"Bob (this one)" > wrote in message
...
> sam wrote:
>
>> My 2 year old daughter is a very fussy eater all she will eat is
>> yoghurts and turkey dinasours, has any one got any tips on how I could
>> get her to try new things?
>
> Do you like to eat everything? Neither does she.
>
> There seems to be this notion afoot that parents have to demonstrate that
> they're in charge. That what they say goes and the kids have to just go
> along and shut up...
>
> Have you forgotten how things were when you were a child? How many things
> you were forced to do? Did you like it?
>
> In our house, from the day we brought them home from the hospital, it was
> you have to at least taste it. If you say "yuck" you never have to eat it
> again if you don't want to. So there has never been a contest in our
> house. We saved our parental authority for those things that represented a
> hazard to the kids.
>
> When the kids feel like they can exercise some control over their world,
> the relationship with parents is a lot smoother.
>
> Pastorio

There's a huge difference between getting your child to eat nutritionally
valuable foods and forcing them to eat anything. There's no need for force.
Simply stop continually offering turkey dinosaurs. I've yet to see the kid
that will starve themselves at 2 yrs old. Hunger will win, it always does.
There's also a big difference between limiting your diet to a single food
and not liking particular foods. My kids know that it is quite alright to
dislike a food, and have no problem saying so. They also know that they have
to try something before they can claim they dislike it.
I'm not saying you need to make every meal a battle of the wills, but this
is a 2 yr old child we're talking about, not 7 or 8. The awareness is quite
different. Making food fun and eating a pleasant experience goes a long way
at that age. Offering nothing but one food because you think it's all
they'll eat isn't doing anyone any favors. In fact, I dare say it's
hazardous.

kimberly