My Five Yr Old Son

Nor does my son, but it doesn't seem to be a problem in my household. Maybe there is a reason as to why he isn't interested in eating meat. Why don't you give him that option to be a vegetarian? It's actually more healthy for him and hopefully his wise eating can help improve the rest of the families choices. Good luck. BTY, my son does eat chicken nuggets...Earth's Best and Ian's.

Quit serving them. Easy as that. If you don't have them to cater to his tastes, either he will be hungry or he'll learn that there's more food than nuggets. He eats what you serve and within a time frame, or he'll be pretty hungry by the next meal. No snacks in between. Give him a high five when he dares to try something else. But set the rules, let him know what they are and do not deviate.

Keep offering a variety of healthy foods and don't make him chicken nuggets anymore. Serve him what the rest of the family is eating for dinner and let him take it or leave it. Don't let him snack within two hours of each meal. When you serve him dinner and he doesn't want it, excuse him from the table. In another hour or two when he IS hungry, pull his same plate out of the refrigerator, heat it up and serve it again. He will not starve himself, so don't worry about that. Children have to be taught how to eat and what to eat... so teach him.
Good Luck.

My daughter will be 5 in June, and has always been a somewhat picky eater. She does eat a wide variety of foods (loves fresh veggies and fruit, and will eat cheese of all kinds). However, meats really seem to get to her. What I finally realized was that she loves meats that are seasoned and properly cooked (not too dry - the dry texture sends her over the edge). She does not like sauces of any kind on her meats. Maybe your son is the same way - it may be a texture issue or just too many flavors in one bite with sauces? I give my daughter the same foods that everyone else is getting, but if there is a sauce involved, I put it on the side. With her meats just plain, she will eat more of them. Also, she likes it more if she helps cook it, so maybe if you involve your son in meal prep, he'll be more motivated to try new foods.

However, kids don't necessarily HAVE to eat meat to be healthy. It's possible to have him eat vegetarian and just make sure he has other sources of protein (beans & rice, tofu, cheese, milk, yogurt). Maybe he'll eat fish?

Either way, you're smart to get him off the chicken nuggets. My mom sent me the following link. It's 20 minutes, but well worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwrV5e6fMY

My whole family had a 24 hour stomach virus when i was pregnant 4 years ago......My oldest was 8 and he was so sick it took him nearly a week to finally get better. I took him to the doctor several times, very worried about how skinny he was getting because he already was a very picky eater.... After blood and urine tests, the doctor finally just concluded that he had the same 24 hour bug the rest of the family got but his body couldn't kick it because he just didn't have the "reserves" in his body from eating so unhealthy for so long. That gave him a wake up call to not only try new foods but to eat a few bites of food he doesn't like if he knows it's healthy for him. I hope your son doesn't have to learn a hard lesson like mine did. At 5, he is old enough to understand that he HAS to eat healthier to function properly. I know first hand how hard it is, believe me, but you have to no longer make chicken nuggets an option. Go to a book store and sit with him with some cook books and let him pick a few recipes he's willing to try. Take him grocery shopping and insist that he picks a few fruits and veggies that he will eat, then insist that he eats them. You can't force feed him, but you can offer ONLY healthy foods for a while. He'll get hungry enough and he WILL eat. (Plus bribes can be your best friend!) Oh, also, I stopped packing my son's lunch at school and he has to eat the school food of the day or go hungry, so he usually decides to eat whatever they're serving. He also eats whatever they cook on campouts for boy scouts because he knows if he doesn't eat what's there that there is no fridge to turn to for a snack later!

I can understand your frustration with this issue. Chicken nuggets aren't a good source of quality protein for a child since they are full of preservatives and transfat (hydrogenated oil) which the body cannot break down. You need to suggest he eat other foods and be "firm" that he cannot just eat chicken nuggets. If he won't do this i would try making your own chicken nuggets w/ a panko breading and baking them. You can google a recipe or buying it organic---which is expensive--that is if you "have" to give in to him. However, we are a species that will not starve, once his body is really hungry he will eat whatever. I am unsure who is 'boss' in your household. From a health standpoint this is very serious, certain meats such as fatty fish have the omega 3 and 6 fatty acid we need for proper brain function. Also you can be setting him up for body issues later if he is chubby. I would suggest he try atleast a couple new things a week and praise him for eating. Other good sources of protein are peanut butter, beans, flax seed oil (lol) which also has the omega 3 lol; it always helps to give the child 2 choices (both which aren't chckn nuggets) and if he says "chickn nugz" say " that isn't one of the choices"; sometimes if they feel they aren't being made to do somethng (1 thng) they won't view it as a power struggle (if he is that type)

I think if you don't push him but tell him he has to try just one bite of something new each day. If it is a meat product, or a veggie he has to just try one bite. He may surprise himself and find there are other things he likes. I for one hated meat, I still do. I can remember spitting my steak into a napkin when I was young. I would literally gag on it. One other suggestion is have him help you cook. You would be surprised the things kids will eat when they have taken part in cooking them themselves. I own a preschool and we have cooking classes (nothing elaborate simple things) and the kids eat everything they make. When I tell the parents the things they have eaten they are shocked because they would not eat them at home. Good luck!

You're the mom, he's the kid. Let him know that chicken nuggets are not on the menu anymore and he's to eat what's on his plate or there will be consequences. Pick what you know works for your child. Then follow through.

Start the meal with very small (like 2 bites) portions of each food on the table. He has to eat ALL of it. If he wants more he can have it. If he wants more of only one item, make him eat a bite of each of the others FIRST. He might just eat less for a while until he realizes that you're serious. That's okay, he won't starve. Be sure he's not getting snacks in between meals or lots of milk and juice, as these are calorie laden and can fill him up to not be hungry at meal times.

Best wishes, this will be a battle, but its so worth it to train your child to eat healthy meals!

G.---I wouldn't really worry about him eating lots of animal protein. We go way overboard on protein as part of the standard american diet. Too much ANIMAL protein increases our risk of all disease processes. I have charts and serving suggestions that I can share with you, if you'd like.

Keep offering different foods. Dr. Bill Sears (www.askDrSears.com) tells that it can take up to 10 tries for a child to accept a new food. Be lovingly persistent. You are the mom, he needs your guidance. Give him choices, but those choices will include foods that you want him to eat. Have him help you shop and prepare different foods. Look them up on the internet and study the nutrition of them together. Appeal to his vanities. Does he want to be a professional athlete? Eating healthful foods may not make him Derek Jeter, but it will make him the best athlete he can be.

Be a good example. If you are a picky eater, your children will be too.

I am taking a series of wellness classes taught by a naturopath who has her PhD in nutrition. So I have a huge collection of articles and other helpful items I would be happy to share with you.

And if you are worried about his overall health and nutrition in the meantime, I would highly recommend a whole food based supplement for your nutrition insurance program. I know of one that is backed by 13 independent studies that show 1) it is absorbed into the bloodstream, 2) it strengthens and balances the immune system (think reduced allergy and asthma symptoms), 3) protects and repairs DNA (think anti-aging), 4) protects and supports the cardiovascular system and 5) reduces oxidative stress/free radical damage by 75% in as few as 28 days.

I am happy to help in any way that I can. Oh, btw, you and your family will get LOTS of protein from plant based sources. Again, I can help with suggestions on how to incorporate more of them into every meal. It's really very easy.

Good luck, hope this helped. D. ###-###-####

my daughter would eat nothing but chicken too....i gave her ham once and called it "pink chicken"....it worked!
also...most kids will eat ANYTHING if you let them dip it ranch!

your lucky he eats chicken.... He will as he gets older try different but don't force it. if you force it he will not ever do it. Make sure the meats are really tender when you give them and give them everytime. if he takes one bit good if not than fine. You can try gravy on meat too. sometimes that helps. let him know if he trie a piece of something other than chicken he can have a reward that would be at your discretion. Also most children teeth are still babies and they have a hard time chewing up food let alone it gets stuck in there teeth and they don't like that. so theres alot to do with it. just keep trying and he will eventuallly. ALso he may never really be a meat eater other than chicken. also too instead of gravy you could maybe let him know if he takes a bite of meat than veggies or potatoe that could help him swallow better too.

If he does not care for meat than why should he eat it? Make him the chicken nuggets that he likes. Bes ure he takes a vitamin, protien shakes, etc. I will not make my kids eat something that don't like. I was made to clear my plate and I can remember choking down food to this day.

First question: does he eat peanut butter? If he does, then he should be okay on the protein end for now anyway. My son (4) isn't a big meat eater; it's spaghetti, tacos, goulash and chicken nuggets, but only from McDonalds. Now, he'll eat hot dogs (Hebrew National) and the occasional sloppy joe, but that's about it. Here is what my husband and I have to do each night we make something he thinks he doesn't like:

Dinner: Roasted chicken, potatoes and broccoli with apple sauce
I give him no more than six bites of chicken, and four bites of potatoes and broccoli and tell him that he needs to eat four bites of chicken, two bites of potatoes and three bites of broccoli or he doesn't get anything else to eat until breakfast the next day, no snacks, just water.
I have to be that strict because my grandmother used to live with us to baby-sit and if he didn't like what was made (even if he ate it a zillion times before) she would make him whatever he asked for (even if he didn't eat it) until he found something he wanted. One day, she gave him spaghettios, mac and cheese (a whole box for one little boy), a peanut butter sandwich and she went and took him to A&W for chicken nuggets. He refused to eat any of it so she ended up giving him yogurt which he loves and some fruit so he'd have something in his system. I don't agree with that and we had so many fights.
I'm going to leave it at this: your son is five, and is old enough to understand that Mom made X for dinner and he has to eat a certain number of bites, and if he chooses not to eat his dinner, than he doesn't get a snack of any kind. He may rebel against it, but you have to hold your ground, he's the kid, you're the mom and it's your house and your money. He will not let himself go hungry and it will not hurt him to not eat much at dinner time, eventually, he will get the hint that mom means business and stop being so picky. Another thing I've done with my son is have him help me make something. I'll let him add the ketchup to the sloppy joes, or the taco seasoning to the meat and it really helps.

If you want the spaghetti recipe and taco recipe that has my four year old begging for them on a weekly basis, email me. (My almost 3 year old daughter will eat almost anything and can out eat her dad) Good luck

If he is 5 years old, there is no reason to tolerate his pickiness. Tell him that if he does not want to eat what you make him for his meals, then you can clear his plate and eat at the next course. He will eventually be hungry enough to eat what you have made him.

Don't give him a choice. Fix his plate, he'll eat it when he gets hungry enough

Serve more of them and less of the other stuff. Cut out the favored food (breaded/processed food) all together for a while. Take it totally out of the diet. Don''t even buy it so you wont be tempted to serve it.

If all you serve are foods he won't eat, eventually he will get hungry and will eat it. He will have no choice. There is only one way to get rid of a picky eater, and that is to not allow it by catering to it.

My picky son eventually started eating veggies, because that was the only thing I served on his plate. Once he ate that, he could have the biscuit and chicken. If he didn't eat the veggie and left the table , fine. He didn't eat.

Catherine has a point about dry meat. I won't even eat dry meat. it's gross.
If I am cooking boneless skinless chicken, I put it in a salt bath first for an hour or two (a bowl of water and a 1/4 cup of salt.) in fact I thaw my frozen chicken out in a salt bath. The salt melts the ice. If you are overly worried about germs, you can bathe the raw chicken in a solution of FOOD GRADE peroxide and water (just 3-4 drops to a big bowl of water) and then rinse it .I do this also with my fruits and veggies to get rid of bacterias.

To make brocoli yummy I put a tablespoon or two of soy sauce in the steaming water.