Going out of my mind!! 7 Year old who eats nothing but rubbish!!

[Coathanger]

OK, I am at the end of my teather now. My 7 year old DS is stick thin (although average height) and falls ill at the drop of a hat, and all I can put it down to is his crappy diet. But I have tried all I know to get him to eat healthier.

His diet literally consists of:

Breakfast - Coco pops or toast
Lunch - bread roll with only butter (hates all sandwich fillings), crisps and a banana or apple
Dinner - rotation of beans on toast, chicken nuggets, burger, or fish fingers, all with smiley faces or chips.

The only veg he will eat is carrots, buy he will eat fruit if he's in the mood (apples, satsumas, grapes, bananas)

I make homemade burgers with carrot hidden, but other than than he eats nothing else I can smuggle veg into. He doesn't eat any "saucy" foods to make with hidden things and he will not try anything.

He does eat sweets occasionally but he doesn't fill himself up on crap during the day. He literally has 3 meals and if he comes home from school hungry he has fruit.

Has anyone got kids similar? How do you get on? HAs anyone got any tips? I've tried bribary, threatening, ignoring, a new tastes diary. I just want him to eat the same as the rest of the family.

By the way I have 2 other sons who will eat and try pretty much everything. So what did I do wrong this time?

Oh, forgot to ask..........

how's the course going?

One of my colleagues has just left to do the same course in Kent somewhere..........

SPOOKY

Only just seen this thread so you probably have all the advice you need but i'll add my little bit!!! When mine went through fussy stage at ages 3,6 and 8, i made a deal with them. I would chose one days meals and - as long as they ate up my meal- they could chose the next days menu. I found it worked to give them a basic idea of nutrition(carb/protein/veg to make a meal). This helped to give them choices and feel a bit grown up and me a rest from always thinking of exciting meals! Ive put this on another thread so hope im not boring people by repeating it.

I have a ds just like this, in fact eats far less. I have made my peace with it. THose without kids like this (and I likely would have been as quick to say, just let him starve, he will eat) until I had this child. My other kids are good eaters, no fussiness. I truly believe it is beyond fussiness with kids like this. He objects to textures, smells, presentation (even his teacher told me she sometimes lets him eat in the hall if someone has a strong smelling food). He is not being a brat, he is hardwired that way. There is a name for it and I recall an article on it years ago, kids can be made to try new things by slow and carefull intgroduction. But if you want my advice, if he is eating a healthy diet but not varied, leave him to it. my son won't eat veggies but I insist he eat a fruit with his meals then (remember the rules 5 servings of fruit OR veg). I talked to a dietitian once about him and she said the way to go is smoothies. He loves them and I load them up with all kinds of fruits he would never eat until chopped in a smoothy, add honey instead of sugar, some egg, and I feel good he is getting what he needs. My ds is 8 and hasn't"grown out of it". I just watch his snacking and junk food intact and insist that his limited diet be healthy, (even if it is pretty bland in my opinion). HOpe this helps. My point is, I get what you are saying and think you ds eats fine from your description.

just reread the thread, truly, it is not a "fussy stage" if you have one of these kids. I have done the licking and tasting food thing, it doesn't work. Think of a food you absolutely hate, it disgusts you (or something else that you would be disgusted to eat) then imagine someone asking you to eat it, or lick it or smell it, you just wouldn't unless forced to. It sound extreme, but these kids really feel that way about certain foods. It is absolutely disgusting to them and those who can eat anything (like me) don't get it. My son and I have tortured ourselves over his eating and it wasn't worth it, I made my peace and , like I said, ensure that he gets what he needs nutrionally from what he will eat that is good and say no to too much junk. It sound to me coathanger like you have done a great job as he eats healthy. Will he eat like the rest of your family, probably never. It is a pain I know. But in a few years, he can make his own.

I'm also experiencing the extremes of fussy eating! My 7 yr old DD was experiencing severe stomach pains on Friday and I had her checked out for appendicitis, urinary infections, etc at our walk-in centre - turns out she's got COLIC as a result of me refusing to replace the meals we're having and she won't eat with what she does like! So please believe me - children WILL starve themselves if they don't like (or think) they won't like something!

Unsure how to go with this situation now as I don't want to nuture the control thing she's got going on but also don't want to cause hmy DS to have colic again! Any ideas?

I thought about feeding her just boiled baby new pots, peas + carrots with a bit of chicken (the only guaranteed foods she'll eat) everytime she won't have what we're having until (hopefully) she becomes so bored of her option she becomes curious about what we're having. Whaddya reckon?

By the way - I'd love her to have any type of ceral - even chocolately ones (!) for brekkie but she refuses - 2 x fromage frais mini pots is all I can get inside her! Excuses range from - the cereal is soggy, its too sloppy in texture or the toast is too brown or got too much butter on it! I just can't win with whatever I try!

HELP???