How can I get my 2 year old son to eat better? He ...

ok,the first thing you do is to not have what he likes in the house!like chips and stuff and make sure that he doesn't have candy!

when little kids refuse to eat,it's cause they are testing you,to see when you will break!i had that problem!

i had cooked bean soup,which he refused to eat!so i sent him to bed without eating anything![the whole family was very upset about this,but i said if i give in now,i will lose every battle!]

well,he woke up at 7am and got the bowl which i had kept his bean soup in and he ate it all up!*grins*

i never had a problem afterwards!

now if he keeps persisting,take him to the doctor and have the doctor check him out,he may have sth wrong with his stomach and maybe some foods upset him!also,the doctor can give him sth that helps increase the appetite!

good luck!

i hope it works!remember,he is testing you!don't give in!does he like mashed potatoes?if so,what i used to do is boil some carrots and spinach and peas and put them in the potatoes when i mashed them and that way my son got his vegetables!

oh,and another trick that works,is have another child over who does eat anything,sometimes out of jealousy your son will eat what the other child is having!

oh yeah,and games!i would make lentil soup and tell my son that it was pirate food and only pirates could eat it!then i'd pretend i was a pirate and say pirate words like:eh,matey,timber me shivers,i see pirate food,and eat some!this needs a lot of time and patience!

good luck!

susie

I think he's officially getting into he's awful 2 stage, which often manifests itself in food choices. Actually many toddlers restrict their eating at this age to very particular types of foods, and are suspicious of certain things they were once willing to try., and as Rosie said, it usually entails a power struggle as well.

I'd lay off as much as possible, making sure the other members of the family set a good example, eating vegetables etc. If his vice is full milk, I bet there are some mothers who would heartily switch :-)

I remember when My grandson went through this stage, he wouldn't touch anything but noodles.

It will probably go away. 

Have you tried reading Jessica Sienfeld's new book, "Deceptively Delicious"?  She has great ideas for getting her kids to eat foods they don't like.  Check it out!

I read a research once that in order for kids to eat new foods it takes about 7 attempts.  
A child's diet varies so much while they are young I would suggest having a "food party" with other kids, having them eating the new food will encourage all the members to do so. When a child is hungry it will eat anything don't starve your child,maybe this article will help too.

Good Luck. 

Reading a lot of the answer, I'm a little appalled and disturbed by how aggressive the solutions are. Yes, your kid might be testing you, but this wouldn't have become a power struggle if he wasn't aware of how important his eating is for you - you make a big deal out of it so he makes a big deal out of it. It seem to me that if you'll let go he might let go as well (that doesn't mean that he'll become your idea of a perfect eater, but at least the struggle might be over and he might, in time, get used to the notion of eating different food).

To me, it doesn't seem like he's doing so bad, he doesn't eat sweets (or not just sweets)he east some simple carbohydrates like pasta and bread and some basics proteins like cheese and milk, it would be nice if he'd have some vegetables but it's not the end of the world if he isn't. 

I'm sure you get him to the DR. for periodical texts and if nothing really bad come up, there's no reason for him not to go on in his diet in the next couple of years.

A few pointers though:

Your diet effects his diet, good chance that if he's sitting at dinner with you and the rest of the family and everyone else is having salad or cooked vegetables, then he might want some as well, don't push him to try it, just put a big plate of vegetable on the table so that if he want to try, he can.  Be a good food role model, it's not fair to eat chips and expect your kid not to.

Sitting at a table with people for a meal is a better way then getting him to eat healthy then snacking while watching TV.

Don't push - the body, even a 2 years old can survive about 10 days with no food at all! if he doesn't feel like eating, it's OK to skip a meal or a whole day of eating, as long as he sits at the dinner table with everyone else for the duration of the meal.

Kids like food that have simple flavor, uniform shape and bland texture - think cereal or those crappy prepared burgers. If he does'nt want vegetables as they are, how about mashing them, or making veggi burgers out of them, or making cream soups?! be creative about cooking.

If you can, let him help with the food preparation  he'll love feeling like an adult making stuff and might be more incline to eat his own creation.

Most kids who don't like vegetables would still be happy to eat fruits, a fruit salad,some bread and a glass of milk is a great meal.

Just like you have your preference with foods  (I don't like Tuna fish, my husband don't eat sea food or lamb) your child is intitle to his own food preferences - It's fine if he don't like some types of food. Get him involved in buying the food and make sure he gets stuff he likes. 

My sister had a year of eating nothing but bread and porridge. My cousin had about 2 years of eating nothing but candy, he refused to sit at te dinner table and would only eat sweets between meals. Both of them are now healthy and eats everything - it's OK for kids to be picky about foods, many times they know how to listen to their bodies better then adults, just be attentive.