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Brand new to these forums and fatherhood. Well, sort of. I am dating an amazing, incredible woman who I am deeply in love with. She has an awesome son who is 9 years old. He is slightly disabled. They say he has a cognitive disability. He seems to understand everything you tell him perfectly fine. But he has trouble speaking. He is getting help there and I am told he has come a long way.
He is a super picky eater. Are there any tips to getting h to eat more foods? To try new things. His mother and I are looking to start eating healthier and we want the same for him. But he only wants to eat junk food for the most part. Any tips?
The obvious answer is to stop buying junk food. But I wouldn't recommend going cold turkey, an occasional treat is fine, and if you buy one bag of chips a week, when it's gone, it's gone until the next grocery trip.
Invite him into the kitchen and teach him how to cook. You can bond with him, and maybe pique his interest in more wholesome fare.
Brand new to these forums and fatherhood. Well, sort of. I am dating an amazing, incredible woman who I am deeply in love with. She has an awesome son who is 9 years old. He is slightly disabled. They say he has a cognitive disability. He seems to understand everything you tell him perfectly fine. But he has trouble speaking. He is getting help there and I am told he has come a long way.
He is a super picky eater. Are there any tips to getting h to eat more foods? To try new things. His mother and I are looking to start eating healthier and we want the same for him. But he only wants to eat junk food for the most part. Any tips?
Don't try to "get" him to do anything. Slowly reduce the junk food purchases. Offer good food. And don't think another second on the subject unless weight loss is excessive or worrisome.
With cognitive disability it may be more than just being a picky eater. Has she talked to his doctor?
With my son we started just adding food to his plate every meal. The same food. So every meal we would put a banana on his plate. Then after about two weeks he'd pick it up and start eating it. This worked well when he was younger.
As he aged he has gotten over some of the issues and expanded his eating. We tell him he needs to try one new food a month. So far nothing has stuck (he is a teen now).
Does he have a diagnosis? If so, you may want to consult his therapists about feeding therapy. If he has an OT, s/he usually will have information on how to do this. Much will depend on what the issue is - textures, oral aversions, etc.
If you would like, I can dm you the technique that is used. I have an old post by a mom of an autistic child and how she got him eating well and trying new foods, but it took her quite a long time since she had to start very slowly with him.
I can't speak to cognitive disability, I know nothing about it. But I would recommend involving him in the cooking process!
My kids also like anything they can dip! Instead of eating chips for a snack, I'll have tortilla chips and hummus, guacamole, black bean dip, salsa etc.. I make chili and give them tortilla chips to eat the chili. They eat a ton of veggies with dip (salad dressing). Dessert.. I may give them strawberries or sliced bananas with a small side of chocolate syrup to dip them in. My kids also get a kick out of making smoothies for breakfast. They help me load the blender, and push the button.
If my kids don't want to eat something I tell them fine, but they wont get anything else. Don't give them the opportunity to be picky or they always will be. I have even told them if they don't eat dinner it will be there for them in the morning for breakfast. Now there are some food that legitimately make my daughter gag (zucchini) and I wont purposely give it to her but what I will do is prepare it differently and see if she likes it another way, I have been very successful with this. I don't make my kids eat anything they don't want but they don't get to substitute it with anything else nor will they get any sort of dessert or snack before the next meal. My kids really are not picky eaters anymore but you have to take care of it now before it gets out of control. Catering to them just enables them to be picky.
My kids like to pretend they are picky eaters, so 2 weeks ago, I gave them a blind taste test. They are 4 1/2 & 7 1/2 years old. Many of the veggies I gave raw and also cooked so I could see if they liked them one way over the other or if they plain didn't like it. The only thing that got a huge no both ways was the green bell pepper. Red bell peppers did fabulously raw, but not cooked.
I gave them zucchini, squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, asparagus, carrots, tomatoes, grapefruit, oatmeal, different nuts, etc... we made it a game and a appetizer to their dinner. Now, when I give them something and they try to complain, I remind them of the taste test and how they loved it.
If my kids don't want to eat something I tell them fine, but they wont get anything else. Don't give them the opportunity to be picky or they always will be. I have even told them if they don't eat dinner it will be there for them in the morning for breakfast. Now there are some food that legitimately make my daughter gag (zucchini) and I wont purposely give it to her but what I will do is prepare it differently and see if she likes it another way, I have been very successful with this. I don't make my kids eat anything they don't want but they don't get to substitute it with anything else nor will they get any sort of dessert or snack before the next meal. My kids really are not picky eaters anymore but you have to take care of it now before it gets out of control. Catering to them just enables them to be picky.
I grew up in a household like this - I still resent my parents for this behavior, I think it is cruel and controlling.
While I am not a short order cook, my kids are welcome to make themselves something else if what I fix is not to their liking. That said, I know what they like, so some things can be avoided. I keep a stash of frozen and canned entries they can go to as well as cereal or a sandwich is always an option.
I DO NOT punish them by withholding desert or forcing last nights dinner onto them for breakfast. This can lead to closet eating and a whole bushel of eating issues. How would YOU feel if you were served something you didn't like and were basically told you don't get anything else to eat until you eat the food you don't like. There is no logic to this IMO
OP I suggest getting the kiddo in the kitchen and letting him help make his meals. I also suggest the kid be in on some of the grocery shopping decisions as well. Also, encourage him to sample a bite off of your plate while he is noshing on his nuggets. Allowing discovery instead of force feeding.
To the poster who mentioned dipping, I agree 100% if they can dip it or eat with fingers or if it can be cut into shapes etc it makes things that much more appealing.
Also, define junk. What some of what we adults deem as junk, kids eat as staples.
When my kids were younger, there was a shelf in the pantry with a basket of snacks they could have at any time, there was also a drawer in the fridge that had free access. The junk items were limited in how much I bought and how much could be consumed in a day.
Make eating fun not a time to inflict your will onto a child
Honestly this is a question for his doctor, not an internet forum. A lot of disabled kids have feeding and eating issues, especially kids who also have speech issues, it is probably not simply "he's picky." It sounds like you want to be involved in this boy's life, which is awesome. I'd start with a trip to the pediatrician. Best of luck.
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