your kid will grow out of it. My last little one had me pulling out my hair because he wouldn’t eat meat. Now he eats everything and wants to eat all day.
All I know is if she wake up at 3am sweating like a slave again because you want to play games, we're going to be reading about you in the paper.Summertime coming back around too
Its over
Elle Seven
Superstar
@Hathaway
Yes, I have dealt with that, OP. My first was a picky eater. Still is, honestly...a decade old and then as a rail. The list of what this child will eat is very specific. My mama said I used to be the same way. She eventually stopped fighting and just bought what she knew I would eat - which, in my case, I guess was oatmeal at nearly every meal.
What I can tell you is if you, like most of us, were raised under authoritarian parenting, you are going to feel conflicted trying to truly see what your child may need and what may really be going on, because most of us raised under that style are conditioned to see obedience as respect. You could try to explain to someone that the emotional capability and brain development of a 3-year-old can make it such that trying to force him to eat what you want is not the smartest or healthiest thing to do, and it would still get written off as something easy to remedy under "old school" parenting.
I'll say most of the stress I experienced in those toddler days with my first, and even now, nearly always come from 1) parenting from a place of fear
(i.e. trying to do something opposite of what everyone else in your family/friends suggest) and 2) really not paying attention to the child in the present. What my child liked and needed as a toddler has changed up to now and likely will continue to change. My expectations for what that may look like must change as well, though not necessarily my principles themselves (i.e. I prioritize healthy eating for my children always but what they may like to eat may change over time). At 42 years old now, I would never know that I was a picky eater as a child; at some point, I grew out of it on my own. I say that because we sometimes forget none of this stuff will last, and your baby will likely continue to grow and change as well.
When dealing with our children, though, I get it - that sense of urgency will come when we feel like they MUST do something and they must do it NOW. I think that is a consequence of authoritarian parenting, which includes a lot of reactionary actions and desire to control everything rather than to actually observe and respond to our children as real people. I'm not saying to just give the baby the unhealthy things he likes. I would suggest making sure he gets his nutrients in other ways if he really doesn't want to sit down and eat like that:
1) Herbal teas which can be rich in minerals; you can experiment with flavoring them with blackstrap molasses, which are rich in iron
2) Smoothies where y'all are making sure he gets his greens and protein - let him pick which fruits he likes and help make them in the kitchen. At 3, he can totally be helping in some way with that. Chia seed and peanut butter are great additives in smoothies, too, unless he has an allergy.
3) Multivitamin and probiotics to keep his gut health in check
In short, control the controllables. If y'all can make sure the baby is at least getting his nutrients in these ways, it may help ease the stress surrounding him not eating what y'all are putting out for him. You can't force that baby to eat though, and him not responding to you trying to feed him a certain way doesn't necessarily indicate 1) a failure on your part, 2) a problem on his part, and 3) a need to start trying to persuade him through punitive means to do it. While there are always exceptions to the rules, he will likely grow out of it at some point just like we all do.
Yes, I have dealt with that, OP. My first was a picky eater. Still is, honestly...a decade old and then as a rail. The list of what this child will eat is very specific. My mama said I used to be the same way. She eventually stopped fighting and just bought what she knew I would eat - which, in my case, I guess was oatmeal at nearly every meal.
What I can tell you is if you, like most of us, were raised under authoritarian parenting, you are going to feel conflicted trying to truly see what your child may need and what may really be going on, because most of us raised under that style are conditioned to see obedience as respect. You could try to explain to someone that the emotional capability and brain development of a 3-year-old can make it such that trying to force him to eat what you want is not the smartest or healthiest thing to do, and it would still get written off as something easy to remedy under "old school" parenting.
I'll say most of the stress I experienced in those toddler days with my first, and even now, nearly always come from 1) parenting from a place of fear
(i.e. trying to do something opposite of what everyone else in your family/friends suggest) and 2) really not paying attention to the child in the present. What my child liked and needed as a toddler has changed up to now and likely will continue to change. My expectations for what that may look like must change as well, though not necessarily my principles themselves (i.e. I prioritize healthy eating for my children always but what they may like to eat may change over time). At 42 years old now, I would never know that I was a picky eater as a child; at some point, I grew out of it on my own. I say that because we sometimes forget none of this stuff will last, and your baby will likely continue to grow and change as well.
When dealing with our children, though, I get it - that sense of urgency will come when we feel like they MUST do something and they must do it NOW. I think that is a consequence of authoritarian parenting, which includes a lot of reactionary actions and desire to control everything rather than to actually observe and respond to our children as real people. I'm not saying to just give the baby the unhealthy things he likes. I would suggest making sure he gets his nutrients in other ways if he really doesn't want to sit down and eat like that:
1) Herbal teas which can be rich in minerals; you can experiment with flavoring them with blackstrap molasses, which are rich in iron
2) Smoothies where y'all are making sure he gets his greens and protein - let him pick which fruits he likes and help make them in the kitchen. At 3, he can totally be helping in some way with that. Chia seed and peanut butter are great additives in smoothies, too, unless he has an allergy.
3) Multivitamin and probiotics to keep his gut health in check
In short, control the controllables. If y'all can make sure the baby is at least getting his nutrients in these ways, it may help ease the stress surrounding him not eating what y'all are putting out for him. You can't force that baby to eat though, and him not responding to you trying to feed him a certain way doesn't necessarily indicate 1) a failure on your part, 2) a problem on his part, and 3) a need to start trying to persuade him through punitive means to do it. While there are always exceptions to the rules, he will likely grow out of it at some point just like we all do.
Sir Richard Spirit
Superstar
That seems pretty normal to me 
