3 year old.. eating habits

my son is 3 and its torture to get him to eat.. we have to play a game, read a book, etc to get him to eat and still its a struggle.. he has two bites of chicken and a french fry and says he's done.. does anyone else have this issue and tips???

3 year old.. eating habits

no advice because my DD is the same way and it's so frustrating. My father says to just leave her alone and she will eat when she is hungry.

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

so frustrating is right!! its so hard b/c then he wants to snack and i dont want him snacking all day on junk

3 year old.. eating habits

ugh my DD is the same way. She would snack all day if I allow her. no advice just know that I am going through the same thing!!

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

I could of written this word for word. I am FTWM I literaly dread going home to feed DS dinner it takes at least 45 mintues & this is with thing he likes pasta, chicken & pizza! DD is 7 months old she is a dream to feed done in 10 mintues lol

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

yup, dd will be 3 in May and it's a struggle. I try to limit the snacks during the day to fruit, dried fruit, and healthier stuff but she still snacks all day. Dinner forget about it.

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

My DS is a snacker too...loves to snack all day...but i do say he eats breakfast and lunch...i guess he is not much of a dinner person..unless it is pasta...but i tell him we cant have it every night!! So i dont push it anymore! He must get enough throughout the day and isnt hungry at night!

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

Ugh no advice but right there with you. DS is 34 months and has actually lost 1lb in the past 3 months :(. He eats very few foods and refuses all veggies and most meats. We can only get him to eat fruit, carbs and dairy and even some of those are limited now. Even things that normal 3 year olds ask for, he is refusing (pizza, nuggets, Mac and cheese etc).

Everyone assures me that with time he will love to eat. I hope so :)

3 year old.. eating habits

all your responses make me feel a lot better. my daughter now 1 years old eats great.. but if I recall correctly so did my son was he was that age.. its so frustrating.
do you do anything to keep your LO eating at a meal or just let them eat what they want and get up when there done? i notice if we color or do a puzzle while eating he eats better but not for nothing i dont want to be doing that at every meal....

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

after reading this my son started eating a lot better, he just turned 3.

http://www.amazon.com/French-Kids-Eat-Everything-Discovered/dp/0062103296

its okay to be hungry and
its okay not to be hungry

if they are hungry, they can wait for meal time
if they are not hungry, they can leave the table but you can ask them to stay with the family at the table

no snacks, if you have to snack, do fiber rich, nutrient rich snacks, like veggies and nuts

offer meals in courses. I offer this way, veggie first, then protein, then carb. and always a desert, sometimes its just fruit and cheese (hehe french way but it works for us) or a muffin with yogurt (breakfast but healthy end to a meal if hes still hungry and didn't eat anything I offered) chocolate dipped fruit (for special nights or when I know he will eat what I'm offering, once your child develops their palate youll find they have favorite foods that aren't coated in starch and aren't fried for example my son loves salmon and any kind of beef roast, and broccoli.. I was pretty shocked too! but it took some time and he developed these favorites)

talk about meals and favorite foods yours and theirs. Talk about food when you eat. taste and stop to ask is it sweet, sour, crunchy, soft? If they say yuck, say "oh its yuck? let me taste, make a sour face, then smile and say "yuck tastes sweet/salty/crunchy/soft! its great!"

At meal time, sit together and make it pleasant, if he is done in 1 minute, we might ask him to sit with us as family till everyone is done. If its just me and him, I say okay if you are done, can I take away all the food till the next meal? If not, please sit and eat it so that you will not be hungry later.

If he's hungry between meals offer simple foods that he might be missing in diet, veggies usually fit the bill for us.

I dont insist he eat, insist he taste with me. Its a successful meal if he's tasted everything on his plate, if he hasn't its okay there is chance next time.

no games no toys no stress, let your child understand hunger and satiety and appreciate food for its taste.

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

My 3.5 year old is like this but loves his fruit. He eats breakfast, no lunch & dinner is limited to chicken, pasta, pizza, fries. He will snack through the day but meals we play a devils advocate game to just get something into him.

I do put carnation instant breakfast into his milk in the am.

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

We have a 2.5 year old.

We do not allow snacks. No snacks at all.

If he doesn't eat (which sometimes... rarely happens), he waits until the next meal (even if it is the next day).

He's not going to starve & we always give him something he has eaten at some point.

No french fries, no chicken nuggets, no kids food.

He eats steak, chicken, fish, veggies, rice, pasta, soups & salad. He gets a fruit as part of the meal (usually at the end as dessert). We don't have him sit until WE finish... we let him get up and leave when he is done... but he often ends up playing around the dining room until the "dessert" fruit comes.

He asks for beverages (no sippy cup), so when he is thirsty, he gets water or milk.

Who know,s this may change when he is older, but it works very well now & my kid eats better than most adults.

Re: 3 year old.. eating habits

Cherrios
Walnuts
Bread
French Fries (only a certain kind)
Pasta
Chicken Nuggets
Bacon
Pretzles
Goldfish
Chocolate chip cookies
Chessmen Cookies
Milk
Water


That is my son's diet. From an infant he gagged on food he didnt like. If you eat chinese food, tuna or anything with a smell he will gag. He does not like any candy, besides m&ms and rarely eats ice cream

I cannot say well he will eat snacks and not food. He just won't eat if he doesn't want to. He does not eat sweets and cannot be bothered eating.

He will eat his nuggets and pasta as meals everyday.

My DD total opposite, eats anything and tries everything.

The doctor said, just make sure he gets protein.

Both my husband and I were picky eaters, so i am not forcing him to eat anything dramatic. But variety would be nice.