Need book recs - dealing with picky eater

[arivecchi]

I know most posters here like the Sayter (sp?) books. I need to read up for the issues we have with DS1.

DS1 is becoming a really picky eater. I tend to think he will grow out of it while DH is obsessed with making him eat more. Please help me educate myself on this issue.

[brittone2]

Satter is good. Her website has some info if you want to get a feel for it. I have never read her actual books but we pretty much follow her approach.
http://www.ellynsatter.com/

(disclaimer-in the lounge recently there was a thread about this approach for kids, and there was some back and forth as the OP's child seemed to have some possible indicators of sensory issues coming into play. I think there are children who have exceptional circumstances w/ eating that Satter's books are not geared toward, kwim? But in a child who is typically developing and is just picky in a typical toddler/preschooler way, I think Satter's approach is good).

There's an awesome (eta: it is an old thread!) MDC thread (pages and pages long...) about snack trays. I found that concept worked well when my kids were going through pickier stages. It helped increase the variety they would eat.

A few other things I've found helpful through the years-when I'm doing dinner prep I would stick some cut up veggies or other healthy snacks out on the counter. I'd eat some of it myself, not saying anything to my kids about it. For whatever reason, they would often start eating more veggies, etc. than they would otherwise. Sure, they probably ate less at dinner but I viewed it as part of their meal and I was fine w/ it. You could bring out the snack tray from earlier in the day too. I think the key is to be totally nonchalant about it...no comment from you. I would just eat what I was putting out as I cooked and somehow they just would do the same many times. It doesn't always work, but I found it really helped a number of times during picky phases.

Both older kids really like being involved in knowing where their food comes from. I've noticed they are more inclined to eat something that came from the farmer's market if they met the farmer, or from the CSA box because they enjoyed that idea and had visited the farm before. If you can get them involved on a very simple level with prep of food (depending on age) and meal planning, sometimes IME that helps. 2 year olds can scrub potatoes/sweet potatoes or carrots with a little scrub brush...stuff like that. Obviously no one can do this every day but here and there I think it helps spark some interest for some kids. Montessori catalogs often have ideas for things kids can do for meal prep, and you don't have to buy the items out of their catalog. But things like hand held eggbeaters for older kids (say 4-5 yo?), a manual egg slicer for hard boiled eggs, a plastic butter knife and a banana to cut..sometimes I think participating in the prep makes them more likely to eat.

Not all of those ideas will work for every kid, but they were some of the things that helped us through pickier phases.

IME through 2 kids so far, pickiness definitely ebbs and flows and is very normal. My older 2 have both mostly outgrown the picky phase at this point, but I'm sure we'll go through it in spurts with DS2 as well.

[WatchingThemGrow]

This is Ellyn Satter's most general one Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense (http://www.amazon.com/Child-Mine-Feeding-Love-Sense/dp/0923521518/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304616079&sr=8-1)

And some others http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ellyn+satter&sprefix=ellyn+satter

[ashleybama24]

It might help if you could define picky a little further...refuses to eat foods he used to like or only eats foods of one color or only foods that are whole vs cut up etc.


I also agree kids go through phases. My son loved baby yogurt and as soon as I started to buy more than one container at a time, he flat out rejected ALL of it, every last flavor. It's a couple months later and suddenly he is loving my lemon yogurt or Greek yogurt. I just go with it!

[arivecchi]

Thank you! I ordered one of her books from Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Your-Kid-Eat/dp/0915950839/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1304624527&sr=8-2

[wellyes]

I also like http://itsnotaboutnutrition.squarespace.com/
Although some of the stuff she says, though true, isn't easy to take.... here are foods she lists as nutritionally equivelant to pizza:


Pasta with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Grilled cheese sandwich
Quesadilla
Bagel with cream cheese
Macaroni & cheese
Ravioli
Cheese and crackers
Cheese sandwich
Lasagna
Calzones (AKA Pizza Pockets)

aka just about my picky eater's entire diet.
But I like that she's (the nutritionist) is tough because she's right.

[ashleybama24]

A friend of mine is also using Deceptively Delicious. She makes sure she puts the same veggies on her sons plate (which he usually refuses) but knows they are also hidden in the meal which he will eat! I've tried a few of the recipes and they are good!

[elektra]

DD is picky too. She would live on chocolate if she could. Wish I had suggestions but I am winging over here myself. :shrug:
I have read some of the Satter book too, and it doesn't seem to work for us- DD still doesn't eat a variety of foods an prefers sweets. I'm probably doing it all wrong but I had high hopes man.

[infomama]

If you are trying to add more green veggies try green smothies. My dds love them and they taste like fruit smoothies.

[arivecchi]

I'm probably doing it all wrong but I had high hopes man.:rotflmao:

[fedoragirl]

I agree with the snack tray idea. My 15 month old developed an aversion to all foods till I laid out a snack tray filled with cut up veggies and fruits. We still do that even though her appetite has returned. She eats every single thing on that tray while playing or running around.

[arivecchi]

I am referring to my 4 yo. He does not eat off a tray and knows exactly what he likes/does not like. ;)

[daisymommy]

When people talk about snack trays, they don't mean baby high chair trays. They mean a platter/sectioned plate/muffin tin with all kinds of healthy snacks/foods in each compartment (to make it fun and appealing).

You can leave it out on the table or counter top for him to take a piece of food or two out of. Many kids (adults too!), if they don't have to sit still for a long period of time and eat a meal, will eat more in passing, in "graze mode".

If you fill the tray with healthy choices, then it really doesn't matter much if they eat their--cut up fruit/veggies/cheese/nuts, etc.--during meal time or randomly throughout the day.

Here are some ideas:
http://www.cookingtf.com/feeding-children/snacks-and-lunches/
http://habitsforahappyhome.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/back-to-basics-the-lunch-lady/

[arivecchi]

Thanks for the suggestion. We make one meal at home. I really do not want to go down the path of different meals/snacks for the kids.

I just needed to understand whether I truly need to worry about him being a picky eater or whether my DH is right and we do need to try to make him eat a lot more.

[Smillow]

I also like http://itsnotaboutnutrition.squarespace.com/
Although some of the stuff she says, though true, isn't easy to take.... here are foods she lists as nutritionally equivelant to pizza:


Pasta with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Grilled cheese sandwich
Quesadilla
Bagel with cream cheese
Macaroni & cheese
Ravioli
Cheese and crackers
Cheese sandwich
Lasagna
Calzones (AKA Pizza Pockets)

aka just about my picky eater's entire diet.
But I like that she's (the nutritionist) is tough because she's right.

Thanks for posting this link! I think it is going to be very helpful to me & DH to help our son develop good habits - he is 26 months & I feel like we have fallen into a rut.