hardly eats a thing

[haloulu]

My 4-year-old son's entire menu consists of the followin - microwaved cooked pasta ( only the shell shaped ones)

Tinned Sweetcorn

Tinned Tuna

crispy chips from the bottom of a chip shop bag

and cooked ham.

He will only eatthese things one at a time and will never mix them together.

He is a healthy weight and size but I worry that he has got to get a little variety.  I have tried allthe usual things to get him to eat ( begging, Bribery, Reward schemes, Star Charts, starving ( he went for two days !! Cooking together- the lot)

Any ideas please xxxxxx

[lindapinda]

I know it's easy to say you shouldn't worry,but although it's not a varied diet by our own standards,he is actually getting his protein,carbs.vit.c etc.I've read about children being apparently fit and well,on a much more limited food diet than your wee boy.Perhaps you shouldn't make an issue of the food. If he's  a healthy weight and size,it mustn't have done him too much harm!

[haloulu]

Thanks for the speedy response LInda Pinda - I suppose It isn't doing him a lot of harm but as he takes  packed lunch to school I am a little worried what the dinner ladies must be saying of his cold pasta selection !

[lindapinda]

I love cold pasta! He's probably going to be a real individual!

[woofgang]

Not to arouse alarm, and I am sure that he is just an individualist, but has he been screened for autism?

[kags]

My son only eats bread. At restaurants he will have just 2 portions of garlic bread for his main meal. He will have peanut butter on his toast, and he will eat bananas and raspberries on a really good day. He is 9 now, has been like this since he had a tummy bug aged 18 months - when he started to feel better he wanted toast and peanut butter so I gave it to him, and he just never ate anything else since. I tried the bribery, star charts, starving that you mention above, and it didn't work. He has been seen by nutritionist and dieticians, they say really helpful thngs like "he should eat a more balanced diet" - well duh, yes I know that! However, like your son he is normal weight and height, very bright, happy and relaxed. For the past 5 years I have stopped worrying.

My advice would be to try to relax. Give him vitamin supplements, keep an eye on his weight and height and general health. Casually suggest other foods, don't force the issue or make a fuss. Maybe try leaving them on the side in the kitchen, or see if other relatives or friends can make the suggestions (my son went to Scouts camp and ate a hotdog! - won't eat one at home though).

As regards the autism issue, if he doesn't show any other signs of autism, don't get worried- (can I just say that I have another child who IS autistic, and she could eat for England, so it doesn't always follow). Perhaps you could ask his teacher (if he's at school) if she/he has noticed anything.

He may suddenly change, or he may always be a bit picky - there are many worse things in life. If you make too much of a big deal about food now I think you run the risk of him having an eating disorder when older, rather than just faddiness. That's just my opinion - not medically based!

[Eurox]

The only fruit I like are bananas, I dont like salads, and the only vegetable I like are potatos, obviously. But im a very healthy and strong person. I mst admit I do eat things that I shouldnt. Theres a chippy 2 mins up the raod from my work and I go there for lunch everyday and then perhaps chips and curry of a night, and chocolate. Im only 17 but Im fitter than a lot of people I know. I play football for my local pub side and I cycle alot.

[ursula62]

is your health visitor able to assist at all?
Often children pick up on the fact that it bothers you... and that makes them worse. Try not to show any desperation/worries when presenting with food. If he won't eat what he's given then offer bread and butter. Do not offer milk instead of food, and NO snacks between meals.

He WILL eat when hungry. Very few, if any, children of this age will wilfully starve themselves.

You might also want to look at other people's ways of dealing with the problem, e.g. Supernanny or hospital/dietitian's websites.

some ideas can be found here - but you might not want to read the first paragraph...

http://www.ucsfhealth.org/childrens/edu/pickyEaters/

[Adi's mom]

I am a mother of a fussy eater too..he is 2yrs old..but i remember my growing up years and the fuss there used to be about me not eating my lunch...as long as the fuss lasted i hardly ever showed any inclination to eat at school lunch breaks. I dont know when my mom stopped fussing, casue in later years and through college i always carried lunch from home and ate it!!!

I rememebr this and try to create as little a fuss about things that are important in my son's growing up..casue the more we fuss about there wrong actions, the more interest is developed in that activity. Without any fuss everone grows out of habits!!! And the most important thing is MODELLING...you must eat healthy diet and enjoy it.

Autism, seems out of question(unless u do see other symptoms as well...he shd be socially active)...all kids do weired things ...that is growing up, if they were all grown up at birth why would they need us????

[Mistopheles]

My cousin lived on bread, cold tea, crisps and spoonfuls of sugar for 8 years. He turned out okay - I mean, a total brat, but other than that...! Seriously, I think I would worry as well, but as long as he seems healthy, don't panic too much.

[thikasabrik]

Both my kids (now age 10 and 5) were faddy eaters and my youngest still is to some degree. When they started school I made them both have school dinners rather than packed lunches. When they saw other kids eating the food, they began to eat a wider variety of food themselves. My eldest now loves everything, including sprouts & broccoli which I hate! I wouldn't worry about it..l..they all get better at eating as they get older. Don't get stressed and make an issue of it or your little one may pick up on it. Good luck!

[haloulu]

Thank you all so much ! I wouldn't have thought Autism could be an issue because nobody else including GP health visitor or teachers have mentioned this as a possibility - I suppose he will survive as for the little one who only eats bread ! gosh seems he has a varied diet in comparison

Thank you all

Happier Mum now xxx

[witchone]

My 5 yr old son, was exactly the same until earlier this year, i had him screened for autism, because he has little annoying habits aswell, it wasnt autism.

His fad food was also sweetcorn, one day in the supermarket an elderly woman looked in the trolley and saw all the tins of sweetcorn in there. I explained about him only eating that with gravy and stuffing balls. her advice is as follows, its taken a very long time to get a result but it worked.

she explained put his food on the plate as normal and add a small piece of corn on the cob, its all the same, after about a week, my son actually picked it up and tried it, after about another week, he was eating the corn on the cob aswell. Then i added 5-10 peas, that worked he started eating them. Then potatos , then yorkshire puds. Then i removed the gravy he cried and screamed about it but eventually he was eating and trying everything i put in front of him, from full roast dinner, spaghetti bolognese  to all the fun stuff like pizza on saturdays and fish and chips on fridays. It has taken a long long time but i got there in the end. Its a case of put something extra on the plate, dont force him to eat it, even just dont even mention it. Eventually curiousity gets to them, then once they start eating it, introduce another, then start removing their fad foods. I also made all of my children sit at the table together and gave the others the same to eat, so he could see them eating it aswell. (that actually helped the other two to eat and enjoy more vegetables in their diet)

And now he is at school, he has school dinners like the rest of the children, and everyday comes home with a star for eating it.

But it worked for me, it did take a long time to do it, and sometimes it felt like ground hog day in this house, cooking the same things for weeks but changing just one bit of it. Hey but i can complain it worked.

[PANCHALI_R]

 Hey all of us have got food problems with kids, but if you really want to change the way.... go on a holiday to a place where you will get none of these things!! He will have to learn to eat different things.

And although I am sure that he is not doig as badly as you think It is verry important to inculcate good eating habits as it will take him a long way in his life.!!! :)

[Liza B]

I have the same problem with two of my children they are 12 and 15 they had a very healthy diet when they were little and now all they will eat is cereal and chicken, the other three are great eaters, I have given up. Seems they go through a fussy stage at 2- 5 and again at 12 onward. Don't make a fuss about it, ask if he would like to try a bit of your dinner off your plate if he does praise him if not say thats okay, as long as he is eating something he will be fine.

[louadams6]

think as other posts have said that you have to try not to make a big issue of it. A few things i have tried (that do work sometimes) is if my daughter wont eat is just remove the plate (take it out of sight of your son) and say ok i'll get something else, then move the food round on the plate and make faces with it or put grated cheese on the top of whatever it may be! ! another favorite is red sauce! my daughter loves dipping vegetables in red sauce! but at least shes eats them! With crunchy foods i pretend to be asleep then when she crunches on them pretend she has woken me up! She adores that game and have got her to eat loads of different things playing that one! anything is worth a try but stay calm, good luck