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He is 6 and is so resistant to trying new things, even if it is the same food but in different form (ie beef patties but wont eat steak) I try to come across as gently as possible, I tell him he can spit it out if he doesn’t like it but he wont budge. It is proving to be very stressful for his dad and I as he has such a limited food choice. Please help!

Answers:

Answer 1:

If you are cooking the food, you need to have the thought process and even tell him that this is not a restaurant. If he doesn’t want to eat, let him go hungry. don’t give him snacks later either and don’t give in to him. You and his father run the house, not him. Even if he throws a tantrum, the worst thing you could do is to crumple under it and give him what he wants. that only reinforces him to keep throwing tantrums because that’s how he’ll get what he wants.I am a nanny, andi have definitely dealt with children like this. My thing with them is to say they need to take as many bites as how old they are. Since he’s six, tell him he needs to take 6 bites and then he can be done. Don’t have any other distractions around the table like toys or tv either. Give him the direction he needs to take 6 bites then take the attention off the meal, don’t make it a big deal. Start a conversation with your husband and when he takes a bite, tell him good job! only 5 more bites and then you can be done. When he does eat the 6 bites, give him a hug or something and tell him that you liked how he was a big boy and ate his food. Kids totally respond better to positive verbal reinforcement of what they did right and ignoring their misbehaviors than giving attention and negative reactions to what they did wrong and ignoring the good things they do. Hope that makes sense.

Answer 2:

One way I get my toddler to eat new things is to not make a big deal about it. Just make new foods one choice of many. And don’t push your food preferences on him. For example my toddler loves ketchup. He will dip boiled carrots in it, he will dip sweet things like fruit in it. He loves to dip, and has eaten a few new foods this way. When he eats a new food I resist the urge to smile. It isn’t a big deal I try to outwardly portray (even if I am cheering in victory on the inside). As for meat, we find our toddler hates it (except eggs). So we have actually tried veggie dogs. They have ones with tonnes of vitamins, and they are easy to make alongside to our grown up meal (plus they are usually quite cheap, so if he doesn’t want it one day it isn’t a huge deal).

There are usually options for easy to make foods that will fulfill his needs while you keep offering healthy foods. Continue reading How do I get my step-son to try new food? →