My kid won't eat. What kind of vitamins for a kid who refuses all fruit and veggies?

[Renthead Mommy]

I don't know what to do at this point. He won't eat anything even remotely healthy for him. He'll happily eat fast food chicken nuggets (but not homemade), burgers, hot dogs,french fries, pizza, peanut butter and jelly, deli ham, pancakes, yogurt and cheese. He'll eat bananas and maybe an apple.

 

He will not eat anything else. This kid would prefer to starve than eat anything healthy at this point. This is a child who used to happily eat vegetables and loved fruit. He's never been huge on meat except fast food meat. He's not big on fish but loves sushi.

 

I know I'm not a great cook, but I'm not posioning anyone. The only real convince food I buy is pancake mix, bisquick, stove top, shake and bake, deli meat, spaghetti sauce. I also don't make fancy. I bake, roast, crockpot or grill meat. Things aren't dripping in fancy sauces or exotic ingredients. Veggies offered are carrots, beans, broccoli, califlower, cucumber, tomatoes, squash, greens, asparagus, peppers. I offer veggies both cooked and raw. You can dip the food in whatever you want (ranch, blue cheese, ketchup). At this point, the kid that used to happily eat all those veggies, mostly raw, some cooked, and loved salads, now would sit and stare at a plate for two hours rather than eat 3 bites of a carrot.

 

He also used to eat all sorts of fruit, but now I can barely get an apple and banana into him a day now.

 

I don't know what to do with him at this point. He's 9 and in 4th grade. His attitude toward school and anything requiring work took a huge nose dive this year. I knew I was in for a battle this school year by August. My only comfort has been the number of other posts about 9yos and talking to others who also have had similar attitudes with their 9yos.

 

Basically his whole attitude sucks, and I'm sure his horrible food choices are not helping it at all. I'm hoping if I at least get some vitamins into him maybe his attitude will improve and maybe he'll eventually start wanting healthy food again.

[SonshineLearner]

Haha... we must have twins :) Course... mine is 8 :) He likes about the same thing; my daughter who was raised just about the same way will eat ANYTHING :) I decided that when this next couple weeks happen, I'm getting organic chicken breast from somewhere and making his own chicken nuggets. Then I won't have to feel bad. I got organic Applegate hotdogs from Trader Joe's and also artificial nitrate free turkey bacon. I got the book by Jessica Seinfield that promotes putting veggies in everything, under disguise ;) I'm someone who believes in making children eat normal food when it's served... or starve... but then I thought of CPS being called... and me trying to explain why my child is starving. So..... I make him eat some things.... (lettuce, carrots... etc...) and he likes to eat some things... (steak of all things)

I feel for ya!! :)

[Renthead Mommy]

I'm with you on that, eat what is served or starve. He'd rather starve. There are some things I won't require him to eat (things stuffed to bursting with spinach, brussel sprouts, (my favorites), fish my husband makes (not my favorites!). And I'm actually willing to work with him. Eat a few bites of protein, a few bites of veggie and your serving of potatos and we'll call it good. But he won't even go that far.

 

I used to make chicken nuggets with Shake and Bake and he'd happily eat them. Not any more.

 

I'm okay with starving a little. As in go to bed hungry if you aren't going to eat what is offered. But at this point I really think his lack of healthy food is really starting to affect his attitude. I think he'd feel and act better if he would just eat something decent.

[misidawnrn]

Do not offer the bad chicken nuggets any more, at all. Make dinner, if they don't eat, breakfast is in the morning. Period...end of discussion. They will eat if they are hungry. My mom had that philosophy when we were little and there were 5 of us. She wasn't going to be a short order chef. We ate what was served or we didn't eat. Simple. Take back the control from your kids. They will NOT starve to death. I would not save dinner for the next XXXX amount of meals though. If they don't eat it at dinner, put it in the fridge and if they ask for food before bed, tell them dinner is in the fridge. Start over the next day with all new food.

[Renthead Mommy]

Do not offer the bad chicken nuggets any more, at all. Make dinner, if they don't eat, breakfast is in the morning. Period...end of discussion. They will eat if they are hungry. My mom had that philosophy when we were little and there were 5 of us. She wasn't going to be a short order chef. We ate what was served or we didn't eat. Simple. Take back the control from your kids. They will NOT starve to death. I would not save dinner for the next XXXX amount of meals though. If they don't eat it at dinner, put it in the fridge and if they ask for food before bed, tell them dinner is in the fridge. Start over the next day with all new food.

 

We don't have things like chicken nuggets at home (unless they were home made, and since he isn't eating those anymore...) but we do need to eat out sometimes. Usually regular restaurants, not McD's very often.

 

I know he's not starving. He's eating breakfast and lunch, but it's the lack of veggies that gets me. I don't mind putting him to bed without dinner/hungry. I just think if he had more veggies in him he'd feel better and his attitude would imporve. That's why I'm thinking he needs vitamins at least.

[gardenmom5]

has he developed food sensitivites? I don't mean taste, but physical reaction sensitivites that may well not be obvious at all.

 

SPD kids are often highly picky eaters for just that reason. they either crave a sensitive food stuff (e.g. gluten) or avoid it like the plague.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Juice plus.

 

https://www.juiceplus.com/nsa/content/Welcome.soa

Edited November 10, 2011 by Excelsior! Academy
Link

[Renthead Mommy]

has he developed food sensitivites? I don't mean taste, but physical reaction sensitivites that may well not be obvious at all.

 

SPD kids are often highly picky eaters for just that reason. they either crave a sensitive food stuff (e.g. gluten) or avoid it like the plague.

 

I don't think it's a food sensitivity. He prefers the junk food, doesn't crave it. The veggies/fruit thing I think is more of a 'see how far he can push me thing' and an "I won't do it because you want me to" type thing. Which we are experiencing with just about EVERYTHING right now.

[twoforjoy]

I don't know what to do at this point. He won't eat anything even remotely healthy for him. He'll happily eat fast food chicken nuggets (but not homemade), burgers, hot dogs,french fries, pizza, peanut butter and jelly, deli ham, pancakes, yogurt and cheese. He'll eat bananas and maybe an apple.

 

Those are, even by pretty strict standards, healthy stuff. And some of the other things you mention are healthy in moderation. So "won't eat anything even remotely healthy for him" doesn't seem like a fair statement.

 

Maybe it would help to not worry about variety for a while. Feed him the healthy stuff he'll eat. Can you mix some granola into his yogurt? Serve it up with a banana and you've got a good breakfast. Some PB&J and an apple for lunch is fine, on some whole-grain bread. For dinner, maybe you can get him to have a little of whatever you're serving, provide some bread if he won't eat anything else, and give him some vegetable juice or something.

 

I wouldn't be super concerned, honestly. I know that a lot of times when I freak out about DS's eating, it's because I'm trying to force too much variety on him. When I am okay with sticking with healthy foods that he enjoys, even if he eats the same thing many days, things go much better and I feel better about what he's eating.

[Wyndie]

Juice plus.

 

Ditto that.

 

Link in my siggy.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Wyndie

[NorCalMom]

I don't know what to do at this point. He won't eat anything even remotely healthy for him. He'll happily eat fast food chicken nuggets (but not homemade), burgers, hot dogs,french fries, pizza, peanut butter and jelly, deli ham, pancakes, yogurt and cheese. He'll eat bananas and maybe an apple.

 

He will not eat anything else. This kid would prefer to starve than eat anything healthy at this point. This is a child who used to happily eat vegetables and loved fruit...... Basically his whole attitude sucks, and I'm sure his horrible food choices are not helping it at all. I'm hoping if I at least get some vitamins into him maybe his attitude will improve and maybe he'll eventually start wanting healthy food again.

 

 

:grouphug: You are describing my son to a "T" (minus the hot dogs). This started about a year ago and we are very frustrated.

 

 

has he developed food sensitivites? I don't mean taste, but physical reaction sensitivites that may well not be obvious at all.

 

SPD kids are often highly picky eaters for just that reason. they either crave a sensitive food stuff (e.g. gluten) or avoid it like the plague.

 

 

I've been reading up on this. We are experiencing behavioral issues that I suspect are related to his diet. I'm just not sure where to start.

[Myeightkiddies]

Fruit in smoothies (since he likes yogurt) is one way to get fruit. Juice as well (avoid ones full of sugar).

 

Carrots can be shredded and put into almost anything (soups, meatloaf, meatballs, hamburgers, spaghetti sauce, casseroles, etc. Pulverized broccoli will go into most everything. I do this all the time, and none of mine know that I do (even though most will eat vegetables - 4 year old is tricky). Pancakes can be made with applesauce, too.

[Natalieclare]

I have a 7yo with fruit and vegetable issues. My other 5 kids adore veggies and fruits, so her problems are really an aberration for my family. I have gotten to where I do require her to have one bite of a vegetable (and we are working up to requiring 2 bites and so on) at every meal. I have felt just as you feel, that the lack of veggies and fruits just has to be making her feel lousy.

 

We ended up buying the juice plus vitamins for kids. She tolerates these (and her little brothers go ape over them.) She actually likes fruit juices, so sometimes I will buy the fruity kind of V-8 100% juice or orange juice.

[Cindyg]

My child has been food averse since he was weaned from the breast. :( He's 14 now. Old enough to understand and discuss the situation, but it's not getting any better. He truly finds eating unpleasant. He knows other people like to eat, and it makes him feel cheated; but he can't help it.

 

I have supplemented him extensively since he was weaned. (Because of his food aversion, he was weaned late. I don't want you to think I was giving supplements to a six-month old.)

 

Anyway, here are some things you should consider:

 

Cal/Mag/Zinc/Vit D combo if your child isn't getting dairy. Most multi vitamins don't have enough of these.

 

Borage/Flax/Fish combo if he's not getting whole grains, nuts, and/or fish.

 

Acidophilus if he's not eating raw/fermented foods.

 

A multi vitamin/mineral combination for everything else.

 

A lot of multi vitamins, especially for kids, don't have iron in them. So, if your child doesn't eat any red meat, you might consider an iron supplement. But tread carefully here. The reason iron isn't in kids' multivitamins is because it's toxic in large doses (and a child might accidentally take too many vitamins).

 

Anyway, good luck with your newly-picky eater. It's not a pleasant problem to have. I hope it's just a phase for your kiddo.

 

ETA:

 

Do not offer the bad chicken nuggets any more, at all. Make dinner, if they don't eat, breakfast is in the morning. Period...end of discussion. They will eat if they are hungry. My mom had that philosophy when we were little and there were 5 of us. She wasn't going to be a short order chef. We ate what was served or we didn't eat. Simple. Take back the control from your kids. They will NOT starve to death. I would not save dinner for the next XXXX amount of meals though. If they don't eat it at dinner, put it in the fridge and if they ask for food before bed, tell them dinner is in the fridge. Start over the next day with all new food.

[emphasis added]

 

I only wish this was all it took to make this problem go away. Sigh. It's not simple at all.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Cindyg

[sewingmama]

has he developed food sensitivites? I don't mean taste, but physical reaction sensitivites that may well not be obvious at all.

 

SPD kids are often highly picky eaters for just that reason. they either crave a sensitive food stuff (e.g. gluten) or avoid it like the plague.

 

:iagree:

 

My DD has SPD - she has not eaten a single fruit or veggie (or most other things) since she first started solids 5 years ago.

 

Her diet consisted soley of things containing gluten -bread, crackers, pasta (no sauce) etc etc with a few dairy items thrown in. Just recently she started showing signs of gluten intolerance (no wonder considering her diet) and so I put her on a gluten free diet. She has been on it one week and for the first time ever in her life she has asked for and eaten vegies and fruit that she has refused all her life. She is still fussy about textures (won't eat mashed potato etc) but I am so shocked. This is a child who to get any scary food past her lips you would have to break her teeth to get it in her mouth.

 

All of the things you mentioned that your son eats have a lot of wheat in them -even some of the things you think might not (like the chicken nuggets). Maybe you could try cutting down at least on all the gluten containing foods and see if it helps.

 

 

As for vitamins -my DD was/is on a few since she doesn't eat meat at all either. She takes a multivitamin and a childrens liquid iron as well as flaxseed oil (I can't get her to take the fish oil) and evening primrose oil for the GLA's and Vit D drops. If your son will eat meat he probably doesn't need the iron.

Edited November 10, 2011 by sewingmama

[EmilyinND]

:iagree:

 

My DD has SPD - she has not eaten a single fruit or veggie (or most other things) since she first started solids 5 years ago.

 

Her diet consisted soley of things containing gluten -bread, crackers, pasta (no sauce) etc etc with a few dairy items thrown in. Just recently she started showing signs of gluten intolerance (no wonder considering her diet) and so I put her on a gluten free diet. She has been on it one week and for the first time ever in her life she has asked for and eaten vegies and fruit that she has refused all her life. She is still fussy about textures (won't eat mashed potato etc) but I am so shocked. This is a child who to get any scary food past her lips you would have to break her teeth to get it in her mouth.

 

All of the things you mentioned that your son eats have a lot of wheat in them -even some of the things you think might not (like the chicken nuggets). Maybe you could try cutting down at least on all the gluten containing foods and see if it helps.

 

 

As for vitamins -my DD was/is on a few since she doesn't eat meat at all either. She takes a multivitamin and a childrens liquid iron as well as flaxseed oil (I can't get her to take the fish oil) and evening primrose oil for the GLA's and Vit D drops. If your son will eat meat he probably doesn't need the iron.

 

Wow! This sounds just like my daughter!!

[Renthead Mommy]

Thank you everyone.

 

Anyone a Juice Plus distributor?

[mom31257]

I make a smoothie that tastes like a dessert. I fill half the blender with baby spinach leaves, add 1 banana, a couple handfuls of frozen berries, then add OJ for the liquid. It tastes great.

[Daisy Mommy]

What about pureed veggies? you could probably find the books "Deceptively Delicious" and "sneaky Chef" at the library and try that to see if it works?

 

The cookbooks are designed to hide the veggies in dishes that most children are already comfortable with...might be worth a shot :001_smile:

[DusksAngel]

I know my kiddo is much younger, but we went through something very similar this past year - he would only eat protein and some carbs. When we spoke to the nutritionist, she told us not to try forcing it but offered these suggestions instead:

You must try one bite (decent size) of everything offered.

You may only have seconds of fruits/veggies (I don't always follow this exactly if he's at least tried all of the other items on his plate or he had a fruit or veggie for snack or lots of veggies for a different meal)

[Denisemomof4]

find ways to hide the fruits and veggies. Make your own pizzas and shred up veggies into the sauce. Make home made spaghetti sauce and shred up veggies in there. He won't taste them . If you shred them small enough I don't even think he'd know they were there!

 

Be creative. I know others have hidden fruits and veggies in their kid's food, I just don't know how they did it. My kids have always eaten pretty much everything.

[bettyandbob]

My oldest has a limited diet, mostly meat and dairy. I don't make extra food for him. I make a meal and that's what's served. He is adding a few things gradually. A couple of years ago a personal trainer convinced him to add lettuce to tacos (not exactly a high nutrient source, but the right direction). For years my son took a multivitamine daily. I don't know if it didn't anything for him (he's not malnourished), but it made me feel better.

 

You may want to consider your son's eating behavior a sign of other food issues like allergens and sensitivities. My oldest has many food sensitivities and mild food allergies. He has both genes for celiac--we did this test after we went gf. He has not done a challenge to prove he's celiac, because I don't want to make him sick. Gastroenterologist believes ds has celiac based on problems present before we went gf. Ds has been tested for multiple allergens. He's allergic to a lot of stuff. We've eliminated everything including mild allergens from his diet--doing so makes the environmental allergens which we can't control easier to live with.

[Roadrunner]

Try throwing all the veggies into a pot and making soups. Cream and butter and crackers would help. That maybe the only way to get the veggies down the tummy.

You can also get gummy bear vitamins (Costco has them) and I bet that one won't be refused. My kids chew on fish oil thinking it's candy. :tongue_smilie:

[SweetMissMagnolia]

I give my son an omega-3 gummy and a general multi-vitamin for kids....I can soooo relate because my kiddo doesn't eat alot of veggies or fruits....except for potatoes (hashbrowns) and maybe bananas and apples and sometimes the veggies in soup if they are chopped small.....it's soooo frustrating...:glare:-

[Wyndie]

Thank you everyone.

 

Anyone a Juice Plus distributor?

 

I am. :)

 

My site is http://www.simplicitywithjuiceplus.com

[J-rap]

My husband takes a type of powdered greens, which is a gazillion fruits and vegetables reduced to a scoop of green powder. We mix it into a glass of juice or even just a glass of water, daily. The more expensive brands actually taste okay; the cheaper brands unfortunately taste a lot like grass, but if you mix it into a smoothie or even a milkshake, you can get it down.

[Susann]

Do not offer the bad chicken nuggets any more, at all. Make dinner, if they don't eat, breakfast is in the morning. Period...end of discussion. They will eat if they are hungry. My mom had that philosophy when we were little and there were 5 of us. She wasn't going to be a short order chef. We ate what was served or we didn't eat. Simple. Take back the control from your kids. They will NOT starve to death. I would not save dinner for the next XXXX amount of meals though. If they don't eat it at dinner, put it in the fridge and if they ask for food before bed, tell them dinner is in the fridge. Start over the next day with all new food.

:iagree:

I had one girl in a group that I use to run that was like that. She'd often come over to play & stay for meals. Her mom would give me a whole list of what she would & wouldn't eat before she'd leave. (no allergies or anything involved) I'd smile, nod my head & throw out the list when she left. The dd soon learned she'd eat what I gave her or do without. After a couple of months of regularily spending meal time at my house she ate what I gave her. Her mom was still a shortorder cook at home. Her mom even left the family Thanksgiving dinner to run home because she'd only eat a certain type of spaghetti & her g'mother didn't have it & she didn't like anything else being served:glare: Eight years later she's even gotten worse!

[purplewoman]

This is something you might want to consider.

 

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/oral-allergy-syndrome-foods

 

I have oral allergy syndrome. It started to develop during my early elementary years. By the time I was in high school, I was no longer to able to eat any uncooked fruits or veggies, except strawberries. (I eat loads of those!) Most of the time, I can't eat any fruits at all, even cooked. I can eat veggies if they are cooked well enough. I can usually eat peanuts if they are roasted, but I can't eat any other nuts. Those with oral allergy syndrome are also affected by the seasons. I have one friend who is only "allergic" to certain fruits in the spring.

 

Oral allergy syndrome is not a true allergy, so the symptoms are a bit different. True allergies usually have an anaphylactic reaction where the patients throat will swell shut quickly. When I eat a little bit of something I'm allergic to, the inside of my mouth starts to hurt. If I eat a little more, I develop hives around my mouth. If I eat even more, my face starts to swell. If I continue eating even more, my throat will start to swell shut. I rarely make it that far. The mouth pain and the hives are painful enough to stop me from going any farther.