My 7 year old son refuses to eat anything with vegetables or fruit in it.?
I'm at a loss - we fight over dinner every night - He refuses to eat all vegetables and all fruits, even in cereal bars, cakes etc. He will not even try anything like stew, spaghetti sauce or soup. He's recently given up on rice, any canned alphaghetti or breads that have grains in them. If a peice of parsley happens upon his plate, it's cause for him to complain. Meal times take over an hour, most of which is spent waiting for him to stop pushing a grain of rice around his plate. I've talked to my doctor, who assures me that no child has ever starved themselves to death - however, I think he is sick more than she should be, with colds and such. How do I get him to eat healthy (we have read books together and I have explained the importance of healthy eating but he adamately refuses to even try things) I want to enjoy my meals without incident, but even the things he once liked, which I catered to, he turns his nose up at. I can't make him Kraft Dinner every night can I?
Cheshire Cat2006-04-03T07:41:54Z
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Sounds like either your kid has horriffic allergy problems or is suffering from spoiled brat syndrome... or one other, much worse possibility. If it's the former, your doctor should be more careful about testing kids. If allergies are the case, then your child should have more than an emotional response to eating vegetable, like breaking out in hives or pain.
If not allergies and your discription is correct, please watch Nanny 911. You child may be spoiled because you cave in to his demands. At some point, almost every child engages in a battle of wills with their parents for household control. If the parents win, peace. If the child wins, hell on earth. Spoil the child, ruin his life. If you care, you must win through persistence and patience (these will be repeatedly tested!!) in order for your child to function in a society. Otherwise, expect to visit your kid in jail or a homeless shelter later (or support them until you die). More immediately, a spoiled child may suffer from obesity and severe constipation if you both continue on this path (not to mention your own headaches!).
Now the really dark stuff. Has your child been molested or otherwise abused? If this sort of acting out is not characteristic of your child, then you might want to (carefully, not giving the kid any great ideas about how to make your life more miserable in the battle for household control) check this out - particularly if a spouse or another significant other spends a great deal of alone time with the kid. Kids don't know how to tell you this stuff (let alone most adults!), but acting out is usually symptomatic of something going wrong. If you are the person abusing, then I have no sympathy for you. Hell hath no fury as the hatred of your own children.
My son is the same way. It is easy for people to say your child is spoiled, but unless they are in a similar situation, they really can not judge or comment. There are kids who just do not like the texture. My son and one of his preschool classmates refuse fruit of any kind. My son will eat a few veggies, but refuses to eat or try any fruit. Ever since he was 15 months old, he refused bananas and then other fruits. After baby food there was no more fruit in his diet. The only way he will eat fruit is freeze dried. I buy the Plum Organics bars that have veggies in them. Kids do not get enough veggies in their diet. I would definitely get support from a doctor and if your doctor isn't helping find one that will. Your child is more extreme than mine when it comes to eating. If he can eat spaghetti sauce, use a food processor to grind up veggies. Make sure your child doesn't know. Hide veggies and fruits in other foods, if not possible, maybe work on a goal of eating a fruit or veggie of his choice and a reasonable reward of his choice. Vitamins are a must with my kid. I worry, but I am hoping he will change as he grows older.
My mother made all of us kids eat at least one bite of everything she served. For unpopular vegetables, this one bite was a conflict sometimes, but we choked it down. No big heaping serving; just one bite or we couldn't leave the table. Eventually, we learned to eat vegetables (though I still hate brussel sprouts and lima beans).
If he still refuses to eat anything healthy, then let him know that he won't eat, period, until it is time for the next meal. If he asks for a snack because he his hungry because he didn't eat.
On the other hand, make sure that there isn't a good reason he is not eating grains. Do they make him feel sick? You may want to have him checked for coeliac disease, which is an inability to digest gluten, and could cause him to reject grain products.
Take everything away except for fruits and vegies then, and obviously let him eat a bit of meat as well. No fast food, soft drink etc. He'll eventually eat because he'll get hungry and won't be able to refuse vegetables!