I have a 6 year old son who is the worlds pickiest eater; he will only eat pasta dishes and fruit. I want my child to have a well balanced diet however whenver i try to make him eat meat or vegetables he states he is not hungry and will not eat it at all even if it mean he goes to bed hungry. What can i do to get him to eat better?

Beth - posted on 06/29/2012

I have a one-dish option at evening meals. It's what I've cooked or go hungry method. To get pudding/dessert, they have to make a good attempt on the main course (allowing for age) and where on the love-hate line it is. As long as they've made a good attempt on the main meal then they're allowed pudding. The amount required to be eaten can slowly be increased as their liking for the food grows.

The only time they have an option is when we have a use up of the food in the cupboards/fridge/freezer - which is very rare. The only other time is when I'm cooking baked beans, scrambled egg and chips - they all have to have some chips with varying amounts of the other two. My youngest gets lots of beans, token of scrambled egg, middle gets roughly equal quantities of both, eldest mainly scrambled egg with 1/2 baked beans on her plate.

Also by giving one option means that children learn to eat a wider range of foods and more likely to try other foods, especially when out and/or at friends/family houses. Only real exception is if there is a food allergy and/or one has choosen a food lifestyle that's different to others in the family - e.g. one person is a vegetarian and the rest of the household enjoy eating meat. I know that my aunt would do one meal for her, my uncle and her two sons and then another meal for her daughter. My aunt, uncle and male cousins are meat eaters, my other cousin is a vegetarian.

Steph - posted on 06/28/2012

ah ha! i had this issue shred chicken into mac n chz im mean shred shred shred

Erin - posted on 06/23/2012

If he won't eat any other foods then give him the food he doesn't want first on his plate. Do not allow him to eat his favorites unless and until he eats his other food. He will eat when he is hungry enough he will not starve himself I promise you that. I had this issue with my 3 y/o son for a while only liked fruit and snacky food. So I cut out all snacks for the day and only allowed him fruit when he had ate his other food, it worked just fine after a couple meals he ate his food. This is just my opinion but children must learn that food is expensive, food is not for wasting. That they need to eat the same meals as the rest of the family and that they aren't going to get special meals or special exceptions and that arguing is futile. Parents must maintian control and not give in to children's whims about food. It doens't help them in the long run because many children do this with unhealthy food ( at least the fruit is healthy) and they grow up eating lowsy foods and may become obese. I also really think snacks are overdone and kids shouldn't get them if they don't eat meals. Same with desert. I also discourage food as a reward, it should go like this " you don't get any fruit unless you eat the rest of your meal first." Not " I'll give you fruity num nums if you eat this food for mommy. Hope this helps any. It always works for me.

Caroline - posted on 06/20/2012

What you can do is find an occupational therapist who has training/experience in feeding/diet issues. My daughter eats 8 things only, and of those, only one brand of chicken, only one brand of beans...Sometimes eating issues can relate to sensory issues. (My daughter has SI (Sensory Integration dysfunction) She can smell the open refridgerator door from down the hall in her room, she used to tell me when my yonger girl had peed in her diaer from across the room. Taste and smell are very closely linked senses. It could be that certain things are noxious to your son, and to him, is the equivalent of drinking Windex...I'm a speech therapist, and have colleagues who are OTs. email me if you want more info...caroline_crosby@q.com

Dinorah - posted on 05/31/2012

Ask your pediatrician.

Threenorns - posted on 05/18/2012

my oldest daughter was vegetarian - for real - until she was 7yrs old. she was failure to thrive numerous times and pediasure/boost/ensure/etc failed - she basically stopped eating food completely and was living off them. no matter what she was given, she did not eat meat, did not drink milk, would not eat eggs. she would eat yoghurt only and then every so often would get these bizarre random food jags - chicken liver, sardines, ketchup on *everything* (including ice cream or lime jello!). the jags would last a few days or a couple of weeks and then she was back to not eating any protein at all. no matter what she ate, it always totalled 720-750cal/day. if it was salad, she ate by the bathtub. if it was a chocolate bar, that would be it for half a day. if two foods touched on her plate, her appetite visibly switched off and she was unable to eat for the rest of the day. it's worth noting that she probably has asperger's syndrome but she still grew up and got married just fine.

Kristin - posted on 05/18/2012

LOL all he wants to eat is noodles and jam sandwiches and he loves strawberries. He will not eat vegetables unless it is cremed corn and he will only eat that on certain days. Some days he is willing to try new foods and some days he isnt. Some days foods that he usually loves he will not eat. I am very tired of trying to please him and i am done being a restaurant making 2 meals at a time so he will eat. So i make him eat a little bit of food and I have cut out all snacks and junk food, this seems to be helping a little as he is super hungry by super time and will eat different foods. However any meat he will not eat, so i have been looking into vegetarian meal ideas and hoping this will help.

Jen - posted on 05/18/2012

If he's otherwise healthy, don't worry about it. Try to make it fun for him to eat, always have it available. Try to find out why he doesn't like it, maybe he just doesn't like the thought of eating an animal, in which case give him vegetarian options. Maybe he doesn't like the texture, in which case find alternate veggies that he does like. My niece won't eat strawberries because of the texture, but her brother can't get enough. LOL

Kristin - posted on 05/18/2012

I have tried hiding food within food he will pick out the smallest bit of anything he does not like. I have tried to get him to help me cook and he will indeed help cook the meal but he will not eat it. I have offered desert as a reward if he eats his chicken, or hamburger, etc. but he still will not eat foods he does not like and he will forego the desert. Also he will not drink pedia sure as i have tried that as well. Hopefully he will grow out of it soon thank you for all your advice.

Jen - posted on 05/18/2012

When my girls were toddlers the only thing they wanted was mac & cheese, from a box. That's it. So I added a can of tuna, and they ate it up, then I added a can of peas, and they ate it up. Sneak in protein with the pasta if that's what you're concerned about. Tuna blends really well in that you can't see it if you break it up. Cheese has a lot of protein in it too. Slowly just add new foods to the menu and ask him to try it. Since he likes pasta dishes - add veggies to the sauce... spaghetti sauce is a really good place to hide veggies - shredded carrots for example, and of course throwing in some meat for protein.

Now that my kids are teenagers they have heard "I'm not a short order cook, you'll eat what is there or go to bed hungry" enough times that they eat what they are given, for the most part. My oldest refuses to eat hot dogs, will choke down sausage if its mixed with pasta, but hates it.

Threenorns - posted on 05/18/2012

beth's post is good, on the whole, except for one thing: do not use food as a reward.



using dessert as a reward or bribe is a great way to end up with a fat kid, an anorexic teenager, and an adult with obesity.

Beth - posted on 05/18/2012

One thing I say to my girls is that they have to make a good attempt on meals that they're not big fans of. All three have improved over time and still are. They know that they will get some form of puddling that they like if they make a good attempt on the main course.

Also helping to cook meals (mains or puddings) helps as found they are more willing to try it. Another 'trick' in the bag is have a help yourself meal - have food that he likes with others that he's not sure about. Offer him some, to try. Let him know that he is OK to try it and if he doesn't like it then that's OK, if he does like it he can have some more.

Threenorns - posted on 05/17/2012

number one rule: NEVER turn it into a food fight because you'll lose and, in the long run, so will he.

is he drinking milk? as long as he drinks milk, he's probably getting quite enough protein for the short-term.

don't stress about it - if you want, buy those fruit/veg blend juices. i give them to my daughter all the time (she's the opposite of your son - until she was about 4, she refused to eat anything starchy (pasta, potatoes, corn, etc). mostly, she ate protein - everything was protein: meat, eggs, dairy, legumes.

just keep the food available within reach at mealtimes and when he needs protein, he'll eat it.

make it an issue, and you'll lose because you CANNOT make a child eat if he's decided he doesn't want to.

Beth - posted on 05/17/2012

Let him know that he can have his favourite meals on a routine basis, but on a regular basis, make a meal that he hasn't had before and get him to try it. Let him know that he has to make a good attempt and when he's done that he can have something he does like.

Luckily it's not the worst diet that he's eating - pasta and fruit. Gradually work on increasing what he'll try to eat.

You could look at doing some cooking with him, so that he can see how the meal is cooked. Can do things like cupcakes, biscuits etc.. When he's done that, he has to attempt to eat some of what you two have had to eat. Also he can have input on what he would like to cook - e.g. cupcake or pasta dish.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 05/17/2012

Just give him more options of what he likes to eat. Try new recipes.

Also give him Pedia sure if you're concerned about his nutrition and speak with your pediatrician or GP to get some other ideas.