My son Nate used to be a great eater. From the time we introduced solid food, he gobbled everything down - green beans, squash, prunes, he loved it all. As he grew, he continued to love his veggies. He would devour slice after slice of zucchini. Blueberries were like candy (which we never let him have) and at one sitting I think he must have consumed about 50. We were so good about not giving any sweets but fruit and he never wanted them. And then he turned three.
Now I can make a very short list of the items he will actually eat:
1. Pizza (of course)
2. Pasta (as long as it's correct shape with the appropriate type of sauce)
3. Chicken Nuggets (or more accurately, Morning Star's vegetarian equivalent)
4. Mac and Cheese (as long as it's Kraft. There was an incident last fall when a relative tried to serve him homemade mac and cheese. It did not go well.)
5. Pancakes
6. Ice Cream
7. Chocolate Chip Cookies
He will eat other items on occasion, such as raw carrots, cheese, green beans, or chicken. I made salmon this week which by some miracle he did eat. But here's the thing: he might not. I'll make a dinner of salmon or a pasta dish we don't have often and, even if he's eaten it in the past, he might not have a single bite. The dessert bribe does sometimes work and I frequently use it. But sometimes even the lure of a chocolate chip cookie won't persuade him to eat his dinner.
Some parents told us that if their children won't eat dinner, they don't eat. They don't try to give them something like cheerios just so that they don't go to bed with an empty belly. We don't usually either, but I feel awful if Nate won't have anything at all. Sometimes he just doesn't seem hungry. He's strong and growing fine, so I'm not too concerned. But I do worry his diet is not what it should be. Gone are the days when he was eating lentils and peas. Now I have to think with each meal, is there something here Nate will actually eat? I try to have some item as part of dinner that I'm pretty sure will work: rice, corn bread, a roll ( we are very anti-Atkins in our house). And then hope he'll eat at least some of the more nutritious part of the meal. But it is a challenge.
I'm not sure the best approach. I wish I could just revert him back to his former healthy habits. I'm hoping this is just a phase and he will get less picky over time. But who knows? His sister is an incredible eater, consumer of all manner of veggies and fish and cheese. For now...
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