Help for picky eaters.

Rosie - posted on 03/31/2012

my two year old is really bad when it comes to eating he wont eat anything freshly made anything brightly colored or cold no fruit of veg nothing too hard and nothing too soft the only thing he will eat at any point of the day is toast help

Wanda - posted on 11/20/2008

Both of my boys 12yrs old and 9 yrs old both have AS. The older one is not fussy when it come to trying foods but our younger one is. It is texture. We (my husband and I)were getting flustered with his pickyness. We now have "Dipping Sauce". It is 3 Cheese Ranch dressing that he puts on everything and anything so he will eat it. the food is pretty much smuthered like rice or anything that he is not crazy about the texture. He still is not crazy about veggies. He is slowly starting to try different things.

Meredith - posted on 11/20/2008

I swear by The Sneaky Chef - http://www.thesneakychef.com/ - she has lots of tips on how to hide healthy ingredients in foods your kid will eat anyway. My son is a big fan of her cocoa pancakes, which secretly contain spinach & blueberries. He will reliably eat bread, so when I bake I replace 1/3 of the flour with ground almonds, just to sneak some protein into his diet.

Amy - posted on 11/20/2008

Our son went from being -11% and literally starving to death to in one year eating a huge variety of foods and thriving. This is what we did. First kids can feel your emotions so you need to be calm at eating times and don't get upset if they don't eat. We gave him exactly what we eat every meal and made no exceptions (this is easier said then done). In the beginning he would only drink rice milk. Then he would eat only cheese. He would eat one food to excess to the point that he became allergic to that food. So what we've done is a rotation diet. Never feed him the same thing once or twice in a week except drinks of course. We changed things up by using cookie cutters, different types of straws, tooth picks, different types of plates, cups ect. We tried to make it fun. We had him help make several meals a day and made it fun, let him lick the beaters, he love helping. Eventually, he started to try food (he through fits all along the way and still does occasionally) and discovered that some of this stuff isn't bad. We also did a reward system. If he eats so many pieces he gets a dessert he likes. If he eats four bites of potatoes he gets his special drink. Good luck, this is hard to get through and you wonder along the way if he's starving to death. Our son still only weighs 27 pounds and is 3 1/2. At his worst he was nearly hospitalized several times. He would just lay there lethargic. In the beginning we also tried this medication that is for alleries (perscription). Gastrointestinal Specialist will also prescribe it to inhance hunger. It doesn't work for everyone, but it worked miracles for our son. He was never hungry so this really helped increase his appetite. One more thing, once we discovered the many food allergies our son has, we eliminated them and immedialtey he improved in all areas. He's allergic to milk, soy, beef, white potatoes, peanuts, nuts, and the big one for him was CORN!

Tanya - posted on 11/20/2008

My son is a picky eater too, some of it is texture and some of it is taste. Although he is opposite with the spice thing. Everything has to have BBQ sauce on it. I gave up on making him try food. I just keep pb and j's stocked and hot dogs. If he doesn't like what we are having he just grabs something else for himself. But he is now 11 so he is self sufficient in that way. I don't know if your kiddo is old enough to do that.

Angela - posted on 11/20/2008

My 4 1/2 -yr-old daughter lately will only eat toast and peaches. Sometimes I can get her to eat green beans. She used to eat more than that. I don't know why she's not now. Just being stubborn, I guess. When she's happy, she's more likely to try new foods, and I only give a teeny tiny bit at a time, so she doesn't feel overwhelmed. It normally works, but she's been grumpy a lot lately since her brother has been home with a cold, and not at school. She doesn't like the break in her routine.

Michelle - posted on 11/20/2008

My son was on Risperdal and ate absolutely everything except broccoli. Now, he's switched meds-- he's not eating as much or as wide a variety. Now, everything is coated in Ranch Dressing. So, I put Ranch on the broccoli.

Angel - posted on 11/19/2008

Have you tried freezing your bread? My kids will eat sandwhiches for awhile, then quit for awhile. Meanwhile I was having to throw out old bread because they had not eaten it yet. I decided to freeze the bread in small baggies with 4 pieces in each bag. They are easy to separate and the slices only take about 10 minutes to thaw.

Francine - posted on 11/19/2008

I have a 10-year old (PDD) who I like to call a "quirky" eater rather than picky. He has major texture issues, but to my surprise he usually ends up liking things I'd never expect, and some odd combinations. The spicier the better, so we add hot sauce and he'll try just about anything at least once! My first recommendation is just to be patient. We've been dealing with this since he was one and a half, and just in the past year or so he's been more open to trying things. We try not to make too big a deal of it, and he eventually goes through a phase where he's more adventurous. I try to remember to ask him if he wants to try, but if not that's okay too. Also, I don't know how old your son is, but my son's diet started expanding when I let him choose his own combinations - for several years the only sandwich he would eat was butter, grape jelly and parmesan cheese. Sounds gross to me, and not the healthiest thing in the world, but at least he was eating and had some new textures in there!

As for your bread problem, will he take something else for lunch? My son will eat noodle soup from a thermos, or sometimes I let him take popcorn, yogurt and some healthy snacks for his lunch! Maybe just make a change until he gets over this bread "cracking" issue. I hope this helps somewhat - hang in there!

Jennifer - posted on 11/19/2008

For a long time ketchup was key. My son would try anything as long as ketchup was involved. Is there some dipping sauce he is fixated on? You might try that. The texture thing is really hard. My son can just put something on the tip of his tongue and if he doesn't like it he starts to gag. Good luck!

User - posted on 11/19/2008

I have found that if I put the item that I want him to try in front of him, and then a plate of what HE wants to eat a bit further away...I get him to try even just one little tiny bite and then give him the food he wants. Then as he tries it more often, then I get him to take a little bit more before he gets his preferred food.

Gabriella - posted on 11/19/2008

wow. that is amazing. the wonderful world of autism. poor kids being so upset by broken bread.



join the Taca Yahoo Group - they help with EVERYTHING - from biomedical issues to school issues to life issues. great people http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/tac...



and also join the GFCGKids yahoo group. I think that is the one with the mom who has the son with the similar bread cracking issue. Everyeon is super nice on all the boards so I am sure someone could give great advice.

Jennifer - posted on 11/19/2008

I've honestly never heard of TACA so it wasn't me. This is honestly a really new issue.

Gabriella - posted on 11/19/2008

are you on TACA or the GFCFKids? -- I heard of a story just like this this week with the child being upset by the cracked bread. sorry I am not helpful

Jennifer - posted on 11/19/2008

Our newest problem is that the bread here seems to dry out or something and will start to tear apart. My son has decided that he won't eat it when it's "Cracking" and so he's not been eating his lunch most days. Any idea how to keep the bread from doing that?

Sarah - posted on 11/19/2008

Hi, my son just turned 4 and has Autism. He is also a very picky eater. Sometimes he'll just look at something and decide he's not going to eat it. We have tried most of the suggestions listed on here, some work, some don't. I worry about him not getting a very balanced diet, but I'm just not sure what else to do. We've tried making him try things... doesn't go so well. Right now we are just giving him the same new food often until he gives it a try. Sometimes he only has one bite, but at least he had a bite! I'm totally open to new suggestions of things to try!

Vivian - posted on 11/18/2008

Oh, and involve your son in cooking! What's he gonna do, if he's making something, and it gets on his hands? He MAY lick it off, right? Great way to get them to handle different textures!

Gabriella - posted on 11/18/2008

Timmy has gotten less picky since starting probiotics = thank goodness bc it has helped transition into the GFCF diet.

Jennifer - posted on 11/12/2008

we have the fairly new rule that he has to try everything I put on his plate and if he doesn't like it he never has to eat it again. I try to avoid things I know he won't eat like highly seasoned foods or ones that fit in his texture issues. He has surprised me with what he will try now with very little fussing. He is still being picky but it's less of a meltdown. Thanks for all the responses.

Jennifer - posted on 11/12/2008

I agree. My son still only eats 5 foods. But he has been known to occasionally try something else. For him not only does he have texture issues, but it also matters the way the food smells. I was told if he got hungry enough he'd eat anything. But that is so not true. He would rather starve! So if anyone has a better idea I'd welcome it.

Vivian - posted on 11/12/2008

I put food on Tim's plate, even though I know he won't eat it. Sometimes I just make him touch or smell the food. Sometimes I will ask him to lick the food. We tried forcing him to eat green beans once. He threw them up. Now we are just more relaxed about it. He eats some fruit. Some veggies. Some meats (do hot dogs qualify as meat?) I think just giving them different foods on their plates is the best way to get them to eat new food...

Jodi - posted on 11/06/2008

I just kept on introducing the same thing for a few weeks until he started trying it out. Now my son (who is borderline with PDD) eats pork chops. He told me they tasted like popcorn. We are still working on different fruits though.

Angel - posted on 11/06/2008

My son is almost 15 and it is sometimes funny what he wont eat. He also has some texture issues and food aversions. He can eat fried chicken but he usually pulls the meat out from the crust. (he used to do that with onion rings too) He won't eat fresh fruit other than grapes. So, I usually try and find things like, natural apple sauce, canned or jarred fruit in natural juices. You know, he won't even drink milk! Not even chocolate. So I try to find natural juices with calcium in it.Toothpaste is another problem, I still have to buy the "flavored" kind. He has a big aversion to mint. I guess just try to find nutritious alternatives. What is really odd is out of my two boys, the one that has AS and is picky is the one who is willing to try new foods..

User - posted on 11/01/2008

Use cookie cutters in different shapes with the food when possible and let you son help. That doesn't always work for all foods but it may make him more likely to try new foods with fun shapes.