Picky eater aka my son

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Hi all
So I have been trying to get my son to eat better veggies fruit and so on I'm am struggling with getting him to eat anything that is not a peanut butter sandwich. I have let him help cook meals and hlep pick out even what he wants to eat and that does no good. now he is four and very strong willed and independent but there has got to be away to use that to my advantage. so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions and I was also wondering if anyone knew of a vitiman that would also help. Yes I've done my research on them but there are so many I just want to bang my head on the wall. I've also looked up how to get a picky eater to eat and a lot of things I have seen pretty much are processed junk food and the like. If anyone has anything please help me.

 

[Centralforce666]

After having quite a few kids grow up under my care (6) I can honestly say that this is a stage of their development which is fairly normal, even in children who, at 2 years old would eat anything and everything.

That doesn't mean that you just let them go however and sometimes providing no alternative is the only way. This also teaches children boundaries and that they cannot have whatever they want.

I also found that it is useful to explain the consequences of not eating correctly, ie sickness, disability and even death particularly if you have someone who the child knows who has an obvious illness or has died from poor lifestyle choices.

Ultimately we want our children to eat healthy so that they do not or at least reduce their exposure to the development of such consequences so there is little point in hiding the fact even when they are young.

Our job as parents is to raise children who are capable of looking after themselves in the "wild" and making reasonable, rational and logical choices amongst a myriad of other things..

 

[[email protected]]

After having quite a few kids grow up under my care (6) I can honestly say that this is a stage of their development which is fairly normal, even in children who, at 2 years old would eat anything and everything.

That doesn't mean that you just let them go however and sometimes providing no alternative is the only way. This also teaches children boundaries and that they cannot have whatever they want.

I also found that it is useful to explain the consequences of not eating correctly, ie sickness, disability and even death particularly if you have someone who the child knows who has an obvious illness or has died from poor lifestyle choices.

Ultimately we want our children to eat healthy so that they do not or at least reduce their exposure to the development of such consequences so there is little point in hiding the fact even when they are young.

Our job as parents is to raise children who are capable of looking after themselves in the "wild" and making reasonable, rational and logical choices amongst a myriad of other things..

Thank you so much it's a good reminder as a mom to stand my ground in that aspect. It seems like we have a conversation about health daily about how eating good things and such make you strong and that eating bad makes you sick and so on it's an up and down battle I just want the best for my little guy.

 

[Centralforce666]

That conversation will pay off in the long term.

Particularly if you are quick to point out the relationship between poor eating and negative physical condition.

Ie if your son is having a bad day me tall and physcially (feeling tired, grumpy etc.) and you can or have observed poor eating the day before (skipping meals etc) then you can gently point out the cause and effect relationship.

Similarly, if your son tends to go from being grumpy to being happy shortly after eating (as my youngest daughter does, quite noticeably) then you can point this out as well so that his mind begins to associate the two.

Applying this to healthier foods is just a matter of patience, timing and thoughtful logic.