Hurrah I have a new strategy for my fruit & veg hating 3 year old, anyone else care to join me in trying it ?

[rookiemater]

Our 3 yr old DS is very fussy over his food choices. I'm sure its due to past parenting mistakes such as using jars sometimes, offering him alternatives when he refused his meal and not recognising when he genuinely wasn't hungry.

In any case we are where we are. I have posted about it before but found it hard to implement the advice of just giving him what we eat because I work 4 days and its hard to get family meals out in time and the gulf between what we eat and he does seems to wide.

Fruit and veg wise he eats bananas, apples, chopped carrots ( sometimes) and thats pretty much it. We were out yesterday and I bought this great book called "Mange Tout" which is all about getting children to feel comfortable playing with fruit and veg, then moving on to smelling and kissing it and very gradually, hopefully tasting it. The philosophy is once they become desensitised to the thought of it, then they will be more willing to eat it. There is a website www.mangetoutkids.com which gives you an idea of how it works.

Anyway this morning at the breakfast table we started a game about fitting different types of fruit and veg in a little box he has, then at dinner had a "picnic" where i put out lots of different things on a rug. He hasn't actually eaten anything new yet, but I feel ridiculously optimistic that this is going to help because it makes sense.

I could do with some moral support, or perhaps words of encouragement from anyone else who has gone down this route.

[mumswobblybits]

I will watch for your progress as I am always eager to find new things that work. Lovely ds who is just 2 is very similar, but will sometimes try veg if it is disguised. The other days he will eat nothing but toast ! I also have the quandry of trying to get meals ready when I have been at work, plus I am trying to lose weight so it never seems there is a meal that suits us all at home. So I just want to wish you well; let us know if it works !!

[letswiggle]

I'm going to be realistic about not finding the time for 'mange tout', but as a note of encouragement, my ds3 has spent his first 3 years refusing to taste almost all fruit and veg (but his older brothers love veg, so don't instantly blame your parenting decisions), but has this week decided that he loves carrots and courgettes. So be very positive: like most things with children this could all be temporary.

[Springflower]

Hi, one of my sons (DS2) wont eat fruit and veg (and lots of other things including pasta until recently), but does eat some things that have them in them e.g.mince with loads of pureed vegetables in it (he is 5 though so 'shouldnt' be having pureed stuff). We dont eat together - I am on my own during the week - and what they eat is not what I would choose to eat. If someone said to me that I would cook different meals (I have 3 DS - 7,5 and 4) I would have said they were mad but the reality is that I do because otherwise the others would be 'dummed down' to what he eats or he wouldnt eat what we gave him. So, I end up giving him plain pasta when the others have pasta with sauce. He has plain omelette, others have cheese and veg in omelette etc. I do try and get him to eat one pea and put things on his plate but he just wants them off straight away and when he does eventually eat them just glugs them down with milk so that he doesnt actually taste it (did this with 1/2 a grape today). So, I will be really interested to see if it works for you (hope so) and if so will copy it!!

[rookiemater]

Springflower, glad I am not the only one doing separate meals at least I only have the one child

I do think there is a certain amount of nature rather than nurture about it. Someone I know has 5 year old twins, one will eat whatever is presented to him, the other will only have hotdogs in white rolls ( they are American).

So no takers to do it with me, sniff sniff.

[Springflower]

Ok, felt guilty at your lonesome approach so looked up the website!! Didnt tell me too much though except that I'd have to sign up to classes or buy the book and I'm not convinced about investing £10 on this! Will think about it after getting him to paint with some carrots this afternoon - is that along the right lines?! - Not taking the piss, i really will.

[mumof2andabit]

My ds hates veg too. Just won't touch them without serious encouragement/bribery!! Few weeks back I mashed potato, carrots, peas, green beans, sweetcorn together made them like fish cakes but no fish, rolled in bread crumbs and grilled. Told him they were power ranger food that the power rangers ate everyday. They were massive and he ate 2!!!

[Springflower]

How old is you son or is the answer in your name?! Mine will eat things if heavily disguised but he is 5 and I would like to get him eating a bit more without all the disguises. Having said that, there is a bit of me that just thinks as long as they have it it doesnt really matter too much. I was a nightmare eater as a child and just improved gradually over time so there is a bit of me with lots of sympathy (maybe too much).

[girlywhirly]

Food is a lifelong voyage of discovery. I only tried sweet potatoes and butternut squash in my 40's. And at 50, I have started to eat tomatoes as they are, not just as soup, ketchup, and bolognese.

I think sometimes unlikely combinations of foods work well, for instance, at a picnic, my DS made 'acorns,' a grape on a hoola hoop which you eat all in one! And I remember well as a child, the only way I could get veg down was to combine it with other things, a bit of carrot with a bit of mash and a bit of meat, and eat the fork-full all together.

Nothing wrong with disguised food, if it gets eaten. How lovely of you all to make such an effort to make veg more appealing. When I was a kid veg was boiled or salad at our house. I can't help thinking with hindsight I would have eaten much better if mum had been a more adventurous cook. Veg in a curry sauce would have been nice........

[Nemoandthefishes]

we do the over enthusiatic competitive streak here..works well!!
Gone from completely hating fruit and veg to being willing to try it. It is a mix of the I bet you cant pick that up/kiss it/lick it/eat it. To a huge round of applause for anyone who does do one of those things.

[Springflower]

Well, a report back from tonights tea - salmon, sweet potato and broccoli which is much better than they usually eat but I was having it too so decided to try and get them eating it. DS2 (the most difficult to please) refused the sweet potato, ate the fish gulping milk after each bite and kissed and licked the broccoli before grudgingly telling it he loved it!! Left it afterwards but maybe after enough kisses he will go further.... Is this the Mangetout idea Rookie?

[rookiemater]

Yes thats exactly it. I'm not paying for the classes either, I bought the book reduced to £3.99, so not to much of an investment !

It is very much about getting them to play with fruit and veg and explore it so the theory is that they will then graduate to eating it. So yesterday I put out a blanket and we had a "picnic" where I produced tomato & grapes. Didn't eat any but then he wasn't well today.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed though...