Trying to keep my very picky eater 3yo healthy as we’re (hopefully) expanding his diet. Right now the only foods I can get him to actually eat are McDonald’s, a specific brand of yogurt, banana bread, some crackers and some bars. Refuses any beverage besides water. (He’s likely on the spectrum.)

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
    14·
    2 months ago

    Flinstone vitamins, maybe? Or any other kids gummy vitamins.

    I would highly recommend talking with a child therapist before this becomes an ingrained habit, if you haven’t already.

    • seaQueue@lemmy.world
      10·
      2 months ago

      It’s also worth getting them checked out by a gastroenterologist. Sometimes picky eating is a subconscious thing to avoid having the shits all the time.

      • Apepollo11@lemmy.world
        10·
        2 months ago

        I’m not trying to downplay the reality of serious health concerns sometimes being behind food habits, but I think I need to say…

        Picky eating is an absolutely normal part of child development. Anecdotally, both of my kids went through two distinct phases of picky eating, at around 3-5 and 8-11.

        They gradually grow out of it. All you can do is try to make sure what they are eating is nutritious enough while they are going through it.

    • krowbear@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 months ago

      Yes, that may be the answer. He’s getting help through early intervention and on the waitlist to get tested for autism so see if that’s what’s causing his picky eating. Luckily his pediatrician is not urgently concerned about his diet because he’s growing well enough and seems healthy, but since I’ve stopped breastfeeding I’ve been keeping track of what foods he’s been eating and noticed how few vitamins are in all the things he’ll eat.

  • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
    10·
    2 months ago

    Dried mango was big for us. We also supplement with Flintstones. There are also vitamin drops you can sneak into their food.

    Also, eat something and casually tell him he can’t have any. My kid (AuDHD with PDA) wants anything they can’t have, especially when it’s mine.

    • intensely_human@lemm.ee
      4·
      2 months ago

      Jesus christ. My most powerful negative memories of being an autistic child were when communication between me and adults would devolve into manipulative tricks designed to help me.

      • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
        7·
        2 months ago

        I don’t know your experience, but parents have the moral obligation to keep their kids safe and healthy. That sometimes requires that you get your kids to do things they don’t want to do. You can either do this with manipulation or with force. There’s no third option because kids don’t have the proper coping mechanisms to suppress their emotions and do what they’re required to do, even when they don’t want to.

        That isn’t to say your parents did the right thing or that they were trying to keep you safe. I don’t know you. Maybe they were abusive. My point is only that manipulation is often the better of two bad options.

  • LordOfLocksley@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    2 months ago

    He’s 3 years old. He’ll eat when he gets hungry enough. He has no income, he can’t supplement his diet with McDs, just deny buying it. Sure you’ll have some tantrums, but better that now than trying to deal with it later.

    Parenting is not easy, it’s hard work, and with that comes hard decisions, including putting up with temper tantrums for the greater good.

  • Apepollo11@lemmy.world
    6·
    2 months ago

    Dry cereal always worked (still does!) as a nutritious snack. Granted, the nutrition has all been sprayed on, but it’s still there.

    A little mixed tub of Cornflakes/Branflakes/Rice Crispies/Coco Pops always goes down well.

    • krowbear@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 months ago

      That’s a good idea. He’s turned down all the cereals we routinely buy, but I should experiment with more of those.

  • NoneYa@lemm.ee
    4·
    2 months ago

    How about fun shapes of healthy foods? There’s this YouTube video of someone doing some https://youtu.be/5kZwTPGhkdA?si=cDgP6DiKXdKf77ej

    How about some dried fruits or dried vegetables like you can buy in bulk bags at a store like a health food store? My mom and dad got me hooked on dried pineapple and other dried fruits as a kid.

  • njordomir@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 months ago

    My local healthy grocer (for lack of a better name) has “potato” chips made with veggie based ingredients like lentil flour, garbanzo bean flour, etc. Same is true for pasta.

    Also, from personal experience, get one of those rubber horse heads and make up an alter ego that talks about how much they looooove veggies and how carrots are their favorite food. You can have a friend or family member do it, but if “Veggie Vincent the Healthy Horse” shows up enough times and talks about all the healthy, delicious things we can eat to grow big and strong like him, it’s a step in the right direction, not to mention fun for everyone involved. :D

  • intensely_human@lemm.ee
    3·
    2 months ago

    I mean, there are literally multivitamin gummies at any decent grocery store. If you want a processed food snack that’s got vitamins that’s where I’d start.

    My advice, being on the spectrum myself, would be to be open about the fact that they’re multivitamin gummies, ie don’t try to lie and present them as “desert”. But tell him you’d like to treat them as desert even though they aren’t so he can help get some vitamins.

  • rufus@discuss.tchncs.de
    3·
    2 months ago

    I’d say give some guidance and be a good example yourself. Maybe make up some well reasoned rules… McDonalds is okay every now and then if you also eat healthy food every now and then. Make sure he gets some fibers and vitamins and maybe you can get even a small kid to understand that there is a reason behind it. In the end I don’t think you have to apply force… I’ve seen children grow up on mostly plain noodles, water and a few other things and they turned out alright. But also don’t enable such behaviour. I think there are some rough rules of thumb… Like a kid needs to try something 6 to 15 times to like it (at all). Liking food is a lot about what we’re accustomed to, and not just the taste. And the early time in life is important to develop a diverse palette. And the parents are an important role model, so if they don’t have a wide spectrum of food, the kids are also very unlikely to get any different, no matter what you do. I’d say maybe read a (good) book on the subject. This is a fairly common problem with children. (And drinking just water is fine. I’m not sure if that applies to 3 year olds, but in general that’s a healthy thing to do.)

    If your kid is special, you might have to try a few things and see what works. But from looking at several specimen, I’ve come to think children are very individual anyways and there’s often not one thing that applies to all of them. Some people have rules. Some make the food look good, maybe carve a crocodile out of a cucumber every now and then. You can manipulate a 3yo and serve them arbitrary food in McDonalds containers if it’s just that. Or have them watch other kids or people and see what they do to give some inspiration…

  • Fester@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    Some crackers have whole grain versions that taste as good or better than their white flour versions. Goldfish and Cheez-its are the two that come to mind. This doesn’t make them “healthy”, but at least there’s some better fiber in there. Compare nutrition labels.

    Also try veggie chips/sticks. Again, they’re not “healthy”, but… there’s some better stuff in them than normal junk food. They are junk food with a small amount of bonus nutrition.

    Freeze-dried fruit is addicting, but expensive. Try it and/or dehydrated fruit. The latter is chewy while freeze-dried is crunchy and melts in your mouth.

    You can also try making your own nuggets or tenders with whole-grain panko breadcrumbs, and seasoning. The trick is to make it better than McDonald’s, which is easy for an adult, but tricky for kids. I don’t know the magic sauce though.

    One of the latest Splendid Table podcasts had a guest on to talk about cooking healthy for kids (or she just wrote a book about it, I didn’t listen yet.) It’s a great show. Check that out.

  • Delphia@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 months ago

    Can you get him to drink a chocolate milkshake?

    Toddler milk formula. Call it “Milkshake powder” add full cream milk and chocolate syrup. Its a bit of a sugar hit but its an assload of calcium, iron, protein and vitamins.

    My daughter is super picky too but she is getting better. https://www.goodfoodpartners.com.au/our-brands/messy-monkeys/ were one of our healthier options, as was popcorn.

    We also switched to an iron enriched wholemeal bread. Wholemeal pasta as well even though she likes it with no sauce.

    Took her from borderline anaemia to perfectly healthy.