my son was such a picky eater--then all of a sudden at 27 months, he'll eat ANYTHING!! It all comes with time...as long as he's eating, I wouldn't worry too much!! GOOD LUCK!

My daughter, 15.5 months, is picky too. She still eats a lot of baby food because I can't get her to eat much more than strawberries, Puffs, and a little cheese. I hope you get some good suggestions.

Ughhh, my son (also Elijah) is 18mos and won't touch anything besides dairy, fruit and junk (crackers, the Gerber snack food, fruit loops and goldfish). He won't even try any meat, veggies or pastas. I feel your pain, it is sooooo FRUSTRATING!! The only thing left that I can think of is to stop offering ANY of the foods he'll eat and only offer meat, veggies and/or pasta. I realize he WILL eat when he's hungry, but I don't think I can do that. Besides feeling horrible for it, I don't know that I have the patience to deal with his screaming and fits that I KNOW will come with that strategy. I do think if I could do it that it would probably work since it's not like he's trying these foods and not liking them and spitting them out. He simply won't touch or try them. Let me know if you figure it out.

Heidi

what does he eat? And what doesn't he eat?

My friends son had had a texture issue. He was picky with different textures making feeding him almost impossible. They actually had to see some sort of food therapist...I dont know the correct name for it...but one thing she said was to make a big batch of meatballs and freeze them. And then every single day offer one to him. Put it on his tray...he may not eat it at all but eventually if he keeps seeing it he will. Maybe you can try that too. Keep offering him a small portion of something he wont eat and maybe eventually he will start to.

i agree that it could be a texture issue. my daughter doesnt eat a lot of foods because she doesnt like the texture, i am the same way. no onions, no tomatoes, no meat, no fish.

there are a lot of things we have done. 1) beans! most kids LOVE beans and they are easy to add to things. we use black beans instead of meat in tacos and i put them in cheese quesadillas. 2) DIPS! kids love to dip! try make him quesadillas, chicken nuggets, carrot sticks, etc. and then giving him ranch, ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, etc. just a little bit can often times make them eat more. 3) try steaming veggies. my kids LOVE steamed veggies. especially carrots and broccoli. 4) dried fruit or fresh fruit for snacks. 5) make sure that he is taking a GOOD daily multi-vitamin. you best bet is ordering online. the stuff at the stores isnt very good.

One thing I've heard is that all kids will be picky at one time or another. The best solution is just don't give up but don't push either. Give yourself a type of timeline. If say your child refuses a specific food one day try it another. If it seems to be a consistant refusal then take the food away and don't worry about forcing it on him. Then it say 4-6 months later reintroduce the food. As kids grow so do thier tastebuds. Constantly trying to force your kids to eat something they hate will make them reluctant to try new things in the future. I am sadly a relection of this... I hate to try new things. I remember vividly my mom trying to force us to eat her cooked spinach recipe she had made and it wasn't just one or 2 occasions... she made it all the time. It was nasty. Then cooked or raw I wouldn't eat spinach. I finally found that I can do well with baby spinach leaves in a salad but those memories still make me hesitant to try new things.

My son had a weak stomach like his dad, but my daughter would try anything. What I did with them and all kids I raised, (I had a daycare in my home), was put small amounts of healthy foods on their plate and let them choose what they liked.

Depending on the age, I made sure it was colorful...carrots, squash, peas, fruits, and no processed foods full of sodium.

After serving small amounts, if they wanted more, have at it and added more! I also didn't make an issue of it so it didn't become a power struggle. I kept candy and junk foods out of their sight because I'm a sweet eater. They're grown now and don't really care for sweets!

Yep, forcing is bad. My daughter is for the most part a picky eater. She just went through two growth spurts, so she has been eating me out of house and home lately.

I've tried just about every single technique and approach. Various textures, offering a choice of foods, not feeding her unless she would eat what I prepare, to pinning DD down and forcing her to take food (which takes three people to do and is stressful for everyone). Go with the flow and keep offering different types of foods until you find something he likes.

Don't make it into a battle. I know you'll feel nervous at times, but listen to your child and what his/her body is telling you. Some kids have a high gag reflex. Others have a slow metabolism and don't need much food. If you get really worried about your son's eating, go in and chat with a pediatrician.