5-year-old's changing eating habits

[getlykemc10]

My 5-year-old son has always been a picky eater since he was a baby. Lately however he changes what he likes and dislikes on a daily or weekly basis. He can like something on Monday, say he hates it on Wednesday, then love it again on Saturday so buying and making food for him has become a challenge. For example: he used to love bananas and would ask for them all the time but a few months ago he told me he hated them so I stopped buying them. Then weeks later he was back to liking them but now he says he doesn't like them. To avoid getting him things he didn't like, I would tell him to pick out what he wants at the store. However, this only worked but so long because he would change his mind about it days later. Making dinner has become harder because he won't eat what's on his plate even if he claims to love it. He doesn't have any allergies or a food intolerance and when he does eat he is a fairly decent eater. Has anyone else gone through this and how did it play out? I'm running out of ideas!

[getlykemc10]

Thank you those sound like good ideas. I will try to not get as frustrated with the changes and hope that this phase soon passes.

[specialmom]

Hi.  What about buying limited quantities of things.  Like 3 bananas instead of the bunch?  My kids like a variety of fruit so I get smaller packages of it like cut up melon in a pack for a dollar, cut up pineapple, etc.  And I rotate them.  

My son is also quite picky---  but his reasons are related to his sensory issues.  I personally feel kids should be respected for likes and dislikes just like anyone else.  They have different taste buds than adults.  Science shows that our taste buds dull as we age and therefore, things can have a completely different taste to kids than adults.  

What I try to do is get some buy in on what I'll be making.  I make a list of meals that I have food for to make for the week on the side of the fridge.  I make the meals.  Occasionally I get some push back on something that my son has said okay to previously or liked the week before.  Yes, that is frustrating.  I tend to say "well, this is your dinner tonight" and clear the table.  But then I make a snack before bed like a little sandwich or cheese and crackers with an apple, etc.  

My sons, both of them, get better and better each year with my more lax approach than making them eat whatever I say they should eat.  So, I'm not worried about it.  I was a picky and finicky eater as a child.  Most kids grow out of it.  As long as you make the alternative snacks and meals healthy and not junk, you aren't doing anything wrong by catering to their desires a bit.  

My husband talks about his mother making liver once a week for dinner and he and all his siblings would have to sit at the table for a full hour because they wouldn't eat it and they'd then get sent to bed without any dinner.  I mean . . .   come on.  The kids didn't like it.  How selfish was his mom to keep serving something SHE liked that everyone else hated?  It's a bad memory for him.

I believe dinner time is a social time for the family.  I like it to be a happy time where we celebrate our day together.  Who wants to fight over food?  

So, typical yes and a phase that passes.  good luck

[getlykemc10]

Thank you for your advice. I tried your approach once or twice before but it ended pretty badly lol. I'm going to try again though because this constant love-hate relationship with food is driving this mama nuts!

[MarkLakewood3367]

This behavior is relatively typical for a 5-year old.  My advice to you is not to prepare meals that are specific to your son's wants.  You need to take the entire family into consideration including yourself.  Prepare what you want each day.  Your son either eats what you prepare or he goes hungry.  The choice is entirely up to him.  Remember, you are not a restaurant.  The more you act like one, the pickier your son will get with his choice of foods.  Additionally, no child has ever starved using this approach!