Still a Good Eater but Eats (Much) Fewer Vegetables

Updated on November 12, 2010
M.F. asks from Piscataway, NJ
4 answers

Hi- My daughter has been a good eater since she was born. Make that great. She didn't even know about a kids menu or mac n cheese till my mother-in-law took her out, lol. Her diet has always been very well balanced (protein, carbs, fruit and veg). She primarily drinks water and milk. Juice is a treat. I have never deprived her of occasional desserts.
She is now 3, however, and her repertoire for vegetables and even some fruits is more limited now. I don't know how much of it is the influence of others (all that tan and brown food being eaten by 'everyone else's' kids) or how much her gustatory tolerance is narrowing. I will say she still has a few vegetables she eats with no problems (cucumber slices, colored peppers are a couple), and she can be persuaded to eat other ones, but I can tell she really seems bothered when eating them. I try to reinforce the idea of balance. She can have those pastas and breads but vegetables help her to be healthy in ways those foods can't, etc, and she understands it as well as a 3 yo can. I don't push too much (ie 5 nibbles of a carrot, literally, for example). I just really don't want to force feed her if she really and truly has lost a taste for these things . Even now, she eats better than 99% of other 3 year olds, lol. Do I continue to encourage and offer or persuade? What are your opinions? Thanks!

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S.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

trick her lol! that is what I have to do with my 15 mnth old. example: he LOVES pancakes so I slip a little purreed pumpkin and cinnomon in the batter and you have pumpkin pancakes. also he loves pasta so I coat it in tomato sauce, I have also found out he will eat vegatable better if they are in soup. sometimes I strain the campbells chunky low sodium soups and mix those veggies and meat with whole wheat elbow noodles. how about baked sweet potato fries? also just keep around the things she likes. it sounds like she is still eating some veggies, remember a serving of veggies for a three yr old is smaller than it is for an adult

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E.C.

answers from San Francisco on

IMO - keep doing what you're doing - offer the veggies but don't make a big struggle over it. Are there farmers markets in your area you can take her to? sometimes the excitement of seeing all the different types of produce and talking to the people who grow them can spark a child's enthusiasm to try a few different veggies.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Don't worry.

It changes all the time.
My daughter is like yours.. good eater, tries anything, healthy eater. Ever since she was born.

At that age of 3, my daughter LOVED cherry tomatoes. Would eat it like peanuts. She could eat the entire box herself. Then one day she didn't like it. Then she did, then she didn't, then she did, then she didn't, then she did and so forth.
NO biggie.

Then she liked mangoes. Then she did not. Then she liked pineapple. Then she did not. Then she liked strawberries, then she did not. But each time, she then would like it again.
Kids.

Don't worry.
She won't starve.
She eats fine.
It will change now and later.
NOTHING is ever finite... nor absolute... with kids eating or cravings or dislikes. NOR is it for an adult.

She is so young. Don't worry.
Don't force it..... that is worse. A kid should eat according to their body cues... not out of emotion or just to please someone. They will learn dysfunctional eating that way.

You have healthy foods not junk. So don't worry.

And no matter what, once in school... sure, other kids have different eating habits. So what. You don't have to feed her the same as the other kids. Kids always get exposed to other food stuff... its fine. Just teach her what is 'junk' food and what is not.

To me, your daughter's eating is not a problem.
She is a good healthy eater.
She is a kid. They do that.

all the best,
Susan

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Keep doing what you're doing. And kids like to dip! (gags me but whatever!) I've got a kid who eats everything and I've always just made him what we have--no special meals. She'll be OK. And always introduce new stuff! My son wants constant variety--that's what keeps him interested.

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