Pickiest eater.... EVER

Some of the foods this child has turned down (and they have only been here for 3 weeks, 3 days a week!!):

Fruit (won't touch any, even strawberries and apples)
Spaghetti (and it had my cheater sauce, basically just a jar of sauce and a little ground beef. Imagine if I made my "real" sauce, with loads of meat, zuchini and a bunch of other veggies!)
Oatmeal cookies
Vanilla pudding
Chicken fingers (he ate one and a half, but c'mon)
Pretty much all vegetables except baby carrots (which he might eat 3 of?)
Apple pie
Buns with butter

And that's just off the top of my head. **sigh**
I don't need any advice, I will continue to make what I make, and serve it. He can eat it or not, his choice. But, man alive.... I HATE scraping food into the garbage. It's like I'm watching my money disappear.
Just a vent, that is all. :unsure:

Oh I know; I too have one...I've had him for almost a year now (he's almost 2). Funny thing as well, he will eat things here (watermelon) but refuses to eat it at home? He too refuses to eat things every kids loves: Apples/applesauce, pasta, any bread if it's not white...the list is endless. I keep offering what every kid gets...& I know the kid must be starving?!?! I've just learned to start with very tiny portions; not as painful to see go in the garbage.

I hate throwing away food as well....such a waste. I always serve little and offer more for this reason- drives me
Hope your little one comes around

I have one like this too. Used to be a good eater apparently, but will only eat fruit at my house.

The bread, oatmeal cookies etc is like one I have that won't eat anything soft - eats toast but not bread. He absolutely hates my homemade cookies - won't even pick out the chocolate chips because I detest hard cookies so make the yummy homemade soft kind - oh well I like them.

I have one too!!! She has n extremely short list of food shell eat:
1) Cheese- but only sometimes, and only if it's orange
2) Bread or other plain carbs ( even goldfish crackers are "too yucky")
3) Chicken Nuggets
4) Scrambled Eggs
5) Dry plain cereal

I know she eats a lot of crap at home, and wouldn't touch a veggie or fruit to save her life. Most if not all her meals get thrown out and she will go an entire day and not eat a single bite. When she first started, she used to ask me every day for McDonalds for lunch but she's smartened up realizing that what she's served is what she's getting!

I have some who are picky at home, but most of them eat most things for me. However, they all started with me quite young, so that really helps. I dread getting an older child into care who has already developed picky eating habits. I have an almost 3 year old who won't eat sauce on his pasta at home, but I don't give him a choice and guess what...he eats it! I know you are doing this as well, so that must be frustrating! Did the child start with you at a later age (ie. not 12 months)?

He's 5... and they are only here until the end of the school year.
So I will grit my teeth and bear it! And definitely serve SMALL portions. Either that, or make french toast every day. He ate 4 pieces of it last week! ;)

This is my 3yr old!!
She will only eat:
- PB&J sandwich and crust must be cut off
- Nutella sandwich
- hungarian salami sandwich
- mac'n'cheese
- oatmeal

THATS IT!!

I made a tuna sandwich yesterday for lunch and she just sat there and looked at it. If pasta is red sauce she wont touch it. She doens't touch meat....one day last week as a treat I gave them Pizza Pockets and she gagged!!! Mom admitted that she sits with her on the couch and feeds her the food while she watches tv. Um no...you're 3 sit on your chair and feed yourself. Parents are clueless....I'd like to see how she's going to handle school next year!?

It's so nice to know you aren't suffering alone isn't it? I have the boy who won't eat combined foods of any kind, not even a sandwich. I have the little girl who will only eat french fries, corn and pepper strips and NO other veggies, but thank goodness she loves fruit.

It is really frustrating - isn't it? :glare:

I have a few toddlers who ate FANTASTIC here - they gobbled up rice and beef goulash, rice and chicken stir frys, spaghetti etc and they were eating 2-3 servings each time.

Now they turned 3 and they look at it and say they don't want it.

:blink:

Hello? You were just gobbling it down and eating me out of house and home up until a couple of months ago and NOW you suddenly decide you don't even want to try a spoon of the exact same recipe?

:(

If parents would stop being so concerned about a child's eating at home and stop catering to them we would have a lot less trouble at daycare. Too many cook separate foods for the kids and adults instead of making the kids eat the family supper. If I thought I could get something better there are a lot of suppers I wouldn't eat either and I cook them too but the familly likes them so that is what we all eat.

I agree with you ladies who have experienced changes over a few years in the children. I am noticing that too and it never happened with my own children, so this is a whole new ball game for me. Taking care of other people's children is a different story.

But what do you do? I serve a protein, a bread and 2 veggies at every lunch meal, but my baby girl won't eat broccoli, carrots, peas, or any of the other standard veggie servings. I still put a teaspoon full on her plate every day but she won't touch them. I double up her fruit every day because of her veggie deficiency. But I'm frustrated. At least this little girl's Mom keeps me in the loop and she's having exactly the same problem at home.

But my little boy who won't eat combined foods has parents who cater to his every whim and he's gotten consistently worse over the past few years. When he started here he ate everything. These parents who give their children ALL the power are frustrating too.

My stepson, who is 13 is still the same way (his mom caters to him bigtime)...the kid will not eat a fruit or vegetable or any meat but chicken. But at our house we all eat family meal together (which he always drowns in ketchup to gulp down). Fortunately, our other 3 boys are fantastic eaters.

I have one child who started off as a really picky eater. Wouldn't eat anything that wasn't served at home. Every meal and snack was "mommy doesn't cook this, I don't like it". And he would point blank refuse to touch it. Not a bite would cross his lips. I don't have the time or the desire to cater to picky eaters so he went hungry for those meals and I would ensure that at the next meal or snack time he got something he would eat. After a few days I talked with his mother and she told me she can't get him to eat any fruit or veggies at home, no real chicken only nuggets etc. But she gave me free reign to tell him he had to try it. He was not allowed to leave the table until at least a bite of every food had crossed his lips. We started there and worked up to a couple bites etc. He is now only picky at home haha. No matter what I put in front of that child he gobbles it up faster than any other child and asks for seconds. He's usually done his seconds before the others are done thier firsts.

I've only been doing this a few months but as far as eating goes I've been lucky so far. All my kids eat whatever I put in front of them. In fact 3 of the 5 love veggies and fruit more than any other food. I do fruit and veggie platters for snacks a lot and they devour them so quickly! I cube some cheese and add some veggie crackers to the platter, they love it. The pickiest of them all if my son and even he's not too bad. He loves all the foods I serve but just doesn't want sit in one place long enough to eat it, but that's really a whole other issue :laugh:.

I'm dreading the day the truly picky eater comes to my house, I'm going to be so unprepared haha.