My Son Will Only Eat Fruit

My daughter was the same way M. except for her it was vegetables. Now this year, she has started a fruit jag and won't touch the veggies. She's finally getting better about meat, but still doesn't eat the variety I would like to see yet. So I guess what I'm saying is it's completely normal.

The important thing for you to do is to keep presenting a variety of foods. That is the mantra I always tell myself. I decide when she eats and what to serve her. She decides what she will eat of what I serve her and how much she will eat. Sometimes she eats everything on her plate. Sometimes she will eat only one thing on her plate, but as long as I keep mixing things up and follow good eating habits myself, she will eventually even out.

My daughter is 3 now so it's not as bad as it use to be where she only eats one food group, but she still goes on jags where she seems to concentrate on 2 food groups at a time. My mom said I was the same way at that age and I know I grew up to eat from all the food groups so I have to trust in the process, and celebrate victories like the fact that she likes sauerkraut and broccoli. LOL!

Good luck!

Angie

This is just a phase and it will pass but you have to be the one to detail when he will step out of this phase. Most Dr's will tell you at this age children will eat when hunger and won't if they aren't. The best recommendation that I got was put a good nutritous meal in front of them and let them eat what they want. But.. if they didn't eat an appropriate amount of food then no snacks, no sugary drinks until next meal which in turn serve the nutritious meal again. Once the child is hungry enough they will start to eat well and meal times. You can always subsitute different foods for meat.. alot of kids go thru a phase where they don't eat it, I have no clue why on that one but check out for meat subsitutes.. like peanut butter and alot of vegetables. You be in control of their diet not the other way around. It won't take a long time til the child will understand they have to eat what is put before them or they will go hungry.

If you're worried about him getting enough protein, etc., perhaps make fruit smoothies with whey protein, soy protein, or hemp protein until he starts being more amenable to eating meat. Does he eat nut butters, cheeses, etc? If so, then not eating meat won't be a problem. If he is really truly only eating fruit, I'm sure it will pass. If his growth and devel. are normal, you shouldn't be worried although I understand the frustration when your little one becomes a picky eater.

My MIL once suggested we just offer our son a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of whatever we were having for dinner to save us the frustration of having him snub our entire meal that we had hoped he'd love! It took a lot of the stress off. Plus, he showed interest in our food sometimes and would try a bite. Then we'd be happy for those little moments.

M.,
You hit the nail on the head. It's a stage. As another poster said, keep presenting the other options to him every day, at every meal. Don't force him to eat the veggies or meat (obviously) and don't make a big deal about it either. But DO have a plate of the same food for yourself, sit down with him, and eat your meat and veggies, saying, "mmmm...that's good" - or the like. This helps them see that you actually enjoy those foods as well, and they will often want what you have more. If you're worried about protein intake, you might try tofu. I know that sounds weird, but my son just loved it (still does really). We don't eat it often as a family, but for the little ones, you can buy the extra firm variety, cut off a chunk, and cut that chunk into little squares. Grind up some crackers or cereal really fine, and coat the chunks in that. It makes for a SUPER healthy dose of protein that my son always gobbled right up. If your son has enough teeth to chew pretty well, you can also start giving him veggies with dip, and show him how to do it. Yes, he will most likely eat all the dip with his fingers for awhile, but he'll get over this with practice and modeling from you. We show him by grabbing the veggie, putting it in the dip, and saying, "Dip dip dip," in a sing-songy voice. He does that every time now, and gobbles almost all of his raw veggies - I'm still amazed every time he does it. You can take baby carrots and cut them in fourths lengthwise to make them easier to eat and less of a choke hazard, and broccoli and cauliflower can be cut into tiny pieces. Try them raw, or you can try to blanch them in boiling water (or steam) for just a minute or so to take out some of the crunch.

Good luck! And remember, this too, as with everything else frustrating, shall pass!!!
Amy K

I swear I could have written this same post a year ago. Your son sounds just like mine. No meat but also no eggs or cheese or yogurt or basically anything with protein. Only fruit and snacky foods. I wish I could say that he has totally changed since then. But he hasn't. Loves fruit and still no meat, eggs, cheese or yogurt. I offer him all sorts of things. I have made eggs every kind of way you can imagine and he never wants them. All kinds of cheeses, and still won't eat it. I have tried it all and keep trying. The pediatrician says he will eventually try new things. Well, I will praise that day! He is 29 mos. now. I have a very picky child...hopefully yours is just in a phase. :)

It is only a stage! One thing you may want to try, if he's using a spoon himself, give him fruit sauce (applesauce, pear sauce,etc.) let him eat it with a spoon and sneak some chicken in, pureed. So it gives him a bit of protein. Don't give up! As long as you keep offering, he will eventually get the message. One thing I did with my guy when he would go through things like this: I would put what he wants on a fork, and what I wanted him to eat on another fork. I would put what I wanted in front of his mouth first and immediately behind it the food he wanted. So he had to go through what i wanted first. It does make you revert back to feeding him, but you eventually go from that to making him take a couple himself then giving him a couple of what he wants. Good luck!

My daughter stopped eating meats around 15/16 months, and some various other foods that have the same texture as meats but has always loved fruits.

Around 2 years she would eat really moist turkey and chicken nuggets (homemade or fast food) along with fruit.

At age 3 years we still have not gotten her to eat much out of her 5-10 items (she will try ONE bite of veggies or meat but that is it).

My daughter is on a daily multi-vitamin, and her pediatrician said that they usually out grow it by age 6ish. We always put a little bit of what we are eating on her plate along with her additional fruit, wheat bread and cheese.

M.,

My son will be 17 mo. tomorrow and he is going through the exact same phase...I agree...its very frustrating. He used to eat anything and everything! I have resorted to putting things in sandwich form and its 50/50 whether or not he'll eat it but as least I know he'll try it. I have tried cooked eggs, ham salad, tater tot casserole with ground beef...basically whatever we have for dinner I put into a half sandwich and he's usually fine with that. I think its a control thing...he likes to feed himself. He also loves mac and cheese so I have added cooked veggies to that and he seems to eat some of them. He will spit out any form of chicken right now...even if its covered in cheese. He is also currently cutting 4 molars so I am not sure if it has anything to do with chewing the meat so I have also tried pureying it and sticking that into a sandwich...he still didn't eat the chicken but your son may.

I was at the pediatrician yesterday and he said to just keep offering him the veggies and meat (similar to what the other replies have mentioned) and that my son should eventually come around. If not, then the dr. said he'd recommend a multi-vitamin in a couple months. Good luck to you...sometimes its just nice knowing that you are not alone and there are other kids out there going through the same thing. : )

Take care,
K.

give him things disguised with fruit. like, strawberries and carrots mixed up together. or, strawberries and cream cheese sandwich.... be creative. creativity is essential in times when kids just refuse to eat anything but __. :P

i realize that he might just eat the fruit off and leave the rest, but.. who knows.

meat isnt important, give him a pb sandwich and OFFER other things. the important thing is to always OFFER other foods, and only give a certain amount of fruits. he wont starve. you dont have to feed him fruit unconditionally. give him conditions. yes, you may have fruit, but after you eat ____ or only if you eat ____ also. give a certain amount of fruit and the other options, and he either eats it or goes until the next mealtime/snacktime. never skip meals or snack times, but you do NOT have to make sure that he is full - make sure he eats what is offered or he is done with the meal.
make sense?

good luck