S and I are not picky eaters, but we have a picky eater in X. I recently began to wonder if his pickiness is indicative of other issues or allergies, but nothing is so pronounced that it warrants further investigation...yet. He has his favorite foods and depending on his mood may or may not (usually not) eat the other foods we put in front of him. He goes through spurts...for a while he got excited about carrots and broccoli, now he won't eat them. I've been able to get him to eat salad (lettuce and dressing) recently, and that's currently the extent of his vegetable eating. The funny thing about all of this is when we ask how he's eating at day care, and they say "He eats everything!". They do recognize that he tends to be picky and depending on the day may want to eat all the bread and apples, but no beef stew, for example, but for the most part, they don't seem to have the same struggle that we have. Dinner time for us generally ends with X not eating much. We give him what we are eating, and I tend to deconstruct the meal so that he isn't overwhelmed by mixing, but more often than not (unless it's spaghetti, mac n' cheese, or cheese pizza), he brings a full plate back to the sink. Sometimes we can encourage him to taste what's on his plate, and occasionally he'll get super excited about it and gobble it up (lamb tikka masala for example). More often than not, he'll take the teeniest bite, make a face, and that's the end of it.
I worry that we aren't doing enough, and I my view is colored by friends who have kids who eat everything that's handed to them vs. friends whose kids have obvious sensory and eating issues. X is neither. So, I suppose that he's the kid who falls under "typical?"
Recently we began feeding Baby Z some rice cereal as he's been inhaling 36oz of formula a day and for the most part barely going 3 hours in between feedings. It's a bit early to start solids, but we'll stick to the bland, easy to digest rice cereal for a few weeks. I watched both videos we took on their first cereal feedings and the difference between the two is stark. The first time that X was fed rice cereal, he wouldn't open his mouth. The first time I fed Baby Z rice cereal, he was curious and willing to eat, playing with it, smiling, and trying to grab hold of the spoon.
There was a hilarious incident one Fall day when X and his cousin found ripe tomatoes still on the vine. They both picked two, sat down on chairs facing each other and bit into tomatoes at the same time. She ate hers with gusto, X spit his bite out. But he tried it! Maybe X will learn from Z?
I've got a picky eater. He wasn't picky until he hit about 2. Now, he likes anything sweet and hates ALL vegetables. Sigh. I can't say I'm an adventurous eater myself and find it difficult to make him eat things I wouldn't eat--I.e, green veggies. Forcing him to try new foods ended up in a giant puke at the table (our first experience with kid vomit) so we backed off. We are telling him he can't have dessert, if we are having it, unless he eats one bite of whatever we are eating. It's a fine line though because it often involves gagging and I certainly don't want any more puking. I was a picky eater in my childhood and my sister was worse so I do wonder if there is a genetic component. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI was a picky eater. I'm still not great, so it didn't surprise me that my daughter was too. She was pretty good as a baby but as soon as she hit toddlerhood she stopped eating everything but a few "favorites." The thing is she barely wants to eat her favorites. Really, she just wants to eat goldfish. My son has been picky since we started baby led weaning. He refused to eat for so long that we were refered to an OT. He did eventually eat without needing intervention but he has been as picky as his sister from day one, which I fear doesn't bode well. I hate feeding my kids. It's a source of terrible anxiety for me. When they were sick for a week I reveled in not having to prepare them food and fight with them about eating it--I'd rather my kids be sick than have to feed them! That is how bad it is. Anyway, I do understand your concern and frustration. It's hard.
ReplyDeleteX sounds completely normal to me - I have kids all over the map and even as they get older they go through phases. Come to think of it, I do too!
ReplyDeleteI have no advice as to what is normal obviously, but I understand the stress of wondering! I didn't take a video, but the first time we tried to feed E rice cereal she screamed bloody murder. Someone on twitter said "Rice cereal is gross. Switch to something else." Little did we know...
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