Hi Barbara,
I have a picky three year old that has a very limited diet. He refuses to try any new foods, it has been exactly a year since he has tried something new. I can remember exactly what it was and he mistook it for something else because it was dark.

I am a foster parent who recently had a 12yr old girl come into care. She will only eat junk/processed foods such as hotdogs or Kraft Dinner. There are no meats she will try and the only vegetable she will eat are potatoes (mashed only). We have tried many techniques, rewards, etc but she still refuses to even try anything we put in front of her. I have spoken to her mother about this and her mother said she is more of a vegetarian, although her mother couldn't tell me any vegetables she eats. Any advice would be grateful. I am planning on taking her to a pediatrician to discuss her habits as I am concerned about her health.

At my beautiful five year old daughter's check-up, I was informed that her BMI was in the 95th percentile, and that we should see a nutritionist (together). I asked if I go go alone, and they told me that she needs to be there. I'm not sure what to do.

I know a good deal about nutrition. We eat a healthy diet. My daughter doesn't drink juice, doesn't eat processed food beyond the occasional oreo cookie in her lunchbox, and eats a well-balanced diet -- fruits and vegetables, whole grains, poultry and fish. She is definitely active, running around like crazy at the playground and doing organized activities (gymnastics, soccer, and swimming) on the weekends. She has a pot belly and isn't a skinny kid, but does not appear fat -- she's just heavier than she is tall. Her older sister is on the opposite end of the weight charts, and I can't help feeling that the baby just got the wrong end of the genetic stick. My husband was a skinny kid, I was not, and while we are both at a healthy weight as adults, one child takes after each of us.

I thought I would go to the nutritionist just to have a check-in, but friends have counseled me that having a little girl see a nutritionist -- a little girl who is not super skinny -- is just a straight ticket for an eating disorder.

What do you suggest? I feel like we are caught up in the childhood obesity epidemic, and I want to do what is right for my family -- now and in the long term.

Many thanks.

From: Alice, Cambridge, MA

Hi Barbara,

My 18 month old refuses to drink milk from a sippy cup. She gladly drinks juice & water from her sippy, but no matter the type of sippy cup I put milk in she won't drink it (I've tried her favorite existing cups and have also tried a variety of new cups). She only wants milk in her bottle. To give her credit, she will occasionally try to drink some milk from the sippy, but she ends up gagging on the milk and then refuses to try any additional sips. Most times she simply refuses the sippy with milk by saying no and walking away or by having a meltdown (especially if she has specifically asked for her "bubba"). How do I successfully introduce her to milk in a sippy to help her make this transition away from bottles? Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Hi There,

Hi Barbara,
My 2 year old daughter has recently started a disturbing behavior and I am at a loss for what to do. She has started shoveling food in her mouth and not chewing and then gagging. I am constantly reminding her to take small bites and to "chew, chew, chew." She just laughs and does it again. Of course she gets a huge reaction from me because she gags and it is scary. How can I ignore her behavior if she really is choking? I have put less and less food on her plate, I have cut everything up in small bites, but she still finds a way to do it. Last night we had medium sized pasta shells and sauce for dinner. She would put two in her mouth and NOT CHEW, just swallow and then gag and then laugh. I finally just told her if she didn't chew she wasn't getting anymore and removed her from the table. My husband got upset saying that I can't let her starve so he brought her back to the table and fed her while I was in the other room and she didn't do it for him, she was fine. Can you please give me some tips on how to stop this behavior? Thank You!

Please help. My girlfriend's 4 yr. old -- My son! -- only eats McDs. french fries, Oodles of Noodles. Various potato chips. Gogurts. Chocolate milk. Of course all types of candy. Greens & fake mashed potatoes (from the box) a couple times a month. Nothing else!!! When we introduce new foods or tell him to try new foods, he gags & throws up. It doesn't matter if it's sweet or not. Please help?

My son is now 13 and will not eat anything other than chicken nuggets, fries, pizza or chips. It all began as a toddler, around the age of 3, he got sick one day and began vomiting. We took him to the dr. they said it had something to do with his asthma and he would be fine. The vomiting I assumed was a flu like symptom. He did in fact get better, but from that day forward his eating habit had changed forever! He went from a normal child, eating and drinking everything to only the few items I now listed above. When I attempt to introduce regular food, he gags and vomits. It has been a struggle for years now and his grandparents have him a large part of the time while I work, and they give in and feed him what he wants. I don't know what else to do. He is getting big in his mid section and it's becoming a problem for him as he is now a teenager. But with him continuing to eat this way, I fear it will get worse. He doesn't seem to gag with the junk he eats. What shall I do? His physician doesn't have any answers for me. Please help....

My 9 year old son has been a picky eater since he was 2 yrs old. I have been worried but no one else has [been]. They said to feed him what he wanted. Now there is a problem -- he won't even eat that or if he does it's very little and he says he is hungry but can't eat. I don't know what to do. He only grew an inch in one whole year and that's not good. What should I do? If I say to eat what I fix or go to bed hungry, he will go hungry.

From: Froggy, Wichita, KS