Eating Issues help needed!

We have finally weaned our 3 year old of the 2 litres of milk she was drinking hoping it would increase the different types of foods she will eat. Alas she still only sticks to plain rice, plain pasta and yoghurts. Nothing we have tried will persuade her to even just try something different. She will not entertain fruit or veg even tho she has not even tried many of them. What can we do?

I saw a very interesting program in Seoul about this - it's on this show entitled "Our Child has Changed." They basically case study a child with a significant behavioral issue and chronicle the steps taken in order to change it.


One program covered this five year old boy who STILL took milk from bottles and ONLY ate white rice. Anything else he would vomit up. Feeding him was a chore.


He was ridiculed at his school as he still wanted milk in a bottle (the rest were drinking milk from cartons and a straw) and wouldn't eat his meal at the table with the rest of the kids.


They covered about three months of his changing from drinking only milk to actually eating foods. Here are some of the things that they suggested -


1. Involve your child in the preparation of foods. Generally if your child helps make it, then they will want to at least TRY it. So whatever you are making, let your child help - 3 years old is plenty old enough to help wash veggies, peel veggies (with a safety peeler) break up crackers to make breading for chicken or to put in meatballs, make a sandwich, tuna fish or otherwise and whatnot.


2. A contract with your child to encourage them to try a new food a day - whether or not they decide to like it or not. Tell your daughter she will try only ONE new thing a day. You can decide what the reward will be if she successfully completes a set number of days. They had some sort of chart and set up a calendar so each day he was going to try something different. If he successfully chewed and swalllowed it - then he got a star - regardless of whether he liked it or not. This was to not OVERWHELM him with too many different food choices but to encourage him in small ways to like it. I would add on the chart a place for the child to respond - something like a smiley face if she liked it and a sad face if she didn't. Or a sticker if she liked it - you get the idea.


3. This one was sort of cool - teaching about the tongue. They had a big tongue pictures - and then the mother dipped a q-tip into different liquids - sugar water, lemon juice, something bitter (i'm not sure what) and some salt water and basically taught her son the different areas of the tongue and what taste they picked up. (sweet is at the tip I think...) Then on the picture she marked what taste was picked up on what part of the tongue.


4. New silverware and dishes...this is after some progress is made to encourage your child to eat at the table.


5. I think the program really showed small tiny steps taken to encourage the child. He went to cooking school to learn more, had counseling with someone to talk to him about food, and learned about why different foods were important. They talked about carrots being good for the eyes, oranges being good for when you have colds and whatnot.


6. Something about textures also was focused on here - if your child doesn't like mashed potatoes, perhaps she may like fried or scalloped. Some kids are particular about textures in the mouth.


Good luck!

Thanks for your reply I thought about a sticker chart. My mum also had an idea of mixing some tiny pieces of cauliflower in with her plain rice!

Agree with Bendy 52 - don't allow any milk or any of the favourites until they have eaten something else - then if they refuse, they go hungry - after a while they will come around to what you want - you will have tantrums though and you have to be tough and persistent. Give it about a week. It is all about you being control - not the child - at 3 they are more than able to be talked to about it and more than able to control you with their tears.


At three, children usually will be eating the same things older children and adults will be eating.


You can use the sticker chart when they do what you want them to do.

She has not drunk a drop of milk since but is definately hungrier. I tried some diced carrot yesterday and she was keen until I tried to put it in her mouth and then all hell broke loose! She would rather starve I think!

Have you tried to give your daughter some cereal mixed with milk. The taste is still similar to her usual milk but it would get her used to solid food.

let her feed herself - always - this may be part of the problem.

What about making some delicious Pampas pastry pizza pinwheels - no child can resist these, you need to make the food really tasty and appealing - maybe not the most healthy to start but at least they will get the idea that food can be tasty!


Honey carrots, peanut butter on celery sticks, mini tomatoes, asparagus spears, food with dip to make eating more interesting - just give her a selection of small amounts of different food that she can eat by herself in her own time - don't try to force her. At this point you want to just let her experiment and see what she likes. Fruits and veges, chicken nuggets, chicken strips. noodles - the list is of course endless.


The other option is to see if she will eat at the same time and the same food you are eating at the table - treat her like a big girl and see what happens.


It is a control thing it sounds like.

I had similar problems with my preschooler. She's not yet 3 years old, I brought this issue up with my two pediatricians, and BOTH of them thought I was being too "worried". I keep saying she doesn't eat! ONLY drinks milk. The 2 Peds said, "some children just grow up drinking milk". Not a problem as they get all the nutrition from the milk formulas.


I of course totally disagree... I keep trying. And no luck, until I started giving her this vitamin that stimulates appetite. I got it in a pharmarcy, and now she drinks 3 bottles of 8 oz milk everyday, but she also eats a full meal of lunch, and dinner, and a afternoon snack. It's still a pain to feed her, but she eats a whole bowl or half bowl on bad days of rice, pasta, vegetables, meat, and soup now. She's finally gaining some weight! Otherwise, my 7 month old is almost going to weigh the same as her!