Help for picky eater DD age 7

[Norrisca1235]

Help! Help!

I need your dinning expertise or suggestions. My DD (age 7) is so picky I can't find anything she likes on many of the Disney menus. She only drinks water and wild cherry juicy boxes. She doesn't like any type of meat except (Burger King) chicken nuggets and Spagetti O's (if that's really meat). She only likes Kraft macaroni and cheese and maybe a grill cheese now and then w/o the crust. She'll eat blueberry muffins, but she picks out the blueberries and she only likes 1 kind of cereal and she eats it dry. She likes plain spagetti noodles with no sauce and 1 kind of yougurt. She won't eat pizza or hot dogs or peanut butter & jelly. It's a problem at home and especially when we travel. She wants to go to several character meals, but I feel like I have to bring my own food because I know she won't eat anything on the menu. I'm having issues paying $15 or more for a character breakfast I know she won't eat. Were staying at Contemporary in May 03 and then on the 7 day cruise, any ideas or suggestions would be very much appreciated..

 

[SamanthaL]

Well plain pasta won't be a problem at the sit down places. I do this all the time with DD. She is not picky though, she just doesn't like sauce.
A buffet may be your best bet believe it or not. Kids get a kick out of serving themselves and having control over how much they put on their plate. I noticed my DD ate alot more at the buffets because she could pick out her own food. She eats everything, fruits, veggies, meats etc. she just eats like a bird. I was very impressed.
Maybe giving your daughter that kind of control and letting her take over will get her to try a new food. Remember most kids need to see a food served 8-10 times before they will try it.
As far a chicken nuggets go they are EVERYWHERE! The mac and cheese is Stofer's (sp).
I hope this helps. I didn't want to imply that you haven't tried everything to get her to eat different foods. My DD refused to eat at 4 months old and was almost hospitalized. We bent over backwards to get her to eat, doctor's orders. I stopped making a big deal about it as she got older and now she is a very healthy eater. Good luck.

 

[Norrisca1235]

Thanks for the reply, I'll try anything. I liked your suggestion. Just in case maybe I 'll stop at a store and buy some spagetti O's and juice boxes for emergency situations.

 

[SamanthaL]

Your welcome. I know exactly how you feel. Try having a 4 month refuse to eat! My next one is bound to be a real eating machine.

 

[honeymom]

My kids are picky, but that being said - I tell them that there are plenty of kid choices and that they have to find something.

While a 7 year old can give you a lot of grief with this type of policy, she is also old enough to understand that if she wants to go to WDW or character meals, she is old enough to try some different foods.

I've had my kids try to skip eating for a while. It doesn't last long. They do get hungry. You will find that especially the buffets - have a lot of choices. However, the chicken nuggets won't be Burger King, etc. I think you should relax and make it her problem if she doesn't want to eat - not yours.

 

[Norrisca1235]

Honeymom,

Thanks for the advice, and to be honest it's not that she won't eat, it's just that she only eats certain things. She will eat 2 cans of spagetti O's and a half loaf of bread and drink 2 juice boxes and still be hungry. On our last cruise our server Balag'e (Hungary) went all over the ship to find her green grapes vice the red. He was wonderful!!! She has no problem skipping meals if there is nothing she likes.....what's a parent to do? Anyway, thanks for the reply!

 

[pooh2001]

My DD does milk and water. Big pizza, pasta (no sauce kid).
no meat (unless fast food nuggets) or Virgina baked ham.
Also #1 kids for Kraft Mac & Cheese (I used to work for them).

Anyway what we did... I always had a bag of her choice of
dry cereals on me. She always could snack on that.
We did a food-stop before we got to the resort.
We bought fruit for her to eat in the room at night or AM.

At eateries.... most have Stoffers mac & cheese. She fell in love with it.
At the HDD, I was able to pre-order her a slice of pizza.
On the pirate cruise, I was able to pre-order a buttered roll.

She loved the large long fruit flavored ices (Ickadoozies ?).

My picky DD did best at breakfast buffets. She could get all the
pancakes she wanted.

do research on the menu's.
We made our PS's based on our DD's tastes - not ours.
We still enjoyed the HDD, Cindy's breakfast, Crystal Palace,
Dolphin Fountian, and Chef Mickeys.
She loved Hollywood & Vine and Liberty Tree Tavern (Minnie, Chip and
Dale made her day).

If she had an off eating day, if she at a peice of fruit at night, I was
ok with it. Fruit, bread and milk. There have been worse diets on
vacation, I am sure.

enjoy

 

[goofy4tink]

Wow. I'm not feeling quite so bad about my dd with the 'discriminating palate'!! She existed on those mini-hot dogs, mac and cheese, and pancakes when we were in wdw last. She is now 9 and I've told her that she must try more types of food. If she doesn't, then she stays home for our next trip, in Aug!! It has actually helped. She is slowly trying more things. After a week of mac and cheese, I thought I'd die if I saw it again when we got home. Your 7 y/o should be okay with the offerings there.

 

[catwho]

Just a few thoughts:

1. I know several families that have taken their child to a buffet (like CP for breakfast) and their child only drank a cup of milk. The CM's only charged the family for the milk. I know another family where they child would only eat plain cheerios. They didn't have any (mom had some in her purse) and brought them out. The CM didn't charge them for her meal either. It happens and CM's are familiar with picky eaters. Our son kept freaking out at our CP breakfast (hadn't warmed up to the Characters yet) and I had to take him out after he had eaten one boiled egg. We waited outside while the rest of our family ate. He was happy playing on the steps. The CM who was our wait person came out and handed me a napkin with 2 muffins, another boiled egg, a to-go-cup with some cheese grits and a cup of juice. She said she noticed that I didn't get to eat very much and wanted to bring me some more breakfast. So the CM's really look out for you and your needs.

2. Our very picky eater (our oldest child) surprisingly ate things at WDW that she never would (and hasn't since) have eaten at home. She isn't quite a picky as your dd, but she is very picky.

3. You can call and make special requests with the places that you are going to eat. Explain your dd's unique eating habits. If it is one kind of cereal that she will eat you may find that they have that cereal or will get it (or you can take it in yourself)

4. Our kids seem to eat less at WDW than they do at home. I hear much less of "I'm hungry" at WDW than at home. Sometimes I have to remind them to stop and eat. Popcorn and Mickey Ice Cream bars are considered meals for our family sometimes at WDW.

5. Try to do mostly counterservice. That way you aren't spending money on food that she won't eat. If she likes the nuggets at one eatery in the world she will like them everywhere.

6. Almost everything is available ala carte. So if she will eat garlic mashed potatoes (OK, pushing it here LOL!) you can order her a side of them at Tusker House. Let your CM wait people know that your dd has a limited selection of food. Sometimes hearing from a CM that something tastes good is enough for some kids.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

She will not starve!! One trip my DS lived on chicken tenders (not the yucky nugget ones) LOL. and fries. He also ate a lot of ice cream. That's milk right? I was very disapointed that the buffets did not have more fruits on them. That was something i knew he would eat and we choose buffets for that reason sometimes. Carry a few cans of spagetti-O's and a box of easy mac and use the resort microwave. Also remember that any sit down will go out of the way to make her happy. Ask for plain pasta, or a grilled cheese even if not on the menu. Have fun and relax the eating worries for the week.


jordan's mom

 

[Norrisca1235]

Goofy4tink, Pooh2001, Catwho and Jordon's Mom,

Thank all of you for your great suggestions and thanks for the morale support. I thought I was all alone with my picky DD's eating habits, but now I don't feel quite so left out. I'll give your suggestions a try and maybe I won't feel so guilty asking the CMs to help me out. Thanks again!

Norrisca1235

 

[Rneighh]

You won't like me response but you asked-------

I believe that picky eaters are made not born. (My pediatrician told me this when my first child was just starting solid foods). Go to the restaurants and order she will eat it if she is hungry. All you are doing by getting her special meals and buying spegettios and special juice is catering to her pickyness. Trust me she won't starve herself to death and may learn to eat more normally.

Renee

 

[honeymom]

Let me explain a little more where I'm coming from.

When DD was a year old and we went to WDW there was very little she would eat. The restaurants were very accomodating of trying to find something for her.

She's less picky now - but, now my DS is the problem. However, I just try to go to the buffets, and restaurants with a lot of choices that are child friendly and tell them they need to find something. I would never give them canned spagettio's in a restaurant that offers pasta. And, I would never go out of my way to provide Burger King chicken nuggets vs. the one's offered by WDW. I'm sure there have been times that my kids have not been their happiest at meals, but I don't run my meals around their eating habits anymore.

You are making yourself crazy worrying. That is why I am saying make it your daughter's problem, not yours. I am much more relaxed on my vacation's now.

The funny thing on the last trip we took (California - all over the place including Disneyland) 4 year old DS hardly ate the 1st week. Then we went to my mother-in-laws 75th birthday party at some fancy restaurant. He was really hungry that night. All the waiters had out were some fancy hors d'oeuvres. I told him there was nothing he liked and he told me he didn't care he just wanted to eat something. He actually ate and liked prosciutto and pate. I guess there is truth to what our pediatricians are telling us - children will eat anything if they are hungry enough.

 

[Norrisca1235]

Rneighh,

When my son (now 24) was little, he was a picky eater and my pediatrican told me the same thing. I tried it, being a "new" mom and I made him buy his lunch at school vice packing what he prefeered. Within a few months he experienced an irritable bowel problem and he complained about it, but I stuck to my guns for several months and made him buy the school lunch. Turned out the school lunches were packed w/sodium, they were causing him gastro-internal problems, so the doctor suggested I pack his lunch! I was packing it before he gave me the advice........I wish I had listened to my son when he tried to tell me he didn't like that food....But I agree you can reinforce negative behavior by catering to every whim. I know I'm open to trying all kinds of foods, but if I try it and I don't like it I won't try it again and again just to see if I might like it some time in the future. My daughter will try, but sadly she has a limited pallette even a Disneyworld.