I gave my 4 year old son an orange...?

Question

I just gave my son an orange after two days of him begging me to have it. I didn't give it to him before because he is a VERY picky eater. Well i finally gave it to him and of course he wont eat it. What do I do. He does this all the time. Asks for food then wont eat it and I am sick of the waste. The way I grew up you ate what you were given espicially if you asked for it.

I am just sick and tired of him wasting food.

Answer 1

Omg, I sooo feel your pain girl! My oldest son (who is now 7) went through the exact same phase. He was the worlds pickiest eater. What we finally did to get him to eat was something we called "Thank You Bites" When we sat down to dinner we put a little of everything on his plate. He was not allowed to get up from the table until he took at least 1 "thank you" bite of everything. Explain to him that by taking a bite of all the different foods it shows appreciation and how Santa, or whomever you would like to use, likes that he shows appreciation. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Don't worry about him wasting food- if he tried it...it wasn't a waste!  I just heard that it sometimes takes up to 20 tries for one to acquire a taste to a food.  I have a friend who has a picky child, and when the child asks for a grape for example, the mom says, "No!  You don't like grapes!"  Then when the mom gives in and the child doesn't like it she says, "See!  I told you you didn't like them!"  In my opinion this is NOT the best way to handle it.   Recently I was finding that my children were becoming more picky.  I started cooking different meals that they have never had every night of the week.  This forces them to practice trying new things.  If you make the meal particularly "bland"  (hehe)... then the sweet orange for desert (IF they eat all of the main dish:) will be scrumptious to them!

Answer 3

Chill out. He just wanted to try it. It looked nice and bright and delicious, but turned out that for him, it was gross. If you don't let him try stuff, he wont learn his likes and dislikes etc. Yes, it is wasteful, but what can you do? Never let the him try anything new? In time, he'll come around, but he has to try things first.

Answer 4

You knew that he wasn't going to eat the orange.  You held off on giving it to him because you knew he wouldn't eat it.  Find the foods he loves and make them accesible.  Don't blame him for not eating food you gave him when you knew it would go to waste.

Answer 5

But he only four and he will waste alot befor you find out his likes or dislikes

Answer 6

WELL that sucks he is 4 so you cant blame him. you eat it.

Answer 7

If he asks for it, don't give him anything else to eat until he at least trys a bite.

Answer 8

did he try it? If so that is great because at least he is trying things. I have a son who often won't even do that.

If he has not tried it then I would make him sit at the table till he at least eats some.

Answer 9

my nephews love pb&j's theyn only like blackberry jelly and it has to be wonder kids bread

put the food in the fridge until he is hungry again and don't give him anything else he will eventually understand what's going on

Answer 10

If he asks for the food, make him eat it. I'm not talking about holding him down and force-feeding him. What I mean is this- if you give him something he asks for and he refuses to eat it, take it and put it in the refrigerator for the next meal. At the next meal/snack time, give him the food he asked for. Refuse to serve him anything other than the food he asked for. He'll eventually get hungry and eat it. He needs to learn that it's not OK to waste food.

Kids learn very quickly how to work their parents. You are teaching him who's boss- and it ain't you, honey. Kids develop SOME picky-eating habits on their own, but they also learn what we teach them. You have to offer the same food several times on numerous occasions.

Answer 11

You have to think of it this way. You're saying that his favorite foods are rice, green beans and peanut  butter. Those are normal favorite flavors for little ones to enjoy. They start off on either all breast milk or formula and then we give them fruits like bananas and apples and green beans and pea. We make sure not to give them foods that will upset their stomach or have to many flavors, they need to start of slow. Depending on how long you have been trying to introduce new foods you son might just not be ready to have a lot of new foods. If he's used to green beans an orange could just have been a shock. It's citrus and sour and full of flavor where rice and beans are not. He needs to develop a a palate and it may take some time. He may actually come to like oranges in time, he just needs to get used to all the flavor. To avoid the waste of foods, try introducing new foods that you're eating. When you decide you want and orange give him a piece at the table, he'll see you eating and want to try. If he wants more give him more, if not then you were already planning to eat it anyway. Do that with the foods you chose for different meals. Start offering him things he doesn't normally eat more often. Just because he didn't like it the first or fifth time doesn't mean he wont learn to like them.  Meanwhile Flinstone vitamins rock.