16. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 7:59 am PST

My kids eat what I put in front of them and they all started out as picky eaters. We started when they were about 18 months old and told them if they didn't eat, they would get down. That young, I gave them the chance to eat every hour afterward, but always put the same plate in front of them. As they got older, the rules would change according to what they could handle. Like the 4 year old can't get down until he eats 5-10 bites. And has to try 2 bites of each food. I don't make them eat leftovers the next day of something they really hated though. My philosophy is that back in the day, there weren't choices and those kids ate what was put in front of them. I refuse to make separate meals for my kids. I have 3 now and that is just too stressful to do. And it is definitely not necessary. For the first little while they throw fits, but they catch on pretty quick. Sometimes my 4 year old doesn't like something and declares himself that he is only eating 5 bites. I don't hear a peep from him the rest of the night about being hungry. He knows he had the chance. And guess what- vegetables are the first things to get eaten. I always have provided balanced homemade meals for them and they have only had whole grain breads. They actually prefer them. We have very relaxing meal times. My mother did this for me and my siblings (there were 8 of us) you better believe she wasn't going to make separate meals. We all love our food, not one of the 6 girls (or the boys) have eating disorders, and we all eat anything put in front of us. The modern idea of not trying to scare your kids by not making them eat food they don't want is ridiculous. This idea is a product of an "I want" society. It's not necessary.

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17. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 7:59 am PST

Feeding picky eaters was the topic for this blog, i don't understant what this has to do with it. No examples but some sugar filled pastery?? If you get pd to sot this stuff on the internet, maybe I should give it a try to make some easy cash

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18. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:01 am PST

I had the king of fickle eaters in my son while he was young! He would not eat anything but plain chicken and mashed potatoes for nearly 6 years. I tried everything to get him to try new things. As he grew older, my strategy changed. I continued to explore new items and would invite people over to do the same. We began to exclude him as a matter of fact, and he quickly became extremely interested. Now just a few years later, he prides himself on being the person who offers the new and exotic foods to our group!!! His favorite foods now consist of sushi, steak, raw and steamed veggies and on and on. He is a pleasure to go out with now; although I can see that he leans toward being a food snob now when other people refuse to try new things. My have the tables turned.

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19. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:02 am PST

all the comments that were posted were a great help though, i'm glad i clicked to read read the comments after reading the unhelpful article.

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20. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:02 am PST

My daughter is nine now and I have been dealing with her "diet" issues since she was 4. All of a sudden she didn't like things. And to this day I have a hard time getting her to try foods, etc. I don't know what to do. I offer her new foods and she'll try it, if I am lucky, and say she doesn't like it or likes it a little but doesn't want it. She's not much of a meat eater or sandwich eater so what can Iprovide her that is healthy yet pleasing to her. Any advice would be good here. I am out of my mind!!

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21. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:09 am PST

I am a nanny and take care of a 1 and half yr old girl who is a VERY picky eater...she will drink milk and water more then trying to eat. any suggestions?

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22. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:18 am PST

If you are a "foodie" then how in the world would your child know what a toaster pastry is? It is shameful to give that to your child. If your child only has healthy options to choose from then he is only going to eat healthy food. Plain and simple.

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23. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:26 am PST

ZZZZZZ Make your article less Boring to the children like me

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24. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:32 am PST

Both of my children are very adventurous eaters. They will generally try any food at least once. My wife and I accomplished this by refusing to pander to their food whims and desires. From the time they were babies food was put out and eaten, there was no discussion about the hows and whys and ifs of the food, it just was. If they chose not to eat the meal, they were hungry. I think it took one or two missed meals to get the point across. I think that "picky eating" is just a symptom of one the major problems with parenting in the U.S. today. We put entirely too much thought and concern into our childrens desires, likes, dislikes and opinions. This is not to say that they should not be treated fairly and feel free to express their ideas and opinions; in our family, we never criticize our childrens' opinions and we do evaluate them. However, certain issues are not topics for discussion; Dinner, how you speak to your grandmothers, what you wear to school, how and when you do your homework, etc. Think about your professional life, does your boss evaluate every idea you have, entertain every notion you come up with? If you are the boss do you honestly have time to make sure every employee likes every thing you do as a boss and as a company? I doubt it. So if you show your children, from infancy, that they are the center of the world; that every thing they say, do, think and feel should be discussed and compromised until they are satisfied with the outcome, how will they ever cope with the adult world? The finest two lessons I have learned in parenting came from my mother. #1 - I would love to be your friend, but I am your parent first. #2 - My job as your mother is to teach you how to be a responsible, considerate, compassionate adult.

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25. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:34 am PST

Coming from a r.d. - I was hoping for something a bit more insightful. Any parent knows this info. - tell us something we don't know or have not thought of.

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26. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:40 am PST

To joanbev13, my son was the same way, it's not a power trip or game it's genuine. with my son it was the texture he had trouble with and was grossed out. i just started slow with small chunks of peaches, banana's and potatoes and gradualy added from there, it works, but takes time. good luck!

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27. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:43 am PST

Will you please post some recipies for quick breakfast that aren't the usual cereal and milk?

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28. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:46 am PST

This is so true!I'm a very picky eater and the thing is that I been like that since I was small so now is VERY hard for me to eat I only eat things like spaghetti,plantains,rice n beans or with gandules and that's about it!

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29. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:51 am PST

I am an adult who is a picky eater. As a child, I was made to eat what was put in front of me whether I liked it or not. I feel that forcing kids to eat foods they don't like will only cause them to be that much more picky as time goes on. I speak from personal experience.

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30. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 8:51 am PST

This is a great article and all, but please tell people what theyshould feed their pickey eaters. I am very big on nutrition and kids. Don't provide junk food in the house theywont want it. Kids wil eat what's there. Yu provide junk they will eat junk. Treat kids as if they are a smaller version of you. you wouldn't eat that hot dog because it's bad for you so, don't provide it in the house for you kids. Substatute the candy for fruit. Supstatute the chips for veggies i.e carrots, peppers etc.

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