To keep trying to get DS to eat veg?

[pjmama]

I posted this in Food, but nobody wants to talk to me there today!

My DS is 3.6 and I can't get him to eat a single vegetable that isn't pureed and hidden in something else.

I always put a few on his plate and mostly allow him to ignore them, to try and keep the pressure off hoping he'll have a go one day? However maybe once a week or so I'll encourage him to try some. With a bit of coaxing he'll sometimes put the tiniest bit in his mouth, but then gag and spit it out. Today he actually threw up the rest of his dinner because I'd persuaded him to put a few peas in his mouth. His twin sister however, who was weaned in exactly the same way can't shovel her veg in fast enough!!

AIBU to keep getting him to try them or should I just accept that he doesn't like any veg at all and stick with pureeing and hiding where possible? How long is it acceptable to do that for, as surely I shouldn't have to be adding pureed carrot to the gravy when he's 14?!

Should I talk to the GP about why he actually gags, or is this a normal reaction for a child this age to food they don't like? I know kids have food preferences just like adults, but there's not one single veg that he will eat and I'm concerned about the whole 5-a-day thing. He likes apples and grapes, but that's about it.

I'm starting to lose perspective and it's really hard not to get frustrated when I'm cleaning a pile of sick off the kitchen floor!

Has anyone else had experience of this and have any advice?

Thanks

firstly well done for persevering- and making sure he gets the nutrients by hiding them.

would it help by getting him his own tomato plant and showing them where they come from?

I sympathise - my DS is 2.7 and the only veg he'll eat for me is cucumber (although he'll eat all sorts at nursery but that's another story). He's done the gagging thing with peas, too (despite me knowing that he eats them happily at nursery) so I think that's more for effect than it actually making him sick.

Personally I do think it's worth persevering - my own approach is bribery, nothing else works! I don't do it at every meal but once or twice a week I'll put some broccoli on his plate and we do a straightforward deal of 1 chocolate button per piece of broccoli eaten. We usually manage about 5 pieces!

Is your DS eating fruit? If so, I'd worry less about the veg as at least you know he's getting some vitamins.

The old bribery route isn't for everyone but personally I find that pre-schoolers are very adept manipulators, bless them, and respond best to very simple incentives - stickers, chocolate buttons and reward charts etc. If you've not tried those things I recommend giving it a go. If you've tried them and he's still not budging then maybe give it a rest for a bit (though carry on with the hidden / pureed veg) take the pressure off and try again in a month.

HTH

hmm. can't really advise, but I can sympathise - DSDs are twins, same thing one loves veg the other is mega fussy! still is, aged 12... so yanbu to keep trying, it needs sorting out.

from my TV based knowledge, the gagging is almost certainly learned behaviour as he knows it pushes your buttons.

if you can tolerate supernanny without gagging there's one here that may help? he's older than your DS but there may be some good info, I watched it ages ago so can't remember much.

oh also I read somewhere about a really fussy eater who suddenly got an appetite when she started taking a multivitamin - worth a try? agree you should keep sneaking it in, in the meantime.

Hmm. It might be worth talking to GP as it sounds like he might have started to develop a slight phobia. You don't want to make that worse. I'm not sure what the answer is. Plenty of people would say leave him be, kids do grow out of fussiness. My DP had a weird thing about veg as a kid too (even drew pictures of carrots with bombs in them, as if they deeply threatened him) but he ate lots of apples. and as he reached his late teens started to make and eat 'red sauce' (tomato based pasta sauce, incl onions, peppers etc) and now enjoys all veg. Although, strangely, he does have a slight allergy to carrots - they make his lips swell - something he never realised as a child but there might have been a biological reason he hated them.

Having said that, my instinct is to keep encouraging it, in a fun way, lots of encouragement, game playing, have a friend over (one who likes veg!) and do carrot crunching contests (how loud can you crunch?) and how many peas can you stick to your mash, etc. Try sweetcorn if peas aren't palatable. Or concentrate on crudites - they are less gag-inducing than cooked veg. Cucumber, carrots etc can be dipped in all sorts of things - peanut butter (v tasty), hummous, even cheese fondue. lots of praise/gold stars etc if he tries any.

Good luck!!

My DD is the same, refuses to eat a single vegetable. It's very frustrating. Thankfully she does like quite a few fruits so I shovel those in as much as I can!

I don't know if I will be shot down in flames for this but I buy those posh vegetable crisps (think they are Tyrells), they are parsnip, beetroot and sweet potato I think.

She will eat those, but I do wonder if they have had all their goodness fried out of them

as all above have advised, don't worry he will be getting his vits in his fruit etc.My son is exactly the same, we live on homemade soups as it is the only way to get his veg down.

keep persevering. DS1 went through a stage of refusing any veg. I kept putting it on his plate every night and didnt push him.

In the last 3 months (he's now 3yr 8m) hes started eating parsnip, sweetcorn, peas, broccoli and cauliflower. I am utterly amazed, as he refused point blank to even try them before - but now will scoff them. I think his day nursery helps as they have a lot of big meals together with lots of children.

Just keep putting it on his plate and see how he goes. Dont push him or he will get a phobia - its literally a case of praise when he does eat some, ignore when he doesnt.

He sounds like my ds2 who will eat any and all veg (except peas, he does really dislike peas) if pureed and hidden but will only eat tomato (tech a fruit I suppose) if recognisable.

I'm persevering - some veg goes on the plate every tea time and yesterday we had a breakthrough as he ate a piece of carrot (I pressurized him into it by with-holding his yogurt - he loves yogurt). I intend to ratchet up the pressure as he gets older in similar style cause I know he likes the flavour, but I am a mean mummy when it comes to food.

Thanks everyone for the advice, it's nice to know I'm not the only one! I think I'll just stick with the hidden veg for now and keep putting veg on his plate without pushing him to eat any. Fingers crossed I get a result like smokinaces one day!

pjmama, another thing we tried was raw veg - thinks like those baby corns and mushrooms. DS was a lot more keen in picking at bits like that than cooked stuff to start with.

We've also found tinned veg a good starting point, as its sweeter than frozen and fresh and a lot softer. Tinned sliced carrots are great, as is tinned sweetcorn.

I also got DS involved in planning our meals. I would sit with him and plan the week - getting him to help me choose. He would have to pick a meat/veg a carborhydrate and a veg for each meal. We'd stick that days choice on the front of the fridge and he'd help me shop for the veg and help me cook it. It seemed to help his understanding of the process - tonight he picked fishfingers, rice with peas and sweetcorn and carrots so it seems to be working

What kind of veg is it? I never ate cooked veg as a child, still don't really love it. However I go nuts for salad and fruit.

I was a right cow with ds and used to put his veg on his plate first amd not give him the rest of his dinner until he'd eaten it. I'd he didn't want it, fine, he could have fruit later if he was hungry. Not that it would work for every child, but it did for him.

I was at the end of my tether though, this was when he was three and had refused all vegatables and fruit since he started eating solid food. He had terrible constipation and I started the tough line after being accused by a pharmaisit of being a lazy young mum who couldn't be bothered to feed him properly.

It worked for him. After a few weeks he started actually enjoying veg and by the age of 5 would eat any fruit or veg put in front of him.