Thats a tough situation. My friends son is that way and is also small. I am not sure what I would do, I honestly don't think cereal is such a bad thing. Grant has gone through phases of only liking certain foods but never just one in particular. My typical nephew did this with mac & cheese, and my sister just let him eat it. Eventually he grew tired of it.
Grant also loves mac and cheese so I cook and puree carrots or other veggies and toss them in and he never notices.
I agree that I would never force a child to eat, but I don't agree on taking away the cereal. Thats just my opinion though. All kids go through phases and if it happens to drag on for long periods of time then maybe there is something to be concerned about. Does he eat it with milk? If it were me, I would just let him have the cereal, even for all 3 meals. As long as he is eating and happy why start a battle- Grant wil only drink chocolate milk and if I try juices he gets upset so I bought a gallon of chocolate milk and let him drink away... today for the first time he asked for OJ
Good Luck with everything. Holly gave some good advice, I am just very laid back. I struggled for several years with my 8 yo who has down syndrome and I learned quickly that I had to choose my battles- this is one I would forfeit. {HUGS}
Mason would starve himself if I didn't give him the food he wants...I was suggested by our pediatrician to not give in and eventually he would eat what was being offered and after 2 weeks of eating ABSOLUTELY NO dinner every night, I called the ped and he told me to stop. Mason wouldn't even try it and most nights it turned into a huge meltdown resulting in everyone's dinnertime being ruined...I made sure he wasn't getting extra breakfast, lunch, or snacks to be sure he would be hungry at dinner time and still he wouldn't even touch it. I couldn't stand sending him to bed every night with nothing in his stomach, but held out and it just didn't work.
What I am doing with him now is giving him 2 choices of food he isn't asking for that we are having for dinner...I let him choose because he feels like he is in control then...He needs to take 2 bites (which continue to grow in size now) and if he does I will give him what he is asking for. It was hard for the first couple of days, he would sit for sometimes an hour before he would try the food I was offering, but eventually he did it and then he would get his waffles or cereal that he was asking for. Now he just picks the food and takes the 2 bites, no problems. And just recently he is actually telling me he likes what I am offering and will eat at least some of it.
So much better than the tantrums, and screaming that was going on...I feel we have to pick and choose our battles and this was one that I want to fix with him, but there are so many others that are far worse, so I don't push it.
Basically you have a son who has gone from being a picky eater to being aYesterday, Jessica Seinfeld was on Oprah. She was promoting her new cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. She was inspired to write the book because her children were refusing to eat their vegetables. She discovered that if she pureed the veggies, she could work them into favorite foods like mac 'n cheese, chicken nuggets, and even brownies. I thought it was a clever way to get kids to eat better.
Here are some recipes:
http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/jseinfeld/recipes/jseinf eld_recipes_main.jhtml?promocode=HP23
Here's the interview link:
http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/jseinfeld/200710/food_20 071008_350_101.jhtml?promocode=HP22
Good Luck!
when my son was being picky his doc told me as long as he eats, cereal, chicken breast and some fruit - there's nothing to get concerned about.
However since this is an ongoing problem I would most certainly go to a dietician for advice and get blood work done just to make sure he's getting what his body needs.
Good luck
My son is 4. He was in a special needs preschool last yr and this yr moved up to a full day intergrated preschool as a role model student. He is being followed by a dr for possible autism /adhd (they arent sure and dont worry i am getting a second opinion on that).
Problem is- since school started this yr, he REFUSES to eat lunch. AND NOW he is refusing to eat at home! ALL he wants to eat are snacks and cereal. He wants cereal for all 3 meals. EVERY DAY. We have cut out alot of snacks but wont cut out the cereal b/c he will NOT eat anything if we do. The things he used to eat- he refuses. He says his belly gets sick. He was a picky eater to begin with- only mac and cheese, pb, and chicken nuggets. Ive tried to "punish" him to make him eat his food, but he gets so upset that when i do this- he throws up when trying to eat it. I feel so bad.
ME and my husband are at our wits end- this child is already small- 38 inch and 34 lbs....and he isnt getting much nutrition. i give him gummy vitamins and thats all.
PLEASE PLEASE give me some advice? I dont know what could be causing this- he was FINE all summer. It seems like since 9/1 this has started! What woudl you do? Im so worried for him! I feel like if i give in to the cereal all the time- he will never go back to regular food. We just came back from vacation and all he would eat was ice cream, jello, and cereal. and I MEAN THATS ALL!
We have the same problem here with my 5 yo, very picky lately, I just keep introducing foods to him that we don't eat all the time but i know he has eaten in the past.
One is mashed potatos, I probably make them 3 to 4 nights a week now, scrambled eggs, pancakes. I know what textrures he won't eat now and also certain colors he won't eat. Seems to prefer lighter color foods, and foods with a clean look and smooth texture.
One thing i won't ' do is force, I don't force any of my kids to eat. Eating shouldn't be a bad experience
We have cut out alot of snacks but wont cut out the cereal b/c he will NOT eat anything if we do.
How long has this gone on? For about 1 month now? You can take this anyway you want to-------but, after 4 kids---special needs or not, cut out the cereal!!
He WILL eat---when he's hungry enough. He will not starve himself to death.
I have never had a picky kid until my youngest---6y NT dd. She eats mac-n-cheese and hot dogs.
So---after making bean soup last night and of course--she's not eating that! She didn't eat. She knows, she will get nothing until morning---unless she wants an apple or something healthy. I refuse to make 6 different meals at dinner time.
What I would do is give him his morning cereal before school. Have him help you pack his lunch for school. Have him make his own sandwich, etc. My 7.5y HFA son will only eat PB&J since 12 mo old. Of course on a certain kind of bread also. I throw in a ham/cheese sandwich once in a while---and sometimes he eats it, sometimes he won't. I also don't give snacky foods very often. Lots of fruit/vegi's. No juice--just water---and my son needs to buy his choc milk at school.
If there is anything he wants to do right after dinner time---tell him he can do it--if he takes 3 bites (or 2, or whatever). If he won't----he can sit there all night and not do the thing he wanted to or get down and no complaining about food. He will not starve. Of course forget about all of this if he has GI issues or other health issues. I think because school started--it is very stressful for him and he needs to be in control of something. He is taking control of his food. But....you are the parent and you are the one in control of offering healthy foods to him. If he doesn't eat---he doesn't eat! Sorry to sound so mean. But after the second child--I figured that we have too many other issues that are more important then a power struggle with food. WOW thanks so much. Believe me, I will NOT take it as being mean- I NEED the advice. I just feel so bad b/c if i tell him u can not play on the computer unless u eat 2 or 3 bites- he will throw up. he starts gagging and throwing up. Its ridiculous. I said the SAME thing aboutt he control thing to my mother- I REALLY believe thats what it is! Its just hard to get over this problem now. Kerry
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