Your baby has probably eaten a lot of vegetables by the time they get to around two years old, and the sudden refusal to eat them comes as somewhat a shock to most mothers.
There are a number of reasons why the sudden refusal to eat certain foods occurs.
One of the big reasons is that about this age the child suddenly discovers the immense power of the word NO! A small child is always testing the reactions of those close to them and boundaries within which they operate. It can become very frustrating for a mother to find that the child who has been such a good eater now suddenly refuses just about everything offered.
It is really important for the mother not to become upset about this, and although she invariably is, not to show it. Meal times must never become battle grounds.
If the child refuses to eat what is offered calmly take the food away, but never then offer something that could be classified as a treat. Remember, no child voluntarily starves itself to death even though their mother may fear that is what is going to happen. Try not to suggest dire consequences of not eating, such as if you don’t eat you will get sick or die. The idea is to bring up your child with no unhealthy ideas around food. Good food is something yummy to eat and a normal and unremarkable part of the day’s events. If the mother becomes upset and tries to force the child to eat, then a very fraught adversarial atmosphere surrounds mealtimes and it becomes a dreadful experience for all concerned.
All little children like to eat what their mother and father is eating, so it can be a good idea to let your toddler try something from your plate if they show interest in it. Don’t offer it to them, wait until they try to take some, or ask for some.
Create interest in food by teaching your little one the names of fruits and vegetables and when you are shopping, if they are old enough, allow them to choose an apple, tomato, cucumber, banana or other easily handled fruit and vegetable. This can be put in a special pile so they know this is their food. Creating ownership of foods goes a long way to helping the child want to eat it.
When you are cooking let your little one choose a couple of items to be cooked, e.g. which potato shall we have.
Making food in to fun can help as well. A simple salad can be a smiley face with cucumber slices for eyes, a piece of carrot for a nose and two cherry tomatoes for rosy cheeks, with the mouth a wedge of watermelon or a slice of meat, and alfalfa sprouts for hair.
Gardens are fun as well. Make a flower with a piece of celery for a stem, cucumber slice for the centre, wedges of tomato for petals. The sun can be a circle of carrot with some carrot strips for rays. The ground can be some meat, or clouds can be cottage cheese.
A calm approach and the sure knowledge that this phase will pass and your healthy little eater will return will get you through.
About the author
Alison Johnson is a well known Sydney Naturopath who has been in practice for 20 years. She specializes in endometriosis, female reproductive system problems, female and male infertility and is also a general Naturopath who is very experienced and capable of dealing with most problems. She has a special interest in children.
In 2004 she was one of 100 eminent Australians invited to contribute a chapter in a book called 'I Believe This' by John Marsden, proceeds to Save The Children Fund.
Alison was Dean of Australasian College of Natural Therapies 1987-2006
Her qualifications are Dip of Naturapathy, Dip of Botanic medicine, Dip of Homeopathy, Dip of Nutrition and various counselling certificates.
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I get so stressed out when my kids won’t eat vegies and I know heaps of mothers that do.It’s great to read an article that offers advice on how to get them into eating vegies..thanks alison
Posted by Angela on August 11, 2010 at 11:58 am
My husband and I ahve been battling with our now 3.5 year old for a year over her ‘no vegetables’ policy. As the article says – she used to eat anything and then overnight she refused all dinners. She barely eats dinner, and never anything vegetables. Every night we put out a few vegetables and some rice, or vegetables and a bit of meat. She will never eat the vegetables and chooses to fight or go to bed. If we persist we would fight every night with her – most nights she doesn’t really have dinner. Breakfast is a huge bowl of cereal, snacks are small bits of fruit/yoghurt/biscuits and lunch is a sandwich. I think she just isnt hungry after about 4 in the afternoon and can quite happily survive until the morning – although I can’t get her to eat vegetables for lunch either. Suggestions? Making it fun/not offering any other food doesn’t seem to work.
Posted by Tara on August 23, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Hi Tara
I think the most important thing here is not to let meal times become battle grounds.
If she won’t eat vegetables then don’t push it. Let her eat what she will from the healthy food choices you offer her and don’t let her fill up on sweet biscuits or lollies.
She isn’t going to volunarily starve herself. Appetite varies in little ones. They are usually not so hungry when not growing and very hungry when going through a growing spurt.
Some little ones don’t like cooked vegetables but will happily eat raw ones.
Let her see that you and the rest of the family eat vegetables and it won’t be long before she is asking for some.
Does she still have a lot of milk? It can be that children are too full from drinking to eat.
She won’t be like this forever and it is always better to let children adjust their appetite accoding to their needs. It prevents a lot of eating problems later on.
Warm regards, Alison
Posted by Alison Johnson on November 28, 2010 at 3:52 pm