We recently moved from the UK to Florida. My son was already a fussy eater but would eat chicken, sausages, fish fingers, pasta shapes in tomato sauce, cereals with milk, bread, and yoghurts. Now here in the US he won't eat anything, except some chips (fries) and a fish stick if we are lucky. If we ask him to try stuff we think he'll like he goes into a panic and makes up his mind he don't like it. How can I get him to try stuff without him going into melt down? It's heart breaking.
By Athers1
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I would guess it has more to do with the stress of making such a big move rather than the food itself. Is he adjusting well to life in the US? Maybe sit him down and have a talk about how he's feeling, if you haven't already.
I know when I moved from the US to the UK I was always thrilled to come across some American foods I recognised, even if it wasn't a brand I usually ate! It was a little taste of home. A lot of supermarkets have international sections and you might be lucky enough to find some familiar UK brands that he might like. If not, maybe you could have someone in the UK send off a little care package with some of his favorite sweets or something like that, just something familiar. Good luck!
If you enlist your child's help in preparing the meal, he will be more interested in eating it. Some parents hide "good for you " foods in other foods by mashing or blending them in.
Surely, there are familiar foods in the US that he ate in the UK. Whatever you do, don't let him see that he is stressing you out by not eating. That may be his goal; sort of a retaliation for making him move. See if you can get him to eat or chew a multi-vitamin. There are some that are like gumballs. He may like that. It will get better soon.
Have you tried having him involved with making meals? Perhaps having him pick a meal from a child base Cookbook. Kids also like Kids cooking classes maybe being around other kids would motivate him to try different foods that the group prepares and make some new friends.
We're looking at a reverse of the same situation-I've recently remarried and moved to the UK and my son will be bringing his 7 year old son to visit in the spring. The grandson has the same food requirements as your son.
For take-away, try the chicken nuggets at McDonald's and Burger King.
Then take him shopping at a big supermarket with the freezer sections in upright cases so he can see what is there. Fish fingers, as you know, are called fish sticks in the US, chicken fingers for some reason are called chicken fingers, lol, but the packaging on both show the actual food in the bag and what the food looks like after Mum gets them out of the oven-your little guy will be able to sort through the foods and find things that appeal to him to try.
Also, for the pasta shapes, Kraft sells the same boxes in the US as they sell in the UK, just the packaging is a bit different, and it's called 'Mac 'N Cheese and then the shapes are on the box.
Helping him to adjust (and moving to FL from the UK is a huge adjustment poor guy) by taking him alone to the grocery would be a big help-he'd feel special, and would have time to really think about what he can find.
Try Publix, very kid-friendly (upright freezers with big clear doors), Kroger is great too, and WalMart SuperCenters have the kid stuff right at their eye level, lol. Food Lion still uses chest freezers so it's hard for children to see into the selection, but their prices are good.
Forgot to add the way I know this works is that I tried it when I was visiting them this past spring. I took my grandson to the grocery store so that I could stock the cupboards with foods he would eat while he spent Spring Break at his dad's (My son's notion of a healthy meal consists of chicken nuggets-breakfast, lunch and dinner, lol).
My grandson thought it was very cool to spend two hours in the grocery with his gran, and we managed to both find foods he could eat (that were healthy) and pick out a few new things to try. It worked very well, and he thinks I'm the smartest gran in the world now.
When we found out my son is getting custody and coming over to the UK to do post grad work, my grandson was very excited about planning his 'grocery shop with Gran' as one of the first things he does when they arrive.
Jo Frost, Supenanny, dealt with this on one of her shows. I have forgotten what she did, exactly, but I suggest you google her and find where you can watch past episodes about this.
I don't actually think this is a food issue; I think this is a power struggle and control issue.
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