How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

I swear my child is on a planet of her own. She has been since at least 8 months old! I can almost never get her to eat anything new. She just LOOKS at it and refuses to eat it, even if I haven't fed her in hours. I'm at my wits end because now she is just flat out refusing to eat dinner. I'm lucky if I can get her to at least eat a smoothie.

She used to love chicken and the Dr. Praeger's sweet potato nuggets, but that has since ended and she no longer will eat it. She will not eat pasta of any sort. She is not a vegetable person. She does really like fruit and will eat most kinds, thankfully, but she is starting to even refuse that.

She will eat: waffles, pancakes, some broth based soup (if she feels like it), toast with butter and cinnamon (if she feels like it), cheese sticks, goldfish, applesauce, French fries on occasion, chicken nuggets, smoothies, yogurt, homemade mini muffins, ABCs and 123s on occasion, and that's about it.

I've tried countless times to offer new foods, I've put it on her plate, I've even tried to get her to just lick it! She just refuses to put anything new in her mouth. She won't even try new foods at daycare. I was hoping they could get her to eat something new. Anyone have any advice, tricks or something? I just want her to eat and I'm running out of things to make her!

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

Is she underweight?

If not, I'm a fan of the theory that no kid has ever starved themselves to death.

I offer, if kid eats, great! If not, they wait til next meal.

I don't feed any snacks & the kids eat what I eat.

They test me, often... But also have big palates and eat everything from kale to olives to fish & everything inbetween. They must take one bite of proposed new food (usually, they like it). Who knew a 2 year old would love salmon and a 4 year old could smoothly eat olives around the pits? Who knew the kids would like duck more than any other meat?

Heck yes, they would only eat Cheerios, bread and butter and candy, if that was a choice, but it's not.

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

Your DD sounds a lot like mine! It is a constant battle with food! There are only certain things that she'll eat (mostly the same things your DD eats). I even had her in feeding therepy thinking it was a texture thing. After a while she would only eat the food there and not at home! So I stopped it. I've offered her one thing and that was it and she would refuse it and not want anythng to do with it and it would be an all day battle! Then she would have a meltdown and it was turing into a vicious cycle. I have her well visit apointment next month and will discuss with the dr again. And she's around three other kids all day who eat everything under the sun, but nope, not my kid. I understand how you feel! It's so frustraiting! Besides standing on my head, I have no idea what to do for her either.

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

Sounds like DS. He used to be a great eater until he realized he doesn't have to eat whatever we put in front of him, and that he can TALK and TELL US what he wants. So it's mac and cheese ALL.THE.TIME. We just keep trying new foods and once in a while he'll pick it up and take a bite. I think it's pretty typical for young children as a way to exert their independence.

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

Thanks for the replies so far! I'm so glad she's not just completely weird! Yes, unfortunately my DD is a stubborn little spitfire and tries to exert her independence in every way she possibly can. This just happens to be her biggest area for that.

She is a snacker and I know that can be part of the issue. However, the days that I've even not given her any snacks, she still refuses to eat what I put in front of her. I'm actually pretty sure she WOULD starve herself to death. She is really just that stubborn. She is able to communicate enough to tell me what she wants, but most of what she wants for dinner involves nothing substanstial. When I won't let her have it, it turns into the biggest tantrum of all time and she won't let it go for hours sometimes!

On a rare occasion she will take a bite of something new, but it's never more than one bite and it typically gets spit back out and then she never eats it again.

I really pray this phase ends soon. It's not fun at all!

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

I feel your pain...my son is 22 months and is sooo incredibly picky.

He will only eat:

Grilled Cheese
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Ravioli
Mac & Cheese
Spagetti & Sauce
Fruit (all kinds)
Pancakes
Waffles
Eggs (sometimes)
Crackers

He wont drink milk...if i put anything else in his sippy cup other than water he just pushes it away in disgust...lol.

If I give him anything else other than the above, he wont even touch it and if I try and force him, he freaks out, so I dont even bother anymore.

At least he's eating...i wish he had a healthier diet but what am I supposed to do? I have tried to give him EVERYTHING andI just end up throwing it away in the garbage...it's so wasteful. So I just give him what I know he will eat and thats it.

He is also not a big dinner eater....but he eats OK for breakfast and lunch and snacks alot so I jut assume he doesnt need/want it.

From what I am told this is very normal and he should grow to like more things as he gets older. Guess we'll see!

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

Is there anything she loves? Dd thankfully is pretty adventurous but when she's going through phases of pickiness the rule is she gets a little bit of what I know she likes like noodles but she has to try the vegetable before she gets more noodles. So she will eat a bite and then I'll give her a bit more noodle. Or I say no yogurt if you don't have two bites of this or that. I don't make it too daunting like you have to finish your salad. She will eat most anything or at least try it at almost 3.

I also agree that a child will not starve themselves but keep trying and don't relent and fall back on safe kid foods. Sounds like you are doing great! They say a child has to taste a new food "x" amount of times before liking/accepting it so don't give up. My niece and nephew are the pickiest eaters ever and they just eat fruit loops, pizza, nuggets or plain bread (seriously I have not seen them branch out of these items with the exception of plain rice with a fight) instead of the food that is served. They ate nothing of the huge spread at Christmas Eve except plain bread. I think bil and sil are great parents and I know I'm not in their shoes but it' makes me sad that they seemed to have given up completely.

Eta: my niece is 6 and my nephew is 3. Not like a toddler (sometimes there is no reasoning with them at all!!!)

Message edited 3/4/2015 5:25:22 PM.

How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

DS goes through stages. Right now he's on hunger strike. For a long time, he ate guacamole only... Guac is my go-to food with him. Recently, I refuse to give in if he's not planning on eating. I will not offer a second option. I do bribe though- he's obsessed with putting on Chapstick, so I tell him if he eats 4 bites, I'll give him the Chapstick. That works for a bit. Also, if I feed him, he's more inclined to eat. And we let him dip a lot of food. Finally, we eat all meals as a family. He sees me and DH eating the food and we make a big deal about how good it is. Sometimes that works... It's so hard! Good luck :)

Re: How on earth do you get your kid to try new foods?

Every 2 year old is stubborn & does power struggles. Heck, my almost 5 year old does too.

If she's growing ok, you can try lots of things.

With that diet, she should probably be on a multivitamin...

Ask your pediatrician! That's the best person for advice & it will be specific to your child!