Please help! My 7 year old will not eat! HELP! (playing, 3 year old, hubby)

[Ceece]

My son went through a couple different phases growing up. When he was very young, 3-7, he would eat ANYTHING. We took him to a street festival when he was 4 where they had all sorts of exotic foods and he put everything in his mouth, people even commented on it because it was unusual.

When he was a little older he was fascinated with animals and fish and would wonder what all the different kinds tasted like. He would tell me he wanted to eat all the different fish he saw on the nature shows. It was a great day when he found shark on the menu at a restaurant we went to on vacation because he had been wanting to eat one since he saw "Jaws". LOL

Then, for some weird reason, he became very picky as a preteen. He would pick at everything in looking for something tiny (a piece of onion or garlic or flecks of herbs) and then refuse to eat it. Even sandwiches were limited to white bread/turkey/mayo. No veggies of any kind and fruit was rare. He lived off fish sticks and pizza for about 2 years.

Then, just as suddenly, in high school he became more adventurous. Suddenly he wanted those veggies on his sandwiches and he would order salad at restaurants and would try just about anything once. I really can't explain it.

Some people have issues that are expressed via foods, things beyond the normal "picky" eater stuff. They do need professional help.

[Norm24x7]

First of all DO NOT PANIC ! .. if hes normal and fit ..theres nothing to worry about ..see if he has keen interest in sports .. good physical activity should alter the food habits (Snacking) in most cases .. see that he gets proper nutrition minus the junks ( i can say u're doing the best ).. try not to be too controlling ..like u've said hes got a good will power ..seems like hes getting stubborn ..dont fulfill every demand of his (Toys, watching too much TV & stuffs).. pull him towards outdoor sports .. make him interact with other kids ..dont compare him .. ask your doctor if u can give him supplements .. if he misbehaves dont give in .. just stay calm and ignore his tantrums .. he's a 7 y.o kid .. try to influence him by knowing who his role model is .. talk about them .. every kid has a role model so to speak (Ben 10, Incredible Hulk, sportsmen & etc) .. make him feel special by treats ..say like, take him out to amusement parks, baseball, basketball whatever sports hes interested in, acknowledge him why u're doing so ..because u love him ofcourse lol .. okay back to the topic .. children most often tend to outsmart parents, some try to emulate .. talk to him about yourself as a kid and the relation u've had with your folks again keep in mind what u want to put across .. incorporate military discipline ..not by force but inspiration .. teach him the benefits of eating good and living right .. more so just dont try to change his attitude or eating habits by force .. stay calm ..lay the rules ..make a menu according to your standards .. leave no options ..put it straight .. food for oil program lol (sounds ridiculous i know, but it'll work) u do this u get that ..u eat this u get that .. dont make false promises (warning) .. give him some snacks in small doses preferably in the evening .. set the mood that u all enjoy it together (quality time for family bonding) .. have no regrets ..leave no regrets .. try to co-ordinate his mind and body in-sync ..leave the soul to enjoy the time .. let him do what he likes, eat what he likes ..but within parameters .. and stop blaming yourself for not nurturing your child or giving proper attention to him .. u're doing a good job .. dont panic about his eating habits ..relax he will be what hes destined to be .. a stiff pole or a softball .. Arnold was skinny as hell lol .. your li'l man would be a great somebody overtime ..all u need to do is keep a watch over him ..and leave the rest to destiny ..class dismiss ..over and out hut hut hut hut lolz ..ciao

[Norm24x7]

One more thing ..im not a parent ..apparently gonna be one in the next few months ..god willing

[brokencrayola]

What you are talking about with your daughter is not at all unusual. If she is within the normal limits of growth for a child her age I would not worry. She will do better as she gets older. I think the big issue here is choosing your battles. The more you try to force her to eat or make a big deal of it, the worse it will get. She will, if she is not already, use it as a means of control. I have 4 children and every single one of them have gone periods of times, many times years, that they did not eat the way I wanted or felt was healthy. I also have a daughter that is 7. I can hardly get her to eat any vegetables except mashed potatoes. She eats little fruit, a banana now and then and canned pineapple. Meat is also an issue with her. She will eat smoked sausage, chicken nuggets (not just chicken), sometimes a 1/2 a hamburger. On the other hand she eats yogurt, cottage cheeses and many other kinds of cheeses, bread, crackers, cream cheese, cereal, tomato soup, pancakes, scrambled eggs, PB & J, and will drink milk and juice. She's healthy and hardly ever gets sick. I also give her a daily children's mutivitamin, a vit. C and flouride.

[hardtobeadad]

my son is almost 8. he eats bread, buttered pasta (one shape only), some oj, milk, choc chip cookies (one specific brand and type). that's been his diet for almost 5 years. it's beyond reason.

[lhpartridge]

Originally Posted by hardtobeadad

my son is almost 8. he eats bread, buttered pasta (one shape only), some oj, milk, choc chip cookies (one specific brand and type). that's been his diet for almost 5 years. it's beyond reason.

How long does he goes without eating?

[wsop]

Deleted due to being irrelevant

[veuvegirl]

Each child is different, just be as patient as you can be. There is a lot of great advice weaved within the thread, you have to figure out what works best for your child. It is not abnormal for children to be picky.

I did find out that my son could possibly be on the Autism Spectrum. One of the symptoms is his eating habits. He is extremely picky (as mentioned before) to the point of only eating certain brands of food.

Frustration as you can imagine for me is over the edge as I have brought this to the pediatrician's attention for years, and they never thought it an issue. I am waiting for the results of my son's test. At the age of 10 I am furious it took that long for someone to bring it up.

[lovemyson]

Originally Posted by mommytotwo

Thank you! The blood tests are good, the iron was a little low, though. After all the posts here I think I will ask the ped. for a psych referral. It can't hurt.

He did see a nutritionist a couple of times but to me it was useless. It was once a month. Not the kind of help I was looking for.

There is definitely a control issue going on here.

HI ! Find a better nutritionist. Please. It will do your son a world of good to find a nutritionist who can help him. I found one. I had the same problems. My son is now eating pretty much whatever i put in front of him. Don't get me wrong... he still has his moments but he is so much more accepting of different types of foods. From what i see that you're feeding him, I was feeding my son pretty much the same thing. A lot of it is crap (don't be offended - i did the EXACT same thing). My son's nutritionist told me to start right away - minimize the gluten, dairy (cheese, ice cream and milk) and completely eliminate the refined sugars and hydrogenated oils. He also gave my son a digestive enzyme to take at every major meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner). It was the BEST thing i ever did for my son. It didn't happen overnight and yes it really was difficult at first, but I swear it helped him immensely. He is 7 years old. he began this in august, has gained 5 lbs since then and eats a whole lot better and HEALTHIER than he used to. The first sign i noticed with him was that he had become very thirsty and hungry. To help him not crave "the crap", i would head it off with snacks (healthy ones - carrots, cut tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, apples.. whatever he liked). I would never wait for him to tell me he was hungry. I think one of the most important pieces of information his doc gave me was to always replace what i took away with the same thing but of better quality so my son didn't feel punished or that he was missing anything good.

Don't give up on the nutritionist. Find one that can HELP. Find one that listens to you. They ARE out there.

[louiect]

Hello, we have a 7 year old son that has ODD and has the same trouble eating that your child does. He eats only chocolate chip mini muffins, danibles, sliced american cheese now. Elbow pasta with butter, he gets tired of eating what he eats because he only eats very few foods. He was eating pizza, chocolate pudding, pancakes (Frozen) but does not want them any more. We give him ice cream and he only likes vanilla. Soft chocolate chip cookies, gold fish,

He will not eat meat, chicken, fish, milk, chocolate milk or other foods. He is not skinny but has no fat on him and the doctor says he checks out fine. If you find a trick let us know. We pray at night that he will eat and at least try new foods.


quote=mommytotwo;4965527]For years the doctor has told me: Don't worry he'll eat, all of my patients eventually have, except one.

My son is a VERY picky eater. Actually to say that he is a picky eater is an understatement.

Every bite is a fight, every meal a disaster. I can hardly eat at the same time as him because it is so stressful I am sick to my stomach.

He eats:
breakfast: cocoa puffs, fruit loops, trix or toast or pancakes (only homemade, perfectly done like on my griddle, not from restaurants) occasionally a bagel
lunch: grilled cheese, or grinder roll and cheese, or bagel with cream cheese or bread and butter
dinner: pasta with butter and sometimes parm cheese, yes every night.
Milk with all meals.

He also likes crackers, goldfish crackers, cookies, apples, grapes, watermelon, cucumbers with salad dressing, pistachios, orange juice, apple juice

Meanwhile my daughter eats homemade oatmeal with fresh chopped dates and honey for breakfast.

He eats no meat, chicken, eggs, vegetables, fish, yogurt.

I don't know how this happened but even as an infant he rejected meat, jarred meat baby food, and homemade meat baby food. he ate more varieties of food as an infant/toddler but it seemed like every time he got sick he stopped eating some particular food.

Can a person be a natural vegetarian? I am starting to wonder if he has a freak allergy to meat and we will find out that he must have had some kind of miraculous intuition from birth.

as he was my first child and I had no guidance, I am sure a good part of this has to be my fault somehow. It is just not normal and I must have done something wrong. perhaps i should have forced him somehow, but he was so picky i wanted to serve him something he liked to make sure he would eat it.

but I just don't know what to do at this point.

I recently got him to eat PB&J with the slightest bit of peanut butter and also macaroni and cheese (with only half the cheese sauce). He periodically eats other things like trix brand yogurt, gogurt, danimals drinks, but when he does he is very particular about what brand and these likes come and go.

Every year I complained to the doctor as he got pickier and pickier and more neurotic. but they kept telling me, ask him to try other stuff, just put it on his plate and see if he eats it, don't force him....

My 3 year old daughter eats a great variety. I wasn't taking any chances with her, if she didn't like something i kept giving it to her till she ate it. but now even she is starting to give us a problem. "I am DEFinitely not eating that" she sometimes says. she's picking it up from him.

I am afraid if i make him eat what we are eating cold turkey then he will starve himself. but he is so stubborn i almost don't see it working any other way. he has improved a bit since school started but he is so far from normal I am worried. I am also afraid if i say i will take away his things, i will end up taking everything away from him and he will just be a little monster and make life living hell for the rest of us. (he is 7 by the way and very strong willed)

He is not a skinny kid btw, not fat either, just pretty solid. I am worried he's not getting the vitamins and minerals he needs and if he has a growth spurt he will end up a bean pole.

I used to hear about people giving their kids crap like chicken nuggets, fries, hot dogs, all that junky stuff. Now I dream of him eating chicken nuggets, anything other than pasta (by the way i had to work him up from thin spaghetti, not jumping right to elbow noodle, no, thing spag. then reg. spag, then linguini, then small stars, then tubettini, then pipette, then shells, then elbows, then rotini, then ziti)

We cheer for him (even his sister gets in on it), clap for him, compare it to fear factor, praise him, reward him, yell at him, punish him...

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Does anyone have any idea what I should do? Please tell me your story and what worked and didn't work and how your kid turned out in the end. Should I strip his room bare? Take away all the crackers? Shove it down his throat? Beg him? Order him? Pay him? Ground him? Send him away to someone who will make him eat, heartlessly? (I always said when he turned five I would send him to my brother who is heartless and could get him to eat. He turned 5, then 6, then 7 and I haven't the heart to do it)
I am desperate!

Please only constructive posts here, I am begging you. I get enough crap from the inlaws, who are from a country where the main job of a mother is to get the kid as fat as possible, to take more of it here. I really need help![/quote]