my kids won't eat

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i think you might need to give a liiiiiiittle bit more detail for people to be able to help....?
  • valchemist
    valchemist Posts: 28
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    there is a lot of information online about picky eating. here are a couple of links to get you started.

    http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-eating/feeding-infants-toddlers/feeding-picky-eater-17-tips

    http://www.raisehealthyeaters.com/2013/09/what-i-do-when-feeding-isnt-going-so-hot/

    the main points I have found to be helpful:
    every kid is different
    be patient, it takes time
    don't make eating time stressful
    let them try new things on their own terms, no pressure

    for reference, I have 4 kids. a 12 yo who is extremely picky, an 8 yo who is a great eater (not at all picky), and a 3 and 6 yo who are both coming around slowly and nicely.
  • mikeabboud
    mikeabboud Posts: 26 Member
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    i dont worry about it they always end up eating when they get hungry, heck saves money
  • Slinky_BraveHeartBunsOfSteel
    Slinky_BraveHeartBunsOfSteel Posts: 10,891 Member
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    Take all their toys away
  • DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh
    DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh Posts: 363 Member
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    Waiting for more info from the OP but (soap box) kids need be taught that food is fuel…not entertainment and to be thankful for what is being provided.
  • shano25
    shano25 Posts: 233 Member
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    I have picky eaters. I don't mind them eating the same things all the time so long as it is healthy. So those are their choices. My daughter, now 7, grew out of it when she started school because they have a snack program and when she saw her friends trying different healthy foods, she decided to try as well and discovered she actually likes quite a lot. My son, now 4, is just starting to head in this direction. He will try new foods if he gets it from his friends parents, so I ask my friends to offer him foods I want him to try.

    Keep the healthy foods they like on hand and have them eat those. Don't worry too much if they don't want to try new things, just give it time. If you're worried they aren't getting enough nutrients, give them vitamins or talk to the doctor about supplements. If it's a case they are just not eating anything, then you need to talk to your doctor.
  • kitsune1989
    kitsune1989 Posts: 93 Member
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    My mom had a pretty good policy imo. Whatever she made we at least had to have a little bit. We didnt have to eat a whole plate, but we had to try it.
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member
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    Don't force them to eat if they're not hungry. If they don't eat the meal provided, fine ... but no snacks till the next meal. Won't kill 'em and they'll be ready to eat the next time they sit down.

    I seriously do not get why this is so hard. Eat, don't eat, so what? Kids are not always hungry when the clock says they should be, the dinner table is not a battleground, and you're not a short-order cook.

    If it's because they're picky, then for their own sakes, they have to be trained out of it now. Picky eaters have a difficult time in this world when they grow up. For example, I've had a lot of interviews over dinner. If I'd spent most of my time separating the spinach from the lasagne noodles, I wouldn't have gotten hired.
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
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    what to do?

    Really? What do their growth charts look like? Is your pediatrician concerned? Have you had to document their intake and bring to the pediatrician appointments? Have they been prescribed supplements because they are so much smaller than the other children their age (i.e. < 3% for weight or < 3% weight for height)?
  • ravengal
    ravengal Posts: 39
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    >>Waiting for more info from the OP but (soap box) kids need be taught that food is fuel…not entertainment and to be thankful for what is being provided.<<

    ^^
    +1 quotable!
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    yeah they will.
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
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    Send them to Ethiopia
  • echoslug
    echoslug Posts: 73 Member
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    I tried being a picky eater all of one time in my life; I think I was about 5. My mother made something and when I didn't want to try it she told me I could leave the table if I didn't want to eat anything - but I wouldn't be having anything else till breakfast. I skipped dinner and watched everyone else eat dinner through the window.

    After about 3 hours I decided I did want dinner after all. My mother told me it was too late, she'd put the food away and wasn't going to get any more out until breakfast. I went to bed hungry and upset. Next morning I came down for breakfast and my dinner plate was on the table. I vaguely remember throwing a tantrum which resulted in said food again being removed and my having to wait for lunch. By lunch time I ate the food.

    Never tried that stunt again.

    Kids won't starve themselves. They might miss a meal, scream, cry, call you names but eventually they will eat. You just have to be willing to outlast them.

    Other tricks:
    1) If they don't want to try something new, the rule in our house was you had to eat 1 large bite for each birthday + 1 to grow on.
    2) Let them have fun with their food. I never understood the don't play with your food rule (as long as it doesn't make mess and ends up in your mouth). My mom let us make green been walrus tusks, toast villages, ect.
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
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    My kids are 4, 3, and 1. They have varying levels of pickiness throughout the day/week/month. They are all of healthy weights, so I don't really care about how picky they are at a given meal.

    We fix one meal for the whole family.

    We try to include at least one thing we know each kid is guaranteed to like.

    If they want seconds of any food, they have to have had at least one bite of all the other foods on their plate. I got my 4 year old to eat salmon the other day this way.

    We don't snack all day. They have a mid afternoon snack usually, b/c dinner can get pretty late at our house.

    They don't get juice. They can have milk with meals only, and only one cup with each meal.

    Developmentally normal children won't starve themselves. They just won't.
  • KBRB1
    KBRB1 Posts: 4
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    I was picky, All my siblings and their kids were picky. I was determined not to have my kids
    be picky. Here's what I did that worked:*

    During meals, *only* positive comments. "good job eating that", even if it is a small morsel.
    Make offhand comments like, "she is sometimes a good eater" which can change to "She is a good eater"
    This builds confidence and takes away the adversarial component.

    Make sure you make good and tasty food. Read recipes.

    If you are desperate to get something into them, plop them in front of the tv and give them
    a bowl of cut up food. Most likely they will munch on it while engrossed. I used to give my
    toddlers cut up raw cauliflower and broccoli with a little dressing. I called them "crunchys".

    They are now 17 and 18 and eat most anything.

    Do not try to control your kids with food, they resent that.

    * These will only work if you never ever ever feed them fast food. It is so salty or sugary it basically ruins their
    ability to enjoy real food.
  • kickivale
    kickivale Posts: 260 Member
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    I've been a nanny for 13 years. Helped raise 18 children so far :)
    Most of them are very particular about food so don't feel too dejected.
    Use positive language when you present a meal or a snack. Let them see you eating the same things they are served. Do not hide your 'fun' food and try to pass them the veggies, know what I mean?
    Explain how food is energy like sun for plants or gasoline for the car (this is all assuming you have young children)
    Don't indulge their complaints. If you give in and take their plate and serve them something else that is less healthy, then you win the battle but not the war LOL.
    Give us some more details too! What's the whole story?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,503 Member
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    My DD learned the same way I did. What's on the table is it. I ate when I was hungry. She's followed in my footsteps.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • train_01
    train_01 Posts: 135 Member
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    Pretty simple when I was growing up...I either ate what my mom gave me, or I didn't eat. Believe me, learned real quick how terrible being hungry is. I'm raising my daughter the same way. I took the time out of my day to cook a meal, so she needs to appreciate it and at least try it. She knows that if she doesn't eat her required "bites" of each thing at dinner, she doesn't get a bedtime snack.

    I don't know how old the OP's kids are, but when my daughter was about 3, I started getting her into the kitchen to "help" cook. Now, at 7, she can almost make full (albeit simple) meals with little help (chili is her favorite thing to make haha). Maybe if they help in the cooking, they will be more likely to eat it.
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    Without having any details it is hard to respond appropriately but.... I have been a daycare provider for infants and toddlers for 8 years. I have had many "good eaters" and many "picky eaters" come through my doors over the years. But here's the thing. At my house you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. You don't have to eat what is being served but if you don't eat it then you don't eat again until the next meal time. Which can be at least three hours later. I don't give crackers, chips, cookies or any other "junk" type food to the children. Not even cheerios. Just whole grain breads, vegetables, lean proteins and sometimes not so lean because they are under 36 months and need the fat, full fat dairy and the occasional fruit. And this is for two snacks that consist of vegetables and either milk or cheese and a lunch that consists of protein, whole grain bread, milk, two types of vegetables and sometimes a fruit. And guess what? Those so called picky eaters? They clean their plates at my house. Because they know if they don't eat, they aren't going to be given something else or be given a snack an hour later. Once they are off purees, they are all offered the same meal and they can choose to eat it or not. Simple as that. They either eat or they don't. But I can guarantee that the next time it is meal time they aren't gonna be so picky. And they don't starve or waste away. Now if only I could just convince the parents to do this at home....
  • fitfoutch
    fitfoutch Posts: 25 Member
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    Don't mess up a child's innate ability to regulate their eating. They don't have the emotions tied to food the way we do. They only know hungry vs. not hungry. Educate yourself on what age appropriate servings are for their ages.

    Don't make a child clean their plate.

    Don't make food a reward or punishment. It's just food.

    Serve a well balanced meal

    Involve the children in menu planning and shopping

    Don't force them to eat something. We all have foods we don't like, children and no different. You couldn't force me to like mushrooms no matter how hard you try.

    Foods are not bad or good. Crackers are not junk, they are crackers. Carrots aren't good, they are just carrots.

    I typically see parents trying to "win" the food battles. This is not a good foundation for positive food relationships for children. I can't help but wonder how many overweight MFP users were forced to clean their plates, or forced to eat foods they didn't like as kids. They won't starve to death, and will learn to like more and more foods as they grow up. Is being a picky eater really the worst thing in the world?


    @ mtpkok- are the parents aware of your stance on food?

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