One of mine and my husband's biggest frustrations with our almost 3 year-old daughter is the fact that she will not eat the nutritious foods--such as vegetables--that are "essential" and "paramount" to her growth and development.
To give you a little background on her... In November 2009, somehow she got campylobacter and Ecoli. Before she had the bacterial infections, she ate beets, sweet potatoes, etc. And post the bacterial infections, she became an extremely finicky eater, which takes its toll on me and my husband everyday.
The bacterial infections completely affected her mentally and emotionally. She used to be happy-go-lucky and had a great disposition. But now she can be emotional, etc., which many people attribute that to the terrible twos. I do not believe that, though. Many people and doctors want to blame the way someone feels on their age, but I believe that one's overall health plays a major role in their disposition and everything else that goes along with having health issues.
On a somewhat positive note, she will eat almost any kind of fruit that I give her. I am elated that she has not completely ruled out fruits, because they have some nutritional value. However, like I said, vegetables are out of the question.
The only part of the day that I can bank on her eating all her meal is breakfast. Most days, I give her granola, oatmeal or something else healthy. About once or twice a week I give her eggs, but she is starting to refuse them.
Lunchtime and dinnertime are not easy on any of us. It is hard to not get upset when she refuses almost everything I make for her, because it is hard for a child her age to understand that she needs to eat healthy in order to feel her best and thrive. We also do not want her to associate us getting upset with her with eating at the table. And furthermore, we do not want to bargain with her to get her to eat her food.
So, if anyone can give us some suggestions as to what to do to get her to eat healthy, we would greatly appreciate it!
