My son of 8 refuses to eat any fruit or vegetable except raw carrots and apples. What can we do?
Posted by
Doc Brown
Our son was a voracious eater from birth until age two at which point he started to get very picky. He was a 9 lb baby that we just couldn't seem to fill up those first two years. But, he was never fat, just energetic and slightly bigger than most of his class. Today he is of average weight and height.
At age 8, he is very active (soccer 4-days/wk, baseball 2-days/week) and is in the gifted program at school. He plays the piano competitively, wins chess tournaments in the area, and is a choirboy at the cathedral in San Diego. So, he shows no outward signs of malnutrition.
But, he is the pickiest eater. He absolutely will not touch anything made from vegetables (except raw carrots or apples) other than an occasional spot of catsup with some fried tofu. He will only eat plain noodles(no sauce), will not touch soup, and will only eat the white of an egg unless threatened to "sit there until it's gone". His taste seems to be centered around milk, cheese, dark chocolate, bread, and sugar. And, yes, we do augment his diet with vitamins.
Needless to say, I don't look forward to dinner time anymore. Our whole family loves to cook, including our son. who's actually a very good little "chef". So, this eating issue has become a big problem. We've tried the standard stuff (limiting his diet, etc.) with no results.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by Doc Brown
Our son was a voracious eater from birth until age two at which point he started to get very picky. He was a 9 lb baby that we just couldn't seem to fill up those first two years. But, he was never fat, just energetic and slightly bigger than most of his class. Today he is of average weight and height.
At age 8, he is very active (soccer 4-days/wk, baseball 2-days/week) and is in the gifted program at school. He plays the piano competitively, wins chess tournaments in the area, and is a choirboy at the cathedral in San Diego. So, he shows no outward signs of malnutrition.
But, he is the pickiest eater. He absolutely will not touch anything made from vegetables (except raw carrots or apples) other than an occasional spot of catsup with some fried tofu. He will only eat plain noodles(no sauce), will not touch soup, and will only eat the white of an egg unless threatened to "sit there until it's gone". His taste seems to be centered around milk, cheese, dark chocolate, bread, and sugar. And, yes, we do augment his diet with vitamins.
Needless to say, I don't look forward to dinner time anymore. Our whole family loves to cook, including our son. who's actually a very good little "chef". So, this eating issue has become a big problem. We've tried the standard stuff (limiting his diet, etc.) with no results.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.