3yr old will not eat fresh fruit - HELP! (and won't even try)

[charx]

Hi
My DD now 3.5 does not eat fresh fruit. The only way i can get fruit into her is: dried - anything raisons to mango and dates to pears, or innocent smoothies.
Bribery does not work. not with presents - star chart, chocolate or other things that I know she likes (doesn't have chocs/sweets v often, only if others bring them around).

It's driving me mad. She hasn't eaten any fresh fruit since about 11 months. (my mother says I stuffed her too full of fresh fruit before that and this is why she refuses it now).

A month ago I was eating some tinned peaches (pregnancy craving) and got her to lick one -to taste it - and she promptly vomited.

She won't even try anything - and on the occasion when I have hidden it - she, on tasting it, has gagged.

DH and I eat plenty of fruit - all varieties.
What to do??

no my son only eats bananas

he is still alive.
just leave it.

She eats dried fruit and drinks smoothies. So she gets the vitamins in her body. Stop stressing. My ds only eats bananas.

and snort at your mums helpful ness

SNAP JD

the whole 5 a day thing is a load of cobblers.

Does she eat vegetables? If so, try not to stress about it as she is getting the vitamins she needs from those.

I know the situation. All of mine went through this fussy stage to some extent or another. Ds2 (11) still only eats bananas (oh and now cooked apple but only if it is part of a whole meal).

I worked on vegetables (pureeing them and hiding them in sauces) and gradually increased the variety of veg I would present unmasked on their plates. They are now pretty good at eating any veg, but fruit is still a problem. You've just got to work with what you have!

Oh and yes, don't attempt the 5 a day thing as you are setting your standards too high. I had some health information about fussy eaters and it recommended trying to get 2 portions of f/v into your child each day - a much more attainable target.

DS2 (3)is the same, he will eat a lot of veg, so we try not to worry.
He'll eat raisins/sultanas and things like banana bread/apple crumble/pie/turnover but would not eat a piece of fruit at all.

As has been said, try not to worry if she eats vegetables, it will pass.

DS1 is the total opposite, fussy over veg but will eat almost all fruit.

Wierdy kids and their wierdy food habits

Would she eat pureed fresh fruit? I zap all kinds of fresh fruits and serve them as sauce over yogurt or ice cream.

I have to say I don't like many fruits either - I get itchy mouth and throat if I eat things like melon. (I guess that's a mild allergy?)

just leave it.

one of mine eats no fruit or vegetables, so I give him multivitamins. I'm assuming he'll grow out of it and he appears to be perfectly healthy in every respect.

If I were you I would focus on the smoothies - one a day will cover her fruit requirement.

My dd was like this - at three she would only eat banana, and sometimes apple. Not very many veg either. We used to get her to have a tiny bit of something on her plate "to get used to it" - she didn't have to touch it, lick it or anything. After months, she'd try something, and I'm please to report she's recently discovered strawberries (all credit to nursery and peer pressure), mango and even peas. She's worked up from one on the side of her plate, to licking one, to eating one, then four (because that's her age) and yesterday she said actually she could have twelve, or even more. It's been very slow, but she's got there. (She's now 4.5 and these have been very recent breakthroughs.
give yourslf a break, don't even try her with anything for a few weeks / months, then re-introduce things very casually. she'll get there eventually, and it sounds like she's getting loads of vits from the smoothies etc.

if you're stressing, give her a dino chew vit thing. otherwise just leave her to it, imo.

isn't this a common problem cos fruit can be too acidic for the little palette?

mine loves veg so I'M not worried about her only eating banana (in porridge) and no other fruit.

mother isn't helpful though. My MIL is the same...'why don't you try apple' etc..since her last visit, toddlers eating has gone much crapper from all the attention and stress about it.

Phase! Don't panic! Try banana milkshakes in the food processor. Sneak in other fruit to that if possible. If not, never mind try again in a couple of months without making it into an issue.

I'll never forget trying to force my son to eat peas at a large family meal. They (and the roast dinner) stayed down about 10 seconds. We ran out of napkins on the table after that . I waited a good six months before trying them again and he wolfed them down. Bizarre.

My dd is also 3.5. She will eat lychees. Sometimes she will eat grapes.

I had another baby 9 months ago, and since we started weaning him she will now eat bananas, and very occasionally an apple (peeled).

She eats lots of veg, and will eat sultanas and innocent smoothies, so we don't sweat it.

Thank you! There seem to have been lots of breakthroughs just recently, but I do think that going to (pre-school) nursery was quite a turning point. She saw other children trying things, and the staff were very encouraging in a firm but non-pushy way.