How to train a 2-year-old to eat food she doesn't like?

Question

My 2-year-old daughter is scared of consuming curd. She runs away and if tried to force, she vomits. But it's good for her stomach. She also avoids cream and cottage cheese but drinks milk. Otherwise eating is normal. We tried to give fruit yoghurt and amongst them she only eats mango and no other. How to train her?

Answer 1

There have been few things more nerve-wracking in our parenting journey than making sure our children get proper nutrition at certain stages of their development. We have experienced several struggles with food, particularly in the toddler years. We have a few guiding principles that have helped us navigate this difficult stage.

First, I remember when our oldest child was 2 and we were at the pediatrician's office for a well-child visit. We expressed some concern about nutrition. He told us to consider toddler nutrition over the course of a month, not weekly or day to day. If during the month your toddler is getting a fairly good balance of fruits and vegetables coupled with good sources of fats you are doing a great job. At this age children can go on food boycotts. One of our sweet kiddos once spent an entire week only eating things that were orange. It was a little frustrating, but we weren't worried because we knew eventually something else would become more appealing.

Second, we have the "try it out" policy in our home. Especially when the kids are young and we are trying new foods. We ask them to take at least one bite. If they don't like it, they can spit it out. This has been extremely successful in getting our kids to like new things. Sometimes it takes a long time! One of our children went three years trying chicken noodle soup at various times before we finally had some success! We've noticed that our children's taste buds tend to be a little more sensitive than ours are so we try to give them grace, and time to develop better sensibilities.

Third, we try very hard to never fight about food with the kids. We've found it can turn into a really nasty power struggle which can end in weird food issues. It's hard sometimes and requires some patience, but we have always found it worth the struggle!

It sounds like you really want your sweet little one to have a balanced diet which is so good! I hope you are able to figure out how best to help her through this tough time. Good Luck!

Answer 2

She runs away and if tried to force, she vomits.

Good grief. Stop torturing your child!

Let it go. Do not make this a battle. You can try introducing it later, but you might have to wait a good long time, considering how strong a negative reaction you have already inducted