tips on getting 2 yr old to eat salad and fruit

[knat]

my dd is 2 and although i have put tomato and cucumber on her plate when she has crackers andcheese etc she won't eat it She will pick it up and lick it but that's about it. The same with fruit. If you give her an apple she's lick it but won't bite and eat it. i've tried pieces of fruit but again doesn't eatit. I don't know if its the feel of it that's putting her off (wet feeling?) She also won't eat ham. I put a tiny bit on her plate and put it on a fork with a piece of sausage (which she does like) and she managed to spit the ham out of her mouth. I would love to give her sandwiches but she just doesn't eat them - she takes them apart and puts them back on the plate. Any tips gratefully received. Also She doesn't feed herself she is quite capable but needs constant distraction at mealtimes and has to have books or me drawing for her. I would love her to start digging in to her mealand try herself . Any ideas on how to help this and reduce the distraction so she is just eating at the table as we would???? If i don't give a distraction she will have few mouthfuls and then won't eat.

does she pick food off your plate
if so
make an extra load on your plate and tuck in accompanied by various yummy noises

my kids always liked food better from my plate

I don't think it matters if she doesn't eat them on there own iyswim. Have you tired hiding vegetables in pasta sauce or giving her soup now it's getting colder? With fruit will she eat it stewed with yoghurt?

My 2dds were more likely to eat fruit if it was fun. eg: smilely face with satuma hair and mouth, grape eyes etc. they also liked it as part of a picnic.
Perhaps try a banana in warm custard.

Don't give her anything in between meals so that she's hungry......eat the same as her...with her......choose really nice sweet fruit (grapes/satsumas)...encourage and praise even if she does lick! She'll soon get the message. How about cutting sandwiches into really tiny squares and put jam or something smooth into them and then.....(here comes the sneaky bit) make them a little bit bigger every day? You could then try different fillings once she gets the hang of it.
I had the same trouble with our two...DS (2.5) is reluctant to bite at the moment (!?) but we had a breakthough yeaterday when he bit a nugget...[trumpet fanfare]. I suppose they just get the idea as they grow up.

Oops forgot to echo the banana and custard/fruit puree and yoghurt/smiley 'fruit man' ideas....

Make a smoothie type drink/dessert? I puree lots of fruit and mix with yoghurt. I do a lot of role plays with mine. I let the teddy eat some fruit. Teddy says his favourite food is apple etc. With my DS1 who is 4, I tell him the power rangers got their powers from eating lots of fruit. It work with mine, but perhaps they are gullible.....You have to try to make fruit cool I suppose

i know you're not really supposed to but i found bribery worked for my 2yo who wouldn't eat any veg or salad at that age. a yoghurt or bit of chocolate if she ate some veg.

now at 4 she is almost enthusiastic about vegetables and regularly asks for more runner beans, peas, brocolli etc. last week she even ate cucumber for the first time ever. things do improve....

Salad often goes down well soaked well with salad cream or mayonaise....

Bribery where the fruit is concerned: I've often insisted they eat some sort of fruit thing (or veggie) & then they can have a biscuit or bag of crisps.

DD is 4 & still doesn't eat her tea readily by herself, btw. If she turns around & says she's very hungry she might get offered something like an apple at bedtime, but that's it... We've been doing this for years, but she still just does not eat any tea most nights.

Are you sure it's bribery....I'd call it reward .

I tell my kids it's about balance; the "junk" food tastes nice, but you need to balance it with healthier food.

Neither of mine were interested in salad as such at that age. dd likes cherry tomatoes and ds cucumber but will nibble other bits.

What about using yoghurt as a dip for fresh fruit or a mini fruit cocktail, with small pieces of chopped melon, sliced grapes, chopped apple and so on. Would she eat a pasta or rice based salad - chopped ham or tuna mixed with sweetcorn and chopped tomatoes and cucumber as a start. Also perhaps let her try to cut and prepare the food (with a toddler knife of course).

Does she sit up at the table or in a highchair ?
If the latter perhaps it is time to review it and start afresh. Can she choose a new set of cutlery, placemat and plate/bowl to try and inspire her to feed herself. Also are you eating the same with her - give her a small portion to begin with and you tuck into the same. That way you are occupied and can't provide distractions and she sees the food being enjoyed. If she is hungry she'll make some effort to eat, if she isn't remove plate and let her get down.

actually if you are clever you can "bribe" with something that's good for them anyway.

tinned pineapple was a huge treat for mine. they would eat lots of veg for the privelege of having pineapple for pudding.

also I have bribed with cheese on, say, pasta, IF they have eaten the veg. otherwise, no cheese.

fruit kebabs to dip in yoghut?
milkshakes made with fresh banana/strawberry etc?
let her cut up her own/prepare her own meal (Using children knife of course!)

don't worry about the taking snadwishes apart - my dd still does that and she is nearly three - it will get better. My dd also picks things off our plates even when she says she is full with her own meal.

Grated apple is nice in cereal or yogurt, or any soft fruit whizzed in the blender with natural yogurt.

My ds also needs amusement to stay sitting at the table for any period of time. I don't mind this too much as I feel it is the price I pay for getting him to be stationary - not an easy task for a toddler. I have gradually weaned him onto story tapes though, so I personally am not doing all the entertaining! If it bothered me more I think I would try what a previous poster suggested and just leave him to it, with no snacks between meals. Children will generally eat as much as they need to be healthy.

I wouldn't worry about the ham - not particularly healthy IMO anyway. My ds is also a pain with sandwiches but likes pitta pockets cut in half, or tortilla wraps which he can fill, roll and fold himself (with a bit of help). We spread them with philadelphia or hummus, and you could try adding salad bits to these too.

thanks everyone. She's fine with veg and will eat some fruit if with custard but i cant seem to get her to eat fruit as a snack or any salad items I;ll keep perservering with the sandwiches!!!!

we got cookie cutters and made interesting shapes with sandwiches e.g stars, love hearts, etc and that got dd a bit more interested in them although she has a limited range of fillings at the moment e.g. jam, smooth peanut butter, wafer thin ham/chicken (we just use one slice of the ham/chicken so that it is barely noticeable).

DD likes grapes, bananas and apples - she didnt eat grapes well until I left them whole and she only started getting into bananas again when I peeled them a bit and let her hold the whole thing in her hand - maybe she just wanted to be a big girl with them. She wont even touch cucumber/lettuce, etc and they certainly wouldnt get close to her mouth!!

Knat My ds is coming up for 22 months and just the same. But, I think if they are at least trying the food, putting in their mouths etc then eventually (one day!) they will eat it. Have you seen tiny tearaways recently - there are children with WAY worse problems around food! Ds will eat a roll but not sandwiches. Also will eat toasted sandwiches but not normal bread, I think he just doesn't like the texture of bread much...