Should I give in? Day 4 of 5 year old not eating what I make for food.

Question

My 5 year old is the pickiest eater I’ve ever met. As far as us and her doctor knows, she has no health issues and is just a picky eater for years. I always had to alter meals for her or make her a separate dinner altogether. If we went out to restaurants she wouldn’t eat anything unless they had pizza. 
4 days ago I started giving her what we eat as a family and that’s it. Breakfast she has her usual waffles or toast (refusing to eat more than a bite of fruit with it) and her gummy vitamins. All she drinks is water but plenty of it. 
One breakfast I made pancakes homemade she didn’t touch it.
One lunch I made cheese quesadillas with yellow rice didn’t touch it. 
Dinner I made alfredo and she didn’t touch it. (Usually has plain noodles).
Another dinner I made bean enchiladas, she didn’t touch it.
Another dinner I made hot dogs and fries with fruit, she didn’t touch it but a few fries.
I am at my wits end and afraid she is going to be like this forever. I don’t know if I should give in and just give her her usual old picky meals or stick it out and she keeps starving herself.

Accepted Answer

Give in now and you’ll be doing it her entire childhood. She will eventually eat. I’m going through periods of this with my two year old. She’ll completely starve herself for a day or two, then eat everything in sight the third day. Other times she’ll refuse everything but bread or fries, then a week will go by and suddenly she’ll eat fruit and veggies. It ebbs and flows. Very annoying, but imho we can’t cater to their whims. Keep offering whole good meals.

Answer

Check out @feedinglittles and @biglittlefeelings on IG. It can take 15-20 exposures to something to get them to even interact with the food let alone actually eat it. That’s why exposure is important. Continue giving a plate of the meal the rest of the family is eating and always offer a “safe food” on their plate, aka something you know they will eat. 
Also, while it’s definitely not a solution, have you tried smoothies? You can hide lots of veggies and nutrients behind the sweet flavors of the fruits. So that may help? It’s worth a shot anyways. 
Another thing to try is dips. When my boy is going through his picky stages dips help sooo much. Getting them involved in preparing meals can help too. 
Good luck mama! ❤️

Answer

My little isnt that old yet but we were having the same problems so when it came time for meals i started letting her pick one side dish that she wanted and she was able to get a portion of that (and no more until she ate more of her meal). Sometimes with kids that young its a control thing too because there isnt much in their world that they have control over except their bodies. And if there are meals that you can compromise on a little bit (like the alfredo and her wanting plain noodles) i would try to accommodate that. But i wouldnt continue to make entire separate meals

Answer

Just keep offering her things and eventually she will pick up more goods she likes. I was the same way I was sooo picky

Answer

Don't give in. Just wrap her plate and keep it in the fridge. It will be there if she wants to eat. It sounds like she's pushing boundaries but it won't last long with you standing your ground.

Answer

Our 5 year old eats what we give her or she doesn't eat. She does get some choices like at breakfast or if we're out to eat. She won't starve herself. What helps us tge most is just putting tge food in front if her and not making any comments on it. If she says it's gross or she doesn't like it I just say "well you don't have to eat it but I'm not making something else" and if it's supper I hold onto it until bed time and if shes hungry any time between then and bed, that's what she gets offered

Answer

My mom always made me separate meals -I just like plain stuff really so any pasta dish -plain noodles chicken dish- plain chicken so on and so forth. She never forced me to eat anything I would try stuff but would never like anything and would get the plain noodles lol I’m still extremely picky and I can’t get out of it 😂 I almost wish she’d had forced me when I was a kid. I don’t have any advice though I don’t have kids. I know a lot of the nurses I used to work with would always say give them the food and if they don’t eat it save it for when they complain about being hungry and eventually they give in and eat it. They always said the kid won’t starve to death. I think that would be cruel but again I’m not a parent and I am a picky eater 😂

Answer

Not sure if it will help, but try having her pick things with you at the grocery store and let her help with the cooking? Maybe this will help her feel more willing to try the food since she was involved in the process.

Answer

I’d suggest continuing to offer the foods to her, but maybe try to tweak it in a way that helps cater to her demands? For example- if she likes plain noodles VS Alfredo, why not make the sauce on the side and let her choose if she wants it or if she just wants plain noodles? I don’t think you have to make separate meals for her, but I think it’s reasonable to give her options shes more likely to want. That’s how my mom did it growing up at least

Answer

Unfortunately this habit was fostered by you when you started making separate meals for her. I think what you need to do now is not give in. Her hunger will make her cave in eventually. What you say is, this is what we are eating right now. If you don't want it, it's fine but I'm not making you anything else. She can throw a fit, it's fine, just ignore it. She needs to see that you won't succumb to her pickiness.

Should I give in? Day 4 of 5 year old not eating what I make for food.

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