OT: Picky 23 Month Old Eater Need Advice

[PrinceCharmingsMom]

Hello all my son is 23 months and an extremely pickey eater. I can't get him to eat protein at all. He eats broccoli, fruits, green beans, prunes all fine, but no bread which I don't care about , and no meat. I just recently started getting him to drink milk by putting Carnation instant breakfast in it. I use the Vanilla one and he drinks one a day, but I am worried about his protein intake. Any ideas? Thanks...oh yeah Pediatrician won't let him eat Peanut Butter for another year so that's out.

 

[PoohHappens]

How about cheese, cottage cheese or yogurt. Greek yogurt is full of protein. Also have you tried any legumes--black beans are often a fav of toddlers. You could also try cutting up some tofu--I know you said he is picky but you never know. Edamame or soybeans. Toddlers often go through this and if his growth is normal and he is not anemic it is not too much of a worry, but I understand your concern. Also Earths best makes awesome babyfood that has a good protein mix but is not always meat, tastes more like a veggie. I know he is old for baby food but sometimes if they will eat it who cares. I am also a believer that most toddlers will not starve themselves so just keep offering and give the protein first when he is most hungry without the other foods. It is great that he eats so many other healthy foods.

 

[PoohHappens]

You can also add some whey protein powder to the carnation breakfast or a fruit smoothie or yogurt (if he wont eat the greek but one with less protein). You can also do the same with Soy protein powder but there are some concerns out there with too much soy for young children especially boys. You would have to research that yourself and make a decision how you feel on that one.

 

[Nicolepa]

My 7 yo has never really eaten meat. His big protien is eggs. He loves eggs. Cheese, yogurt, beans are all good protiens. It looks like he eats a lot of fruits and veggies. If that is the case I wouldn't worry about it. My pediatrican said as long as he ate a lot of fruit and tomatoes (he doesn't do many veggies) then he will get all the nutrients he needs.

You can also add a bit of protien powder to oatmeal or muffins, make him a smoothie and add protien powder etc.

 

[laughinplace199]

Will he eat eggs? What about pasta? Whole wheat pasta would be a good source of protein. I have a very picky toddler too, but he drinks tons of milk and he likes yogurt, cheese, turkey, and chicken, so I know he gets enough protein.

What does your pediatrician say? Is he/she concerned?

 

[MSSANDRA]

Ds ate no meat at that age and ped was fine with it. He was totally picky about 2 and went though a phase where he ate only banannas and milk! He was fine!. The foods he is eating are great!!! Just add the non meat protiens such as dairy, eggs, dried beans etc.

whole grains are impotant as well. Pasta, cerals, bagels etc ar good bets to try.

 

[taylorcpa]

Dried beans are good sources of protein. Also try yogurt.

 

[candielips]

Our DD is the exact same. No meat, hardly any veggies, no eggs etc..
I would suggest having his iron levels checked just for your own peace of mind. We did & I was shocked to find out she was fine. Milk has a lot of the protein that they need. We even saw a nutritionist. Have you tried Nutella?
My only advice is to keep offering him the foods he doesn't like. I always put a little of everything on my DD's plate even though I know the chances of her eating it are slim to none. But tonight she ate all her chicken & asked for more. We have NEVER seen her do this, ever! Part of getting them to like different foods is to make them readily available for them to try and even play with.
If you are still worried and you have coverage, go to a children's nutritionist like we did. They will help you w/ lots of great suggestions.
One other suggestion that came from her Dr. that is a little rough might work. He said to prepare her meal & put it in front of her. Give her 20 mins, if she doesn't eat it, take away, & she gets nothing else until next meal or snack. But be prepared, that they could go for almost 2 wks w/o eating hardly anything.

 

[kevschickee]

hmmm what about scrambled eggs? Wow your pedi is strict about peanut butter my pedi ok'd it at 1 year. Beans are great for protien. The carnation is good for them my DD had it because she was picky. Have you tried tofu? It really isn't that bad.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Quinoa's high in protein, too. My guys like it cooked with thinly sliced apples, some raisins, and cinnamon. Mmmm...

 

[DISNEYNV]

My DD was that way and still is a very picky eater! My second DS is the complete opposite though. He will eat almost anything! I think as long as he is a normal weight, growing and healthy then I wouldn't worry too much.

As far as new foods go the experts say to introduce a new food at least ten times and if they still are not interested then move on

I would experiment with yogurt shakes, go-gurt yogurt snacks, cream cheese, oatmeal or breakfast bars, cottage cheese, ketchup and other dips and cheeses on his veggies, and even those Morningstar vegetarian chicken nuggets. My DD used to eat them on occassion. They do contain soy so as long as there isn't a soy allergy I also used to half her chocolate milk with carnation or the soy milk when she got a bit older. She eats a little better now, but not great. She is a normal developmental weight and tall for her age. I would also try pasta or mac and cheese plus pita pizza or avacado (my DS loved avacado as a baby). Read some great books or articles about healthy alternatives with picky eaters. Good luck

 

[Hoosier Mom]

I feel your pain....we have a picky eater too. He's 4 now. He has some sensory issues....textures, smells, etc. Plus we had him evaluated at the children's hospital and found out he had a chewing issue.....thus he tended to just want soft foods.

The first meat he would start to accept was a McDonalds hamburger (plain). For a long time he would just eat the bun, then we had him start dipping the burger & bun in ketchup. The children's hospital explained that McD's hamburgers are the first meat they recommend for problem chewers since the meat is processed and easily chewed.

The second meat he would eat was Chick Filet nuggets, cut up in bits. And now finally he accepts other types of nuggets as well.

We used to push dairy a bunch....milk, yogurt, cheese. He had a tendency to throw up almost daily. We thought for a long time that it was the texture issue and a gag response due to the sensory troubles....but it turned out to be a sensitivity to dairy. We now limit his milk to just a little per day, and only 1 yogurt or cheese slice per day. His ped said this is fine. We also give him vitamins.

One thing I did learn....gummy vitamins do not have iron in them. So we now give him 2 gummys one day, and the next day we give him a Flintstones Complete (with iron).

Have you tried those Gerber chicken sticks....they are sort of like vienna sausages.

Another thing the hospital had us doing was for the pickiness...we were to be on a strict eating schedule, with no milk in between meals & snacks.
As in:
breakfast
midmorning snack
lunch
afternoon snack
supper
bedtime snack

Each meal and snack we were to serve one preferred food, and two non-preferred foods. Only a teaspoon full of the non-preferred food. I was supposed to make sure it was a carb, veg or fruit, and a protein. It was hard to keep this up....I did finally get him to accept fish sticks (baked in the oven). Also I got him to accept another food that way, but I forget now what it was. Also we were told to never prompt him to eat, don't nag, just present the plate, and it was his decision what to eat.

There's a pretty good book called "Just Take A Bite". You might see if your library has it. I found a lot of good info in that.

Also for the chewing problem....the only way for our kid to overcome that was to practice chewing so I went out and bought a few stick foods for snacks....the oreo dippers, graham cracker sticks, etc. Would encourage him to take bites with his big boy teeth, (side teeth instead of front ones).

Well, that's probably more info than you wanted. Hope some of it helps.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Also somewhere there's info on the chain of steps to try to get a kid to try something new....first looking at a picture, then having it on the table, then on the plate, then touching it, smelling it, then playing with it, licking it, and finally tasting. An occupational therapist might be able to find that for you.

Also we were encouraged to have our son try to help prepare a food...like cornbread, pudding, or whatever. Then trying having that food in bowls on the table where he or she can serve themselves.

I hope you get to try peanut butter soon. Our son started trying it at 1 year old also. He would take bites of my peanut butter toast each morning. Peanut butter is a staple in our house. I also would put some peanut butter on his waffle.

We never had much luck with eggs either, although I keep offering them to him. Maybe someday.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

sorry, I just keep thinking of more...there's another book called "Food Chaining". It's good too. The gist of it is you start with what the child will eat, and it explains how you ever so slightly change...with the end result being a new food accepted. I liked that book, but for my case, I enjoyed the "Just Take A Bite" a bit better. Both are good.

 

[Hannathy]

Just remember the Doctor can only give SUGGESTIONS or recommendations you don't have to do it. If you want to try Peanut Butter and don't have any reason not to, you can go ahead and do it. I have never heard of waiting that long and if you went to any other Dr. you probably would have been told 1 yr. so it isn't a hard and fast rule just personal preference and you do have the final say and also can question the Dr on their reasons.

Most kids get far more food and nutrition than folks realize. My DS would not eat baby food, he started on finger foods at 6 months-if he couldn't put it in his own mouth he wouldn't eat!. Not much meat you can give to a baby! but he did like scrambled eggs, cheese, macaroni n cheese, peanut butter very early, pasta's, ice cream. he is 11 now and still eats very little meat but has never had a problem getting enough protein.

I would suggest relax and don't let food become a battle, I'm sure he will be fine.