My kids eat most of the foods I do. I have 3 kids of my own and 5 daycare kids. Except for my oldest, all of them eat very, very well. My oldest is very picky but she knows when she doesn't like something we are eating she needs to get something else to replace what she isn't eating. (Ex. If she doesn't like the protein, she needs to find another protein.)
They aren't completely LC, and they do still have wheat and grains. DH isn't convinced all this needs to go, and they are his kids too so to compromise we push the whole foods and non wheat/grain foods but still let them have the other stuff too. (Ex. at dinner time I make my meal but add a carby side dish, sometimes if it's a meat the kids don't like they'll have a chicken burger or nuggets or something, if we have pizza I just eat the topping and I'll make a caesar salad to with it - the kids often just pull the top off too, when having tacos the kids and DH have the shells but I just eat it as a salad - often the kids ditch the shells and just have it as a salad too, etc.)
We tell them that they need to eat a good portion of the healthy stuff, but if they don't want the carby foods they don't need to eat it, and if they want seconds of the carby foods they need to eat all the healthy stuff first. We never force them to eat their entire plate. We make sure they have had some food but I want them to learn to eat until they are full, not feel they need to stuff the whole plate in their mouths. We also let them have mustard, dips, ketchup, BBQ, sauce, gravy, etc. to dip their foods in when they want it. I figure that even if the "dip" isn't very healthy at least they are still getting the good stuff, and the dip to food ratio is usually pretty low.
During movie nights the kids have grown to expect a veggie tray and dip in front of the TV. Being in front of the TV is a treat since all food and drinks normally stay at the kitchen table. My youngest often asks to watch a movie just so she can have the veggie tray. Often we'll add pepperoni slices or sticks to go along with it.
Also, if there are other kids around, you can make a platter of foods for meals or snacks where they can all pick from it. You'd be amazed how much kids will try when other kids are eating it.
If you are like me and only want food at the table, and if he likes to pick you can put a small kids table in the kitchen and just leave a little bit of healthy foods on it all the time. If he runs around with the food, you can simply remind him food stays at the table, then take it out of his hands and carry it back to the table for him. If he continues you can take his plate away and don't give it back until the next meal. He will probably get upset but most of the kids I've did this with learn very quickly to keep food at the table. Most learn after one or two times of taking it away. When they are upset about it I remind them over and over why I took it away. To me, a few hours of them being upset is much better than having food all over the house that I need to clean up constantly for years to come.
Get them involved in making and serving the foods. If they help with it they'll often taste something. (Even if it's just helping to carry something from the fridge to the counter, when they are young they will be proud to help.)
You can also let him know that it's ok if he doesn't like the foods he tastes but encourage him to continue trying and praise him anytime he does try something new, whether he likes it or not.
I let my kids eat anything that is a whole food, even if it isn't LC. I explain which choices are better and explain it's better to eat more of the LC foods than the high carb ones. I also have a bigger variety of the LC foods around than the high carb ones.
When preparing, shopping or doing anything with foods I always talk about what's good and what's bad about it. (Ex. if it's chicken nuggets, I tell them that the chicken is an excellent source of protein but the coating is full of flour which is made of wheat and list some of the problems with wheat, when picking out fruits I point out what kinds of vitamins they have and what these vitamins do, etc.) Even if they don't seem to be listening they do absorb it.
And remember, even if he doesn't understand what words like protein and vitamins are, he will slowly learn that these are good things and what foods they are in. When they hear words and learn a little bit about them when they are young, then they can learn that subject easier when they are older and grasp the concepts better because they aren't foreign words to them. (This works for math, science and other subject matters too.)
My kids eat peanut butter off a spoon all the time. It's is full of good stuff so I let them grab a spoonful anytime they want. It's so much better than them wanting to grab some kind of junk food. I also keep sliced meats and cut cheese in the fridge.
I also have a cupboard that I fill with foods they are allowed to grab something to eat whenever they want. They like the freedom of being allowed to choose something they want and aren't tempted by other foods. Out of sight out of mind. This also works the other way around, I use clear containers in the fridge and place the good stuff at eye level in the front of the fridge. The easier it is to see and grab something the more tempting it becomes.
HTH. Good luck! He is at a perfect age to absorb good eating habits from those around him.
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Toddlers/Children & Food
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