3 yr old-eating ?

my 3 yr wants to eat the same thing over and over for lunch/dinner. She will only eat bagels, pizza, chicken, pastina for lunch/dinner she won't try anything else. We had lasagna for dinner last night. My little one ate some but my 3 yr old won't even try it. I want her to eat more things but she won't even try a little bit of it. I really don't know what to do. At what age does she finally expand her palate?

TIA

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

Im in the same boat! Pizza, grilled cheese, tacos, and pasta are the only meals he eats

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

Same issue here. DS is 3.5 and only eats pizza, pasta & chicken. I do notice that if DH is eating something like a snack in the living room while they are watching tv he will try it but if it's at the dinner not at all. At this point we just rotate what he does eat.

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

I feel you pain - same with both my boys. I figure they will eventually move on

3 yr old-eating ?

Same here...DS will only eat pasta with butter, pizza, meatloaf, and soup either minestrone or chicken broth.

Otherwise, its a gamble with whatever we make and whether he's willing to try it (most times he's not).

Like a PP stated, if DH or myself are eating something he will run and grab a spoon or fork and help himself to what we are eating. However, if I make it for him another day, he won't bother with it.

It's frustrating because he use to eat so much more when he was a year or so. Now meal times make me go batty trying to think of what to make him.

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

Same situation as well with my 3 year old.
He will eat: cereal, pizza, pasta, meatballs, french toast, pancakes, apples, grapes, baked chicken (my way only, if chicken is cooked in a different way, he won't eat it)

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

I make one thing for dinner... if my 3.5 year old doesn't eat it, he doesn't eat dinner. No substitutions! He can go to bed a little hungry. I am absolutely fine with that. We have certain rules that he knows and accepts. When he doesn't eat veggies at dinner he will tell me, "Mommy, no dessert tonight because I'm not eating my zucchini" - that's his choice.

We all eat the same thing as a family.... mommy, daddy and all 3 kids (3.5, 1 and 1).

What happens if you don't make him the other foods?

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

dd just turned 3 and is on and off but recently a bit better.She cooks ALOT with my husband ont he weekends and is always willing to try what ever he is cutting. She will eat basil, parsley etc as he's cutting it. haha but if its on cooked food on her plate that food is "dirty".

What I have been doing lately is making her eat x amount of bites. Last night we had pasta. She didn't want it. Finally came around saying she wanted bread. I told her to eat 5 pieces of pasta. then she can have some bread. Sometimes I count, but skip some bites and count after. Sometimes I tell her ok, take another bite as I butter the bread and butter really slowly haha.

DD is so picky she only wants hot dogs. Sometimes she'll eat a meatball, grilled cheese, chicken nugget (very rarely lately).

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

3 yr old-eating ?

My DS is the same way - he's branched out a little bit recently though thankfully (he's always been a picky eater).

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

I feel your pain with my 2.5 year olds! I don't know what to do. I just keep trying.

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

True story:
A few weeks ago one of DD's bday presents was delivered by FedEx. She kept asking what was in the box and we just told her "a surprise". Fast forward to dinner...she didn't want to eat what was on her plate so my husband says,"OK well...that's what was in the box...the Gabbas send this dinner from Gabbaland for you. They eat this all the time!" The kid fell for it. Now we use that (or any other fave character) when she won't try something new. It works sometimes, and all I really care is that she TRIES new things.

Of course last night when I put veggies in the meatloaf...no amount of convincing her that's how Doc McStuffins mom makes it was gonna get her to eat it. lol.

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

3 yr old-eating ?

Tough one.
We wanted to do the 'eat what we serve or starve' method but really we just kept food around. But we kept food around we WANTED her to eat and never eat foods we dont want to eat in the house. of COURSE she wanted chicken nuggets and we would take her to the freezer and hold her up to see them when we made them and show her when we had none. She learned to open the fridge and look in herself.

For us her favorites are veggies so its hard to complain. But yes, I WANT her to try new stuff and generally i can get her to taste stuff by saying NO. You CANT have that its mine and 'fight' with daddy to keep it away from her while he wiggles out his arm to give her a piece of my salmon, almonds, cranberries, chicken, etc. Generally she'll try it. If she doesnt like it then fine. Tastes change and I can accept that as long a she FINISHES that bite and she generally does and says 'no thank you' when I ask her if she wants more. But if she likes it, she'll take my plate and sit down to eat it. Then I make a big deal of getting my own.

Its a game

But we dont eat pizza at home unless we make it (like once every two months), we dont have chicken nuggets around for her and she prefers her pasta with no sauce and veggies mixed. She'll eat 2 bowls of green beans for breakfast if I let her. So i just focused on giving her stuff she likes that also happen to be good for her and let her control those while 'trying' other things.

For me SHOWING Her we dont have one thing and providing OTHER choices widens her horizons. I still have standbys but they are limited and it forces her to eat other stuff or go hungry. Sure she was cranky here and there but she always came around to trying something with a 'fine' stamped on it. But I never FORCED her to eat something or offer more than once (then its patronizing) I just said here it is, try it or not, its all we got.

She does send me to the store with a list of wants but still hasnt figured out I only by what *I* want her to eat. LOL

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

My advice is to keep offering her a variety.

My 5 year old eats everything we do, always has. Our 3 year old is more picky. I still offer him what the rest of us are eating. He will eat some stuff, but reject others.

His diet is slowly expanding. If he is hungry after dinner for not eating enough, he gets fruit, usually a banana.

I say still offer a variety, and don't make special items. I will sometimes curtail the seasoning/ sauce for my 3 year old, but he still essentially gets the same meal.

Re: 3 yr old-eating ?

I am having the same issue with DD1. She is 3.5 and wants to eat pizza and pasta with melted cheese all of the time. Its a battle to get her to eat anything else