To the Moms of Toddlers.... Advice?

jillyt85

I have a 2 year old boy and a 3 yr old girl. They eat decently healthy. Sure, every now and then is a quick pizza in the over but for the most part, they eat what everyone else eats. Fruit after every meal, and normally some sort of dessert (last night it was those fruit chillers).

Anyways, I guess I'm a hard as/s. If my kids don't eat, I don't force them but I certainly don't make them anything else either. If they aren't hungry, they aren't hungry. If they choose not to eat and come to me an hour later, I pull their dinner out of the microwave.

This!! Your kids are not going to starve. They will eat if they are hungry and it's best to start healthy habits early because as you know, they're so hard to change later.

bachooka

I have three kids, 5,4, and almost 3. They eat what we eat... and I would never finish what is on their plate. It's hard to watch that food go to waste, especially if you are the one who budgets in your household. But just remember that you are getting healthy from them and if they watch you clean your plate and then their plate as well, that will be the norm for them. If you aren't hungry don't eat it. If you can't resist eating it, make sure you take a little less than they have or leave calories in your day so that you can afford those extras.

Andrea_McQ

With my 3 yo I tell her daddy'll finish it! Sounds awful, like I'm sabotaging him, but he is underweight and trying to gain so it's all good! Other than that, or if she's left a really messy plate, I bin it before I'm tempted to touch it myself. Hate wasting food, but want to be healthy more!
My worst is when she wants to share with me, and it's usually the most unhealthy stuff that she tries to feed me! I humour her sometimes, the rest of the time I just tell her to have it herself.
Her diet is pretty good really, I talk her out of a lot of unhealthy stuff by telling her she won't feel very good if she eats it and will be sick if she eats too much. I don't want a 3 yo to even be thinking of weight as such, but want to teach her good habits now so she doesn't have to re-programme herself later!

kjbbdoll

I have the same problem! Especially if it is half a pb&j or dessert! A lot of times I just pitch it before I taste it-lol but if I do eat it I just make sure to log it and then I am more careful the rest of the day. Or how about not eating anything for lunch except for the kiddo's leftovers? It is definitely hard.
Just think of it this way though-If you eat it, it's gone. If you pitch it, it's gone. Either way the kids in Africa don't get it and it is gone. Better in the trash then on your *kitten*!

MissJay75

This is one of my toughest challenges, especially with my 4 yr old. She has some eating 'issues' and is in therapy to overcome them. I have lots of high calorie snack foods in the home just to help her eat ANYthing. It's a battle for me to stay out of it.

I have to put food on her plate knowing she won't eat it, just to get her used to it being there. I have to take bites to show her how 'yummy' it is. I used to finish anything she didn't eat without a second thought. Now that I am paying attention, it is getting better. It hasn't happened overnight, but I catch myself more easily. I try to save most things she doesn't eat in ziplocs for another meal.

Anything I have to throw out makes me cringe, but better it wastes in the garbage than wastes as fat in my belly.

Tn2009

I have two 7 year olds, a 5 year old and a 2 year old. I have finally come to the point that I eat first. If I eat first then there really is not a temptation. That is for lunch time. At dinner I make boneless, skinless chicken breast a bunch and just make theirs into a casserole or put in in noodles or something to the same effect. I stay eating healthy and they do somewhat, but they get their kids food in as well. Also, another thing that has helped me is that I don't put too much food on their plates. I know what they can eat and if they want more I get up and put in on the plate, but it keeps me from eating what they don't want off of their plates. Good Luck!

astrasburger

Ok. I hope I'm not the only mom out there that has this problem. :sad: Why is it that i always feel the need to finish off my child's plate at lunch???!!! And what makes it worse, I have 2!! two year olds. (and a one year old. But, the mess he makes, I have no desire what so ever to touch his food. :laugh: ) Everyday I fight the same battle. And as any mom of a 2 year olds know, they are very picky eaters. It's not like I'm making them a great big salad for lunch. :noway: It's either mac and cheese with some good ol' hot dogs. Or grilled cheese with soup. Or the tested and true, Chef Boy-R-Dee. Or what ever happens to be in the fridge for left overs... smothered in melted cheese. As a mom, how do you do it?? Today I caught myself after shovelling in about 1/2 a cup (sadly, probably more) of mac and cheese and stopped and thought... WTF am I doing??? There goes your "good" day down the drain. I finally threw everything in the garbage and was proud of myself. Now to get in my workout to burn that temptation off.
How do you over come this food problem? I tried incorporating "healthy" switching for their lunches, but if it's not covered in cheese, bread or pasta, they want nothing to do with it. I can't starve my boys!! :noway:
Any "motherly" advice on this topic would be greatly apperciated. I know, I know... WILL POWER! Say NO! Just throw it OUT! I've tried, and I fail at that about 4 out of 5 times. Maybe just any encouragement would be nice. Or maybe just to know I'm not the only one. :embarassed:

I have a 2 1/2 year old and 13 month old twins. I get it...and that is why i'm finally having some success with MFP. I loged every bite i have off their plate. When you have 3 kids that little there is a lot of watching and helping them eat so even if the babies are getting yogurt (healthy!) i am taking bites. I am not one to judge on who feeds what so I'm not going to comment on what i have. Log every bite if you do it and once you fall into habit eventually you will stop because you are making a change.

Good luck! after 45 days on MFP i'm finally seeing progress as i'm changing my habits:)!

briggsy13

I have a 5, 3 , & 1 year old. They eat almost the same thing everyday. Either PB & jelly or PB & honey, cheese stick, go-gurt & some type of fruit, (banana, apple or grapes usually). My kids are good eaters though so they usually polish all that off and then ask if they can have something else.
If i were in your shoes I would just keep putting the food back in the fridge and heat it up the next day until its gone. I tend not to eat off any of my kids' plates cause they are pretty gross about dropping stuff and putting it back on their plate

1Timothy4v8

When I used to watch my nephew I would snack soo mcuh just cause his food was soo nummy,

I would say as far as switching the kids to healthy food, you need to just be strict about it, when they don't eat them tell them they can't leave until they do, and even if it takes 30 min they will get the hint, Parenting is all about who breaks first

as far as being waistful my mommy always said it's better to waist it in the trash then in the tummy, you are obvously a good mommy cause you are asking what you can do to improve so brovo

janalayn

You know how difficult it is to struggle with your weight so you don't want to set your children up to have to fight the same battle. Toddlers are survivors and they will eat when they get hungry. Switch them to healthy food - i promise they won't starve. If you only give them healthy foods they don't learn to crave the crap. Both of my children grew up eating vegetables from the garden and they loved salads (for me it was portion control and emotional eating - not crap food, that I got fat on). My fiance's daughter is 6, she has never had soda or fast food while in our home and she doesn't ask for it. She eats healthy, balanced meals when she is with us, even though she gets to eat crap with her mom. Her favorite foods are quail eggs, couscous and buffalo or elk.

chunkamonk2012

I have a 5 yr old and a 5 month old and I don't have the problem but I'm sure its because I have an issue eating myself. I only fix enough on her plate that I know she will eat and if she wants more then I fix her alittle bit more. I don't make her eat but if she has it left on her plate I save it for later so that when she says shes hungry I heat it up and that is what she eats. I am proud to say that she is a healthy eater anyway, so she generally eats what I do.

You can do this, its mind over matter. Figure out what your goal is and tell that to yourself when you get tempted.

mebuthalf

1) give them less, and as you dish up plates have a Tupperware in line to put the leftovers in and away right away

2) eat something filling while they are eating. Maybe you aren't eating enough protein if their plates still look good after eating.

3) Teach them to put their own plates away so you don't see it.

Good luck!

CleminoleTech

As a Mom of college age kids, you may want to think in terms of "how stressed out am I right now?". Chances are you are just stressed and that calms you. That was it for me. I say, when the kids leave the table, turn on some music, either theirs or yours and dance around in fun...then see if you still feel the urge to eat. Just try this as an experiment.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I think you're really pushing off the blame off into the wrong place, too many fingers pointing in the wrong direction. When my 2 year old doesn't finish his lunch/dinner/(anything except cereal), it gets plastic wrapped and served to them again within the next 24 hours. Sometimes they eat a lot, sometimes they eat a little, but either way they always eat again. And mine is not picky, he eats what I eat and we eat together.

mmclachlan10

OMG, trust me... ALL toddler moms do it We don't want to be wasteful and throw away perfectly dried up, high calorie mac n cheese right?!?! I don't know what it is that makes us want to finish it off but I can relate to the great feeling you shared with us when you threw it in the trash!! (It's amazing how good little things like that mean to a mother lol). Honestly all you can do is toss the left overs! Your boys aren't going to turn to salads and they need the calories, I am sure they do a lot of running around. If I could log my 3 year old's activities in MFP I would have more calories freed up than I could ever consume in a day

Looking to the future though, eating your salads and fruits etc. in front of your boys will set a great example for the future. They may not want it now but as we all know, we watch and learn from our parents... their good and bad habits, so let's do our kids a favor and make sure that our good habits are out on display! If they pick up the bad words we say when we whisper... then we have to assume they are listening and watching the things we do and say out in the open

TheDrBuchanan

My advice to you is to eliminate food from your children's diet that you would not eat yourself. It's important to teach kids from a young age how to make good nutritional decisions, so that when they become adults they are not lost in the never-ending weight battles of our generation. That can be hard to do, true. But my pediatrician has assured me that kids their age (my son will be 3 in June) will not starve. They may exist primarily on milk for several days, but if all you are offering is healthy choices then eventually they will begin to eat better. Also, offer a variety of foods, and let them help you prepare them. My son watches and 'helps' me prep all my veggies on most nights. He now loves raw bell peppers and onions! And he'll try anything. Seriously. Last night, he ate a palm heart that I had on his salad. And liked it!!! Now, that's not to say that he's never had junk food, but it's just not a big deal or a necessity to him. He's just as happy eating broccoli as a cookie.

Once you get to this point, you will no longer feel guilty about eating their leftovers. And if it's about the portion control, just save their leftovers for lunch the next day!

Young28

Not alone!!! I usually shovel my 4 year olds leftovers onto my husbands plate.

Axiah

Try your hardest to transition them now to healthier foods. It doesn't have to be a drastic overnight change, but replacing the hotdogs and Mac and cheese gradually with healthier stuff could be better for everyone. You'll feel much less guilty eating pieces of leftover strawberries and plain roasted chicken. Good luck!

robot_potato

I struggled with this as well. I decided if i wasn't going to put it in my body, it shouldn't go in theirs either. I don't want them to have weight issues. It's a struggle at first, but your babies will not starve. If there is no other option, they will eat eventually. Mine had similar diets to your kids, and now they love all kinds of fruit and veg. They will eat near anything happily, including mushrooms, spinach, onions and peppers. My youngest is in love with squash and lentils. We still have treats, like pizza for dinner tonight, but we had carrots sticks on the side. Mine are 7 and 3 and i am so glad we changed our diets for the better.

mmclachlan10

I like the idea of putting it on your husbands plate... thats too funny