That’s right everybody. My son is a picky eater. Before I had Sweet Pea, I was convinced that if you had a picky eater it was your fault. Yup. You must be doing something wrong or giving in to soon if your child will not eat what you make for dinner. I will not completely give up this ideal because to often I have seen parents give in and make four separate meals so each child will be happy. But now I do understand for some kids it is their personality.

For his whole 23 months of life he has been weary of putting things in his mouth. In a way it has been nice because I have never been overly worried about him choking on something he picked up off the living room floor. But on the other hand it is like pulling teeth trying to get him to eat anything.

And believe me I have tried everything all books recommend. We don’t buy sweets. In fact, he has had only one cookie in his life and never had cake or ice cream. This way not only is he healthier, but he never constantly complains about only wanting ice cream for dinner. We don’t buy the junk food we know he likes, such as chips, because again we don’t want him to be constantly asking for them.

I have also tried telling him he just won’t eat if he doesn’t eat what I make. And let me tell you what a disaster that was. Most kids would choose to skip one meal before deciding to at least try what mom puts on the plate. But not Sweet Pea. For two days he ate nothing but the oatmeal for breakfast and milk after dinner. And looking back I don’t think he was trying to be defiant. He was and is weary of putting something new or strange in his mouth. Needless to say for health reasons I couldn’t go on doing that. So the groove we have gotten into the past few months is part of our meal is something that I know he likes and the other part may or may not be new to him. And it has worked really well. He gets some good nutrition in his tummy, and he gets used to the sight of new foods.

I have learned that my anger or impatience over this issue will not solve anything. It can be very frustrating when we go to someone’s house or out to eat for dinner. But getting mad at him will not help. I have to be very patient and work with him, not against him. I think with any issue we have with our kids forcing them to do something will never help. If I force Sweet Pea to try something it only makes him anxious and upset. And then we have just taken two huge steps backwards.

Well I write all this to say yesterday we had a victory! My hubby was eating his chicken for dinner and Sweet Pea asked for some. This isn’t very shocking. He is always asking for our food but then just puts it right back on the plate. But last night he actually ate it! And then asked for more! I feel like our patience on the matter is finally paying off. For some reason, he felt secure enough to take a big bite and try it. Hopefully there are more days like this to come. It will definitely expand what we eat at dinner.