybe try to give him control over something else, and then food will be less of a battle.  I don't know this for sure, but I'm just thinking with not eatting anything but mac & cheese is his way of controling a situation.  Maybe let him know that he can pick out his own clothes every morning for school or something similar.  And no matter what he picks, you don't change it.  Just a thought, it might not work, but that's my 2 cents. I also like the sword idea.  I might do this just for fun.

Have you tried growing any vegetables?  Maybe if Archer is involved in watching a seed turn into a sprout, into a plant, into his dinner he'd be excited about eating it- or at least would want to try it?  I started using a earthbox (http://www.earthbox.com/) to grow tomatoes on my patio and my four year old, despite his picky eating elsewhere, will happily pop cherry tomatoes into his mouth off the bush.  Anyway, good luck!  

ps: the earthbox couldn't be easier- I water it once a week other than that it takes care of itself.

my son's ped told us to give him chocolate milk when he first came off formula, since the good milk part outweigh the chocolate bad part.

right on lady, not forcing it & keeping optimistic for the future! my parents practically tortured me with food...i had to eat things i didn't like or just didn't want, had to eat everything on the plate before getting down from the table, and got made fun of when i would express any of my many food issues.

i never developed a typical eating disorder, just food OCD. no onions, peppers, mustard, pickles, olives, anything pickled, lots of things. things can't touch on the plate. i always have to use extra big plates just so things don't touch. thanksgiving dinner is a nightmare for me because gravy, juice from cranberry sauce or fruit salad, wet things mixing everything up, i flip out. can't share anything with anyone (even my husband) due to saliva phobia and germs and the way they eat said thing will not mesh with my way (i have a certain order for eating certain things like sandwiches? have to eat them from the bottom up, and sharing things like slices of cake...i was planning on eating that bite after this one but before that one).

i'm 24 on the outside. on the inside, food-wise? 4. or howard hughes.

i love cooking and now eat healthier than my parents. growing up, it was totally a control thing. i'm happy to see that one less kid is getting the food shaft, and i will use your inspiration when my baby hits this stage. thanks!

I'm loving this post.  I too was cocky about how diverse and healthy my boys tastes were -- now, as the # of fruits and veggies he eats diminishes daily like sands though and hourlass -- I realize that I, was a dumbass.

Okay, that kid's hair is so shiny what ever he is eating couldn't be that bad!

Plus, at least he is eating...right?

There is a 10, 11 and 12 year age gap between my two youngest brothers and little sister.  That said, their eating habits and wants were left up to me and my older sister.  I remember complaining to my mother why she let them get away with eating Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner and slices of Wonderbread for breakfast.  Her answer? "Because I'm tired of working all day and then coming home to work even more.  If they want to eat raw hot dogs out of the package, then let them.  They're hungry."  I felt like they were savages.  But I took my mother's mentality and ran with it.  If they were hungry and all they wanted was toast and beans, then so be it, toast and beans it would be.  If my 3 year old brother insisted on drinking his milk out of a bowl like our cat, then have at it, just as long as he drank the whole bowl.  And now?  They eat everything...they are not picky.  But years later I see my mother's point of view.  I  have no children of my own but she told me that it was all just a phase and that soon enough they would be stuffing their faces and the picky-ness would be gone.  Mom was right.

Here's something we recently discovered for our two year dol: pumpkin seeds. They are loaded with iron, magnesium, manganese, protein, zine and other good stuff. I started eating them in large quantities when I was pregnant with my dd. They are sort of addictive. I picked up the habit again now that I'm expecting #2, and lo and behold, dd *loves* them. To her, they are a fun and crunchy snack. We buy the roasted tamari ones in bulk... so good!

thanks for the reminder that forcing our kids to eat is stupid and unhealthy. we have pretty much made peace with the fact that our 3 year old will only eat certain things (fruit, oatmeal, kashi waffles, goldfish, milk, veggie bites, and lots and lots of organic peanut butter) but recently my husband's sister did the whole, "aren't you worried about his poor eating habits?" it's like, no we're not worried! he speaks in complete sentences, can count and add and subtract and has memorized half the books in our house. if he was malnourished, i think we'd know! not that i didn't wish he would just eat whatever we put in front of him, i just wish people would mind their own business.  

When my son was one he ate swordfish and wilted spinach like a champ. Now at three he insists on canned mini ravioli 2-3x a week and french fries every time he dines out (at least once a week).

He's also smart, funny, strong and has had exactly one cold in the past two years so...whatever...

My girly has always been a good eater too, and now at 2.5 she is starting to develop these annoying OPINIONS, and is getting pickier about food...  I'm just waiting for it all to fall apart and for her to start living on pizza and mac'n'cheese like every other kid.  Oh well, at least she had a few good years of nutrient-rich food that hopefully gave her wee body a healthy foundation.

Being a parent is HARD work. I wish judgmental people would just zip it. We should support each other instead of tearing each other down about our kids' eating, sleeping, pooping, playing, or just living habits.  

Sorry. :).   Reading that someone made a comment about your son eating mac and cheese made me mad.

My son is an amazing food prep chef, can pit olives, chop and crush garlic, seed peppers, etc, but will not eat anything but PBJ sandwiches, cereal, chicken and carrots. I'm jut letign people know that helping you cook will not guarantee that he'll eat it. Loves to help me cook, won't eat it. He's been helping me cook since before he could walk.

He ALSO refuses jam with bits of fruit! Even candy that TASTES like fruit! Hes 4.5 and otherwise lovely.

My 4-yr old has recently decided that granola bars, toast, and organic peanut butter will be his sole nutritional components. This menu replaces scrambled eggs with mustard, multigrain crackers, and raisins. Much to his chagrin, the constant efforts to include candy as a staple have not been successful as candy is a rarity in our house. It is anticipated that earnest protesting will continue.

This child has been phasing like this for a good year now, with an occasional fruit and/or veggie in the mix. There was a broccoli period that we were initially excited about, but also greatly relieved to see the end of. Good God the smells that came from that child!!!

Kids Greens vitamins.  They are fantastic!  Kinda strange looking with their lack of coloring...a little like the contents of those new-born diapers molded into animal shapes...but whatever, my kids love them.  I saw an actual definable change in their behaviour and (sorry) poop as all those carbs were being beat down by the greens.  But really, who wants to play nice when they are having (sorry, again) poop issues?

The boy went through a french toast phase for 3 months of dinners, and is now sitting strong in a Captain Crunch phase, 3 weeks and counting.  At least the Captain gives some sort of variety though.