Are food allergic kids picky eaters?

I thought I had a picky eater when I had my daughter 6 yeas ago. Little did I know how picky a child could be until I had my 3rd. Collin would survive on milk alone if I let him. I guess that fact that he is allergic to so many foods does not help.

When he was first diagnosed with allergies to wheat, egg, sesame, nut, pea and banana I was a little overwhelmed. I found a handful of foods that were safe and stuck with them. Now, that I am more educated and can offer him different choices, he is not interested. In addition, he is getting tired of his current staples of chicken, grilled cheese and fish sticks. This leaves little else for him to eat. When a new food is introduced he softly says “no thank you” and pushes the food away. If I persist he replies, in his most forceful 2 year old way, “NOOOO!” In preparation for preschool in the fall I have been trying to teach Collin about his allergies. He points to certain things and says he is allergic. He knows if he eats it, he will get sick and have to go to the hospital. However, sometimes when I want him to try a new food, he will say “I allergic.” Great!

At first I tried not to worry too much. I hear stories of some toddlers only eating brown foods. I would feed him what I could, give him a multi vitamin and move on. He is a little smaller than my other 2, but has always met the benchmarks for development. On the days when he leaves the table without eating a bite, I tell myself that when he is hungry, he will eat. When he finally is hungry, he cries for milk. If I am lucky he will eat some cereal. I also recently introduced PediaSure, which he calls “bear milk.” I mix it with regular milk so he will not get used to drinking milk that is sweet. He likes it, and on days that his eating is poor I give him some and know that he is getting some added nutrients.

As you will come to know – sometimes I bend over backward to make something that the whole family will eat, and is safe for Collin. It usually backfires. It is either truly terrible, or the kids do not like it.

I am somewhat relieved that he does not try to take “unsafe” food from other people. My middle son was always grabbing food off of any plate he could reach. Could his picky habit be some sort of self defense mechanism?

I guess the question would be now that I have created this situation, how do I fix it? I am sure some of you have been there, so any feedback would be appreciated.

Oh Yeah – the reason I have a renewed urgency to get him to eat better stems from a recent episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8. She had a nutritionist come help her cook a meal. They cooked a very healthy meal full of vegetables. Every one of her 8 kids ate the food without complaining and even said they loved it! I love the show, but that really got to me. I am sure you will hear more on this topic later.