https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 23:54:29 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2097088 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 17:04:28 +0000 Mrs. Pinata 2097088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Studies show that toddlers/babies often need at least 10 introductions to a new food before they will "like it." So, we always tried to keep up with new/healthy foods even if Little P didn't seem to like it at first. At each meal we would offer at least one food we KNOW he would like, but would usually start with a questionable food that we wanted him to try. Usually we would make him try at least one bite, but wouldn't force it if he didn't like it. But, then we would hopefully get to 10 tries and he might like it then. :)<br /> I will say that for an almost 3 year old, he does have a pretty varied palate (although he definitely would choose fruit cups and pasta for every meal if he could, he recently has wolfed down curry, broccoli and various kinds of soup he would never have eaten in the past. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096401 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:05:50 +0000 Mommy Finger 2096401@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm really struggling with this b/c yes, we only serve toddler food at this point. I have a really picky toddler that only wants pasta either mac n cheese or tortellini with parmesan. I can sometimes get him to eat other things. He loves fruit and will sometimes eat zucchini. But both DH and I work and we don't get home until about 5:45. It's mad dash to get DS fed and then on to the bedtime routine. We usually eat after him. Yes, I've tried meal planning and relying on the crockpot but we fall back to just feeding him what he wants and try to do better on the weekend. I feel better about this right now b/c he eats so well at daycare. All of their food is freshly prepared and organic and he actually eats it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096271 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:25:39 +0000 looch 2096271@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't have a picky child, I have a child with diagnosed oral motor issues and once we figured that out, I changed my tune on feeding and eating. So, while my husband and I don't limit what we eat, I am that mom that makes a separate meal most of the time.</p> <p>I wish I could just give him whatever, but it doesn't work that way with him and it isn't about control. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096253 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:11:14 +0000 fairy 2096253@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, she eats what we eat generally, and we're always changing it up. I keep giving things even if she doesn't touch them too, and usually she will start to eat them except for very few things like avocado. I will also try different preparations of things like for example: egg muffins, scrambled eggs, omelettes, poached eggs, hard boiled eggs, etc.(at different times) She prefers some preparations over others, naturally. But I don't write off something without trying it a bunch of different ways lol </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096250 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:06:46 +0000 illumina 2096250@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For breakfast and lunch, yes. For dinner I'll give her 3 or 4 things, 2 of which I know she'll eat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096238 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:01:25 +0000 Smurfette 2096238@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We try and make sure she has one thing that she usually likes or has eaten before. But some nights she won't eat anything. So she goes to bed without eating. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096234 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 09:58:54 +0000 travellingbee 2096234@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For lunch and breakfast I packed him things I know he likes but for dinner he eat whatever we eat. He usually likes whatever we eat for dinner anyway. If I know it's going to be something especially spicy or something else he doesn't do at all, I'll usually offer him other things, like leftovers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096199 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 09:38:21 +0000 Mrs. Sunshine 2096199@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Breakfast and lunch are usually catered toward her and while I definitely change it up and force the family to try new things, DH is incredibly picky so the majority of the time shes getting something she likes then too. I don't want to cook an entire meal no one but me will eat. I Get Bored With Our meals though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096187 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 09:34:01 +0000 Adira 2096187@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're really bad at offering new foods to Xander to try. We have our go-tos and they are so easy. But he also get a wide variety of different foods at daycare, so I'm not too concerned about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2096181 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 09:31:57 +0000 BKCaribBaby 2096181@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: She gets up early , which leads to an early lunch, nap, and dinner that is before I get home (usually between 5:30 and 5:45). I wouldn't want her to wait for me to eat then. </p> <p>My gut is alwasy to offer new things, and I'll do that hoping that she'll be open. Toddlers, man.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095914 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:46:33 +0000 Corduroy 2095914@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm fortunate that LO likes meat a lot so she eats our dinner most nights. I put veggies on her plate every night but she rarely touches them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095828 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 21:40:53 +0000 Greentea 2095828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I do both; give her new things and her favorites. I pretty much have to have her favorites at this time because I want her to eat something at all! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095819 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 21:34:42 +0000 sarac 2095819@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope, she eats the family meal. I don't believe in 'kid food'. But I don't have a picky child. If I did, meals might look very different. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095676 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:24:13 +0000 mrsjazz 2095676@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I try things at least 3x or in different forms to see if she likes it. If it fails after that I don't offer it again. For instance, I offered a baked sweet potato (nope), sweet potato fries (nope) and sliced sweet potato with cinnamon and honey (nope)! Some of the things she doesn't like I will hide. I hide beans all the time by blending them and mixing with other things.</p> <p>She tries new foods a lot, but that does often result in her not eating her dinner at all if she doesn't like it, so her favorites are in heavy rotation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095667 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:19:48 +0000 ShootingStar 2095667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sort of? Breakfast and lunch I feed him things he likes. But for dinner I cook what DH and I like. If he doesn't really doesn't like it I'll supplement with other foods that he does like, like a banana or a cheese stick. Lately though he's been really wanting to eat what I'm eating. Too bad I don't love veggies :silly: . We do always have foods on hand that he likes, but I won't cook him a separate meal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095650 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:11:31 +0000 catomd00 2095650@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She is one and gets what we are having. I plan to continue this as she gets older and pickier. On nights DH comes home late, I eat with her and keep it warm for DH. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095640 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:06:38 +0000 blackbird 2095640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095588 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:51:34 +0000 hilsy85 2095588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I generally do for breakfast and lunch, but dinner is whatever we're having, so sometimes he eats it and sometimes he doesn't. I do try to make dinners that I think he will like or at least try, i.e. I won't make certain fish because he hasn't eaten it in the past...I probably should just to have him try it again though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095580 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:49:07 +0000 regberadaisy 2095580@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BKCaribBaby: why don't you eat dinner with her? On nights DH works till 9 I eat dinner with her. I find she eats better when we eat together. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095574 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:45:29 +0000 BKCaribBaby 2095574@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mediagirl: Yeah, we don't eat with her at this point. DH gets home very late from work, and she has a pretty early bedtime because she's up at the crack of dawn. It's frustrating but I hope that we can all eat together soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095558 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:40:34 +0000 mediagirl 2095558@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She eats new things all the time. If she didn't like something, we keep trying. We never give up. :happy: </p> <p>To be honest, we don't make separate meals. So, she eats what we eat. If she doesn't like it, she doesn't eat. We typically offer an assortment at dinner. Tonight was chicken, quinoa, peas and spinach with a roll on the side. She tried everything and told us she didn't like the quinoa (on sight). We made her try it (disaster) and she still didn't like it. We'll offer it again in the future but the important thing to us was she ate a little of everything else on her plate. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095551 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:38:16 +0000 regberadaisy 2095551@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She definitely have her favorites! But with her sometimes it's about how I cook something and how I present it. Ie most times she'll eat things if I mix it all into a bowl of its something I'm unsure if she'll eat. Usually I try to make sure there is one thing she will eat for dinner.<br /> But we do cook different things often and ask her to at least try it once. We've found a lot of her new favorites that way!</p> <p>Breakfast and lunch when it's just is definitely more catered towards her though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-only-serve-food-your-toddler-likes#post-2095547 Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:34:50 +0000 BKCaribBaby 2095547@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been pretty bad lately in introducing new meals to our 23 month old LO. She has been getting pickier and pickier since she turned 16 months. Some foods I used to give her often in the past, but I have not as much lately partly because I've been busy with work and need quick easy things to make for her and partly because I've been lazy in cooking for her. LO is not in daycare so I make 90% of what she eats. The result is that I've primarily given her things that she likes. That said, I don't want her to be limited in what she eats, and I do want her to try new things. </p> <p>Do you give your toddler foods more than once that you're not sure they like or eat? Do you just stick to his/her favorites? </p>