Also having troubles with ds1 eating vegies.

[Bo0tifuL]

Im at my wits ends. Vegies are a no no. DS1 is almsot 4 and hasnt eaten any vegies in a long time. Ive tried everything but when its put near or in his mouth he will gag and carry on! Ive tried everything from dressing up funny saying i was the vegetable lady wearing socks on my arms etc. To pretending the spoon was a thomas the tank engine character and zooming all over the house, then tried to be the boss and said if you dont eat you can go to bed (well off to bed he went) Weve sat there for 2 hours some nights trying to get him to eat. I just dont know anymore and i cant be bothered sitting there yelling and screaming or turning around the next night and being nice. All he does is yell at me and tell me he hates it (or me) and i can tell you now its not fun :(:gloomy:

[Chickadee]

Wow!
It sounds like it's gotten to the point the stress of him not eatting is causing more problems. And kids can be stubborn, he's digging his heels in big time!

Can you take a step back from it and take the pressure off of him? Aim for little steps - get him to help you prepare a salad by putting the cut up stuff in the bowl, or give him a not-sharp knife to slice the mushrooms for you. Lower the goal post at meal times by asking him just to touch the veg on his plate. After a week of that challenge him to give it a lick or taste, and keep working up. Lots of praise for every step.

[Bo0tifuL]

Thats not a bad idea ! Thank you! Ill give it a go. Ill keep a positive mind and give lots of praise. Hes defnantly a stubborn little boy! i was just worried there was more to the story. It breaks my heart that he doesnt eat well. But we will keep trying :D

[Chickadee]

I think I've been lucky with DD. She started getting picky at 2 & 3 years, but we seem to have gotten over it relatively easily. For my peace of mind, I started giving her a multivitamin when she was being picky and not eatting much veg.

Other tricks we've used
- letting her feed us (reverse Thomas Train!) She thought this was hilarious and we'd quickly end up taking turns spooning peas into each other's mouth.
- showing her how carrot 'coins' can be turned into crescent moons by taking a bite out of them. For at least 4 months she would only take one bite, lol
- renaming food - mashed sweet potatoes are now 'fairy potatoes' in our house
- hiding food - grate apple, carrot and/or zuccini into almost anything. I usually did pikelets.

[MissSparkle]

Lol that sounds exactly like Aj! He hasn't really eaten vegies since he was 11months! Until now! My genius mum made quiches in mini muffin pans! She puts alot of spinach and other sorts of vegies in them but makes sure the bacon and cheese r up the top so thats all he sees and it kind of dominates the taste too. Im going up there tonight (hopefullyshes made more! lol) so I'll get the recipe n post it tonight or tomorrow!

[PinkBinkie]

My dd is 3 and refuses most veges though did try corn on the cob the other night which was a nice surprise! Even hiding the vegies in the spag bol doesn't seem to be working anymore. Luckily she loves fruit! But I find mealtimes terrible most nights and am so sick of arguing with her :no:

[silvercat]

I think the most important thing is not to turn this into a battle as kids can be stubborn and parents get stressed!.A couple of things that you might have tried already so sorry if I go over old ground,are blending vegies and hiding them in his food.Getting him to help you prepare simple vegie dishs.This might cause more interest in the food you want him to eat.Making vegies interesting-cut different shapes etc.A reward system,I guess initially aimed at small steps-my girlfriend uses a star chart.I use pineapple ice blocks that my son and I have prepared from fresh or canned fruit,if he eats his vegies.Failing that lots of fruit,as even though it doesnt have quite the nutritional value of vegies it does go some of the way to re-dressing the shortfall.Good luck.

[sebmum]

Hi, I have EXACTLY the same problem. My 18 month old DD absolutely flat out refuses veges. It's like she can taste them a mile away and any way that I try to hide them, she will work it out. I just put up a thread about it yesterday.

I have tried EVERYTHING to get her to eat them, but all she ever wants is cheese. Even if I put cheese all over veges, she still won't eat them. The weird thing is, she only wants grated cheese, not melted, not chopped, nothing else will do.

I worry every single day about her diet. Meal times are a nightmare and I don't think other people can truly relate to it unless they are going through it. I get the feeling that sometimes that people think I'm not really trying. I've tried hiding veg in pasta sauces, pikelets, muffins, even underneath Vegemite as the taste is so strong and overpowering. All my attempts fail.

It's so demoralising to see the food you lovingly prepared get thrown on the floor every single day. I've cried many a night on the kitchen floor. I have no suggestions for you, just a big :hugs: as I no what you're going through. Let's just try to keep our chins up and do all we can. At the end of the day, that's all we can do isn't it?:)

[sebmum]

Just wanted to add that I just gave my DD her dinner and she ate one micro-bit of mashed potato and I thought 'hooray' but by the time I got my hands in the air in a victory dance, she had spat it out. Alas...........:no:

[Chickadee]

I'd still count that as a victory!

[Bo0tifuL]

hehe, my DS1 gags on them. Even if its mixed in with something one bit of colour and GAG! So frustrating!

Sebmum- thanks, its good to know someone else in in the same shoes. Some times when it happens i feel like a failure, like its my fault. I know i have to keep positive and persistance is the key, But its still so hard!

[~CupCakes~]

dont feel bad!ds till about 17 months would eat ANYTHING put in front of him:yelclap: but since then nothing:hair:
he eats

bread
cheese
milk
vegemite,jam,honey
noodles
apple
corn flakes
............................and thats it!:crying: he wont even eat nuggets or fish fingers! but my dd1 eats everything in site and shes nearly two she loves fruit vegies meat pasta ANYTHING, and dh and i have done everything the same with both of them.so i dont know what to do with ds. i feel bad since dd1 eats so well and ds barly eats

[Bo0tifuL]

Just an update- DS1 Ate his vegies! Only Carrots and potatoes- but hey its a start. I tried peas but he really just doesnt like them so thats ok. Tomorrow night im going to make a baked dinner and make it beautiful for him coz i know he will atleast try it. :) i can finally cook yummy dinners for him again :D (touchwood its not a faze)!

[Chickadee]

Yay! That's great :yelclap:

[LizzardLover]

I just wanted to say that my daughter is turning 6yo and still doesnt eat many veggies :( I refuse to turn it into a battle so what I do is tell her all she has to do is just TRY it, one tiny bit and if she really really doesnt like it thats ok and I wont make her eat any more.

Sometimes she will only have the one tiny bit, sometimes more but generally I can get her to try nearly anything with this method. I also make sure to let her try things fresh/cooked and even frozen. She HATES cooked carrot but cant get enough of it raw and doesnt mind frozen peas but doesnt like them fresh or cooked etc...

That being said though I continue to serve her veggies as part of her meal with the hope that one day she will eat them. It doesnt cost that much if i have to throw it away and it just shows her what a normal meal should look like... veggies and all LOL! ;)

I do give her vitamins though to supplement what she's not getting from food, but she goess CRAZY on fruit so I'm not so stressed about the veggies. You only eat veggies 1 meal a day (usually) fruit you can eat all day long. I'd rather she liked lots of fruits :)

[Biene]

I was just like your son as a child...it used to drive my parents nuts!

I would do just that - gag on veges, I was not able to swallow them, they just wouldn't go down.

It has taken me years to get over my vege phobia, but small steps - I ate my first carrot this year :smiliedance: and yes they were yum!

So please don't force him, he may just dig his heels in like me and refuse, try maybe adding tiny bits, like trimming the head of a broccoli and stirring it in his food - but not too much otherwise they can taste the difference.

[hopefullnanny]

lm lucky dd is two and still eats well but l have seen a couple of great ideas. There is a book writtern by Jessica Seinfeld. l have forgotten the name of the book. l seen it on oprah. Its about hiding vegies in other foods for eg cauliflower in nuggets. Its about finding a vegie that is the same colour so kids dont know the difference. The lady says to make the food at night so the kids dont see. Hope this makes sense she will have to check the book out. Also Latina pasta have just made a new kids pasta that had cheese and vegies in it. Good Luck

[Bo0tifuL]

Thanks for the help everyone. something has clicked in ds1's head, he is starting to eat everything!

Yesterday he ate apple , he used to eat it as a baby but as he got older and learnt the words no he didnt want it. I was eating it and he was hanging around me like a fly and i kept going oh this is so nice, daddy do you want to try some, mmmm it tastes a little bit like chocolate...
He sat on my knee and i put a bit in his mouth and he was like your right it does taste a bit like chocolate. Then for dinner he had pasta sausages carrots and potato, there was nothing left on his plate :D

Im such a proud mum atm. Now next on the list, turning him into a good little boy haha.

[Chickadee]

Awesome Bootiful!!

Sounds like you've got him figured out :yelclap: