What do you do if your kid is a "picky-eater"?

Do you have a kid who is just sooo choosy with his food? Would only eat the same kinds of food over and over again, and worst we moms still give it even if we know it's not so good a healthy food for our child? ... as long as he eats!

Funny, I even go to many pediatricians asking for an "appetite stimulant" but to my surprise , nobody knows anything except " appetite suppressants". LOL

My son is still a picky eater but adding a food supplement that he likes help him a lot. And thus, less stress for me! How about you? Having same problem? Any experience like this one? any reactions? Pls. share...

Tags: active, and, essential, fit, for, health, healthy, kids, nutrition, vitamins

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Permalink Reply by Leah on January 21, 2009 at 11:15am: My son is transitioning from mostly nursing to mostly eating food, and it's completely random right now - one day he likes something, then the next day he won't eat it. I hope he will start being easier to feed so I can cut back on daytime nursing soon...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rebecca Waterhouse on January 22, 2009 at 3:57pm: Actually there is a antihistamine called Cyproheptadine/Periactin some paediatricians are using for children with severe eating problems. One of it's main side effects is increased appetite. I don't know what the long term effects are, but I'd think your child would need to have a serious eating problem (and maybe even diagnosed as "Failure to thrive") to have it prescribed. My daughter is ftt because she refuses to eat and doesn't know when she's hungry but it hasn't been prescribed for us and I doubt, even if I pushed, that our paed would give it to us.

Her eating as improved since we were admitted to our local Children's Hospital for a week of intensive feeding therapy. She know eats more in one meal then she used to in a whole day and she's even started gaining weight! That said, she'll only eat chocolate custard and yogurt, but I added formula, protein powder and oil to it to make sure she's getting enough goodness from it.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sheryl Loch on January 22, 2009 at 4:17pm: My kids were never picky eaters.

I remember 1 set of friends coming for me to babysit or to play. I would fix lunch for them all and put it on the table. The 2 girls would tell me they did not like it, I just said "OK". Then would go about my business while my daughter and the other kids ate. The 2 girls informed me that they wanted____. I told them "well, maybe next time you come over we will have that" end of story & back to doing my things. These are the same girls that informed me they wanted to go home so their mom would fix them _____. I'd just tell them "she'll be here at ___ time". Before you knew it they would eat what I had fixed. They finally figured out that I was not giving in.

Their parents would come and I would say that we had lunch at ___ time and what we had. The parents would tell me that their girls would not eat that - I laughed when I told them they did eat it. But, the parents would fix it at home and the kids did not touch it, cried for an alternative food..... The parents gave in & the kids were still picky at home.

These same girls stayed with me for 3 days while their parents were on a trip. You know - those kids did not starve to death. They ate what I fixed. After that the parents went though a hard time but, quit giving in to fixing different foods for them. Before you know it they were asking for things that they had always swore they hated.

I only know of 1 child that would not eat ever. He was born with a disorder. His brain never got the Hungry message. He had been fed through a tube in his stomach since he was born. He had to be taught to eat even though he had no urge. He would never ask to eat because he wanted food. He learned he had to eat a certain amount to stay alive.

I do not know a single kid that has ever starved to death because they did not want to eat what was given. No matter how stubborn they will eat.

Look at kids that are found in a house where the parent has died, never came home.. These kids are found to have eaten anything they find dry rice, molded food, even garbage.

If your son does not have a disorder then I would stay away from drugs. A appetite stimulant will not make him want different foods. He will just want more of what he is already eating.

I am sure some will think I am mean - oh well my kids were always healthy.

Sheryl; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by aida alinsub on January 22, 2009 at 6:31pm: Leah said:
My son is transitioning from mostly nursing to mostly eating food, and it's completely random right now - one day he likes something, then the next day he won't eat it. I hope he will start being easier to feed so I can cut back on daytime nursing soon...

Thanks for sharing Leah. I also hope he will start being easier to feed as he grows... oh, i know he will!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rebecca Waterhouse on January 22, 2009 at 7:12pm: aida alinsub said:
So yes, i agree with you when you said you are giving your child a protein powder, it really helps!

It really, really does! She's even growing hair now!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by aida alinsub on January 22, 2009 at 7:42pm: I remember a mother who at the middle of the night called me up just to say , "Thank you very much!" for sharing the protein shake because according to her , her daughter's hair has become so shiny , thick and healthy-looking.I thought it was an emergency, well , what would you expect ...a call in the middle of the night!
LOL. So no wonder because actually our hair , nails , etc are made up of protein. So if you're hair and fingernails are thinning, one of the cause maybe because you lack protein. (Btw, where did my previous reply to you go? i couldn't see it here... sorry am new to this LOL)
Rebecca Waterhouse said:
aida alinsub said:
So yes, i agree with you when you said you are giving your child a protein powder, it really helps!

It really, really does! She's even growing hair now!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by aida alinsub on January 22, 2009 at 7:52pm: Hi Sheryl,
Thanks for sharing. You are right in there ! Once my son slept over with my best friend's son and I asked my friend? " Did he eat?" Oh yes, he has to eat whatever is serve in the table !"

That was actually a good tip... because I noticed at times it's when i asked him, "what do you like to eat?" that he would choose his fave food LOL. Thanks for the reminder!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by aida alinsub on January 22, 2009 at 7:57pm: Mel said , "She also takes a multi-vitamin each day so I figure that fills in any gaps."

Aida replies:
Oh yes, giving multi-vitamins, food supplements really helps. Thanks for sharing Mel!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sheryl Loch on January 23, 2009 at 5:38am: @Mel,
I do understand being picky. I can not eat spicy foods. What I consider spicy is super mild to others. I also am very sensitive to smells which really plays a roll when it comes to taste.

As for the feeling of food - if it mushes - I will not eat it. I would not touch a cooked vegetable unless I was dieing. I will eat raw veggies like crazy (we have cut out most meat so, that is good).

When the kids were little I would cut up all the veggies as soon as we got home from the store, that way they were super handy to just grab and run.

Sheryl; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by aida alinsub on January 23, 2009 at 5:53am: Hi Sheryl,
Good am! I actually know a food supplement called Garden 7 that provides the nutritional benefits of 7 servings of fruits and vegetables, which already has a powerful antioxidants and am taking it ...this helps me a lot since I definitely can't eat that supposedly required 7 servings. So to fill in the gaps in my diet, i take it. Oh, i love this discussion , sharing of infos and learning from each other...thanks!Have a good day to everyone!

Sheryl Loch said:
@Mel,
I do understand being picky. I can not eat spicy foods. What I consider spicy is super mild to others. I also am very sensitive to smells which really plays a roll when it comes to taste.

As for the feeling of food - if it mushes - I will not eat it. I would not touch a cooked vegetable unless I was dieing. I will eat raw veggies like crazy (we have cut out most meat so, that is good).

When the kids were little I would cut up all the veggies as soon as we got home from the store, that way they were super handy to just grab and run.

Sheryl; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Duong on January 23, 2009 at 10:53pm: Have you heard of the Book, "Deceptively Delicous" It's an awesom ebook that hides all the healthy nutritious foods within the recipe. It was big last year and moms rave about it. Check it out on any online bookstore: here is one:

Deceptively Delicious; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by The Happy Housewife on January 24, 2009 at 4:44am: I just wrote an article regarding picky eaters. We don't allow them in our house :). You can read the article here.
Toni; ▶ Reply to This