Any food suggestions?
Answers:
grilled cheese sandwiches
mashed potatoes
peaches
hot dogs cut VERY small
chicken nuggets
peas -- they love picking these up.
and use ketchup if he likes it, sometimes we covered everything in ketchup.
sometimes they go through a stage where they aren't growing very quickly and they quit eating too much for awhile, when they get their growth spurt, you won't be able to feed him enough.
try spaghetti o's
macaroni and cheese
hamburgers and I took off the bread, they seemed to eat it better.
Good luck
Other Answers:
Feed him healthy food that he can chew and not choke on.
However, I'm concerned that you're already characterizing him as "picky."
The problem is, "picky" children are usually just picky because they're allowed to be. This isn't good for the kids, and it's a pain for the adults who care for him, including you.
If you allow a child to dictate what he will or will not eat without question, you are setting him up to be rigid and afraid of change. All children should experience as much as possible without endangering themselves. Taste is but one of these areas, but it's the area that has a tremendous effect on their lives as children and adults.
While I wouldn't force a child to eat things he positively does not like, I have always required that my children take at least one bite of whatever it is I offer them. If they like it, great! If they don't, I put it on the back burner and re-introduce it later.
My daughter used to be told she was picky by her grandparents, and they let her eat whatever she wanted. But she discovered on her own that she wasn't picky, they were just telling her that. She found out that she actually likes broccoli - as does all my family - and she is adventurous now and willing to try almost anything! She even found out she likes calamari!
Most children will try something if the adults around him are eating it and proclaim it good. It's up to you to teach him what's good to eat, so don't let him down by letting him teach you what he will or won't eat. Find his preferences, but don't let them dictate a narrow eating lifestyle.
Just offer him healthy fruits and veggies at this point. He can only eat what you give him. He's not going to go to the store and buy a box of cookies for himself, is he? It's hard at his age (at any age, really) to get him to eat what he doesn't want, but he won't let himself starve.
When it comes time for snack, offer soft carrots, sweet potatoes, banannas, baked apples, or baked pears. Yogurt, applesause, and cheese sticks also make great snacks.
Cheese is great on any veggie that kids don't like to eat. They make frozen broccolli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, and spinach with the cheese already in the package. All you have to do is heat it up.
Just remember that he can't eat any junk that you don't give him and that the more you make available healthy snacks, the more likely he will be to choose them.
Source(s):
Good Luck!
Babies and young toddlers are often very good at chewing, even just with their naked gums. Before you dismiss a suggestion because he "can't chew", you might want to give it a try.
What types of food does he like. If I knew what he already enjoyed, it would be easier to make other suggestions. But if you are worried about the well-roundedness of his diet, try to expand his food list gradually and using trickery. For instance, if he likes pasta with tomato sauce, try adding finely grated vegetables to the sauce.
Also, try finding similar foods--if he likes bananas and apples, try other fruits. Or (back to the trickery), try adding some vegetables to the apple. Offer him a grated raw apple-and-carrot medley.
Keep offering him foods that he doesn't like. If he tastes it often enough, his taste buds are more likely to change and accept it. (No guarantees, though, sometimes food dislikes are signs of allergy.)
Source(s):
Mother to 5 kids. Stop mashing for him.
It is time to let him find the big boy in him and he will demonstrate this in his behavior.
Hotdogs are great for this stage. Any kind of fingerfood that he can chew so he can gain his independence.
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