If they don't want to eat vegetables or some kind of food, what we do is tell them to just try it and if they don't like it, then he/she does not have to eat it.

never had this problem? BS, only way you didn't is if you don't have kids.

kutiel wrote:never had this problem? BS, only way you didn't is if you don't have kids.

You see, it's like many things that experienced parents tell or show other couples who don't have kids of their own but have talked about it or are expecting.

"Of course my kids never have a problem eating their vegetables."

Another fun one is (after cleaning all day in preparation for childless couples to visit):

"Yes my house really is always this clean - the kids are so easy and helpful!"

Then the other couples are fooled, and have their own kids. Then we laugh. Maniacally.

kutiel wrote:never had this problem? BS, only way you didn't is if you don't have kids.

Surprisingly my kids would just as well have an apple or orange as sweet snack after school. Likewise, they have always liked and asked for carrots, broccoli, corn, spinach, green beans, salad, and 1 of them even likes peas. They like the same ones I do, so we don't have the issue of the kids not liking veggies. If they aren't in the mood for them, I will generally just ask them to eat some and they will. But overall my kids like veggies and salad and fruit and such. Don't get me wrong, they also enjoy ice cream and candy from time to time, but they are very active and eat well.

Really all you have to do is show preferences just like they do and it works out. Daughter #1 won't touch brussel sprouts `cause I won't, (#2 and her mother mow through them like grass.) #1 and I like spear guts but the other two can't stand the smell. We all like cauliflower and bro-colli and stuff. I don't like alfredo, they don't like their steak to still have a pulse.

kutiel wrote:never had this problem? BS, only way you didn't is if you don't have kids.

I don't, actually. My three-year-old will eat cauliflower, spinach, squash, etc. with no problem. I've fixed asparagus for breakfast before because he's asked for it. He usually ends up stealing the veggies from MY plate.

artulo wrote:Then the other couples are fooled, and have their own kids. Then we laugh. Maniacally.

Thanks for the laugh! Unfortunately, I never manage to pull that off.

I tell myself that we're in the picky toddler/preschooler age (he'll be 3 in March), but sometimes that's just not enough. Sometimes he loves broccoli, other times he won't touch it. If it looks slightly different than he's used to he won't eat it. For example, earlier this week I presented his black bean sweet potato chili as a side on his divided plate instead of as the main part of the meal in a bowl. He wouldn't even take one bite of what is usually one of his favorite dishes.

Somehow my parents turned me and my siblings into fruit and veggie lovers. I remember that they only required us to taste each thing; we didn't have to eat it all unless we dished it ourselves. At this point, I often can't get him to taste, even if I say something like, "You can have milk if you taste the green bean." We even try playing with our food, "It's a green bean snake, ssssss!"

I guess I'll just keep trying. I read somewhere that kids need to be introduced to something new at least a dozen times.

Toss veggies in the blender with applesauce. Our toddler will eat anything that has a semblance of applesauce (even if it's been turned green by broccoli).

I would shred the carrots in the stew or soup. I'd add a few chopped ones so they could pick them out and they wouldn't know the shredded ones were there!

roni24 wrote:If they don't want to eat vegetables or some kind of food, what we do is tell them to just try it and if they don't like it, then he/she does not have to eat it.

Yep, that's how I handle it too.

My mom tells me that she used to put sugar on my veggies when I was a kid to get me to eat them. As time went on she slowly put less and less sugar on them until finally all she'd have to do is let me watch her pretending to sprinkle sugar on them and I would eat them. After a while she stopped doing that and now as an adult I like veggies. Pretty smart idea, I think.

I usually use well-reasoned argumentation to expound the benefits of vegetables and encourage my son to have the discipline to do things that may not be pleasant now but have long-term positive outcomes. He just turned one. I think he gets it.

Veg-o-Matic and a tube

moles1138 wrote:Veg-o-Matic and a tube

no, I don't have kids

kutiel wrote:never had this problem? BS, only way you didn't is if you don't have kids.

LOL, my son has always eaten pretty much anything. Onions are his only hate, but if they are small enough and buried enough then he will just not care. He's 16 now but even at like 6 his favorite food was sushi. Requests vegetarian pizzas just to get the extra veggies. Stuff like that. BUT, I've always said, he's never been a "kid" but always a small adult.

Now his little sister who is 3...SHE is an impossible eater. Even as an infant she wouldn't touch vegetable mush but would eat fruits. Now she won't touch anything except, literally, the following: spaghetti (no other shape) with butter and parmesan, bread with butter (it may be toasted with APRICOT jam only), cinnamon toast crunch cereal, the occasional mcdonalds chicken nugget but never one from another place, pungent cheeses like gorgonzola, and a baked potato with the skin removed - but not MASHED potatoes. She won't each french fries, hamburgers, pizza, or any other "kid" food. Anything that she does eat on the very weird occasion that she does try something else, it must all be dipped in blue cheese dressing.

so, how do I handle her not eating veggies or fruits - or really anything? I offer food and let her know it's available. If she doesn't want to eat, I'm not going to force her. I make normal dinners for the rest of the family and offer her bits of it. I will make a little something for her that she WILL eat. I figure one day she will open up and try something else. We tried the "just try it once" thing with her for a long time but she would immediately freak out and try to hide herself. Odd child. I figure she will always be a picky eater but as she grows she will figure out that sometimes you will find something new you like.

They eat the veggies they like and cry about the veggies they don't like...so I usually make a veggie mix and split it between them.

Then I threaten them with bed.

And I have to kick my husband every time he makes a derogatory comment about the food we are eating, because that always influences the meal that they would have no problem eating otherwise.

Mix them in with other things they DO like...for instance...cauliflower in mashed potatoes....

They'll sit there until they eat it. They often stay up until midnight when we have liver and onions.