Parents of Preschoolers  Discussion Forum

Hello all,
My 4 year old daughter doesn't want to eat regular food at all. When I say regular, the normal medium/less spicy food I cook at home. She always wants a very bland, plain food which I cook with only salt.
Actually when she was 2-3 I used to cook her food with salt and I put black pepper flakes for some spicy/falvor. But these days not even pepper. Just the salt and water is the base for all her food. This really worries me. Initially I used to think, OK, she will change as she grows. But hmmm..m. she hasn't, more over she is becoming worse. Then you might be thinking why in the first place I started making her stuff like that. The answer, as you all always think and do, I just want her to eat some vegetables. But now as she has completed 4 but becoming worse in accepting regular food, I am worried.
The other day, I just seasoned 'dry beans curry' with only one red chilly for a 1 pound of beans and believe it or not, she found it's very spicy for the 1st spoon itself and her eyes started shedding tears!! : -(
So, I could say it's not completely her but her tongue has got set to that non-spicy, bland food taste. I don't know what to do. Everyday I am cooking one veggie separately for her and in the rice variety all she eats are Dhal rice, Curd rice.

Did any of you has similar kind of toddlers at home?. What did you do to make them eat regular food?. PLEASE REPLY. All suggestions are welcomed.

THanks in advance. --- Worried MOM. uma replied. hi suji,
my problem is the same i have 2 kids one is 3-1/2 other is 1-1/2.the first one is eating very badly i try to keep tv on and distract her and mix dal veg and rice and feed her but it takes 1 hour.she also has excema if you child has it then you should avoid eggs,citrus fruits as these are the main reasons for allergy.other thing is if she is getting dark due to playing in sun you apply sun screen with minimum spf of 30 nutrogena is good as it is without perfume.i try to add dal potatoes in chappati and feed her hope this will help you pls reply back best of luck surekha replied. try giving her namkeens which she can relish.even if it is outside food also don't worry. try haldirams moongdal etc. my son also dont take spicy food, but really enjoys those namkeens no matter how spicy they are
Kavi replied. Hi Sugi,
I'm posting here some of my suggestions which i have posted in another msg thread also for priya.
When u make the meal time fun, it may work. My daughter is 3&1/2 year old, but still i have to change her mood to make her drink the milk. I always feel that only it's my daughter who does this, but after visiting this board, i c a lot of moms who suffer like me.
You can make her favourite cartoon faces or shapes in the food u r feeding her, like star, round, triangle, crescent moon shapes and also like birds, ducks etc out of dosai and make kichidi out of colorful veg with fried cashew nuts, make bite size pooris with beetroot juice instead of plain water which will be colorful.
Don't ever make her sit before TV while feeding, which will not allow them to know the food they take and they will practice it to have food only if they watch TV. I have experienced it with my daughter, still sometimes when i feel she not take food at the present mood, i'll allow her to watch Tv. Otherthan that, you can tell her stories during feeding time which will be worth both ways, knowing the story as well having food. You can also make her look at some books which she likes very much.
Try one recipe per day in a small amount and then will know her taste. Allow to her to pick and eat foods like poori, chappati, idli, dosai etc.. which will improve her eating habbit, though half of the food will be wasted, Some kids like to eat themself.
If you are giving more than 1/2 litre of milk every day then cut the excess. If you take nonveg, try giving her chicken soup and take out a small portion of nonveg dish evreytime you prepare without adding much spices and chilli, then finally u can add some chilli for ur self. My daughter likes chicken very much and also she likes noodles and pasta with tomato sauce. You can try the same for ur daughter too. Try to give one friut per day by cutting them in to bite size. Also try chocolate chip cookies which she may like the flavour. Try to prepare and feed him the food and veg in different forms.
If u ned help, u r free to ask!
Good Luck!