Grrrrrrrr! My child is a Nutella Monster!

Options
24

Replies

  • MessyLittlePanda
    MessyLittlePanda Posts: 213 Member
    Options
    If the nutella isn't there in a few days he will have forgotten about it. He'll cry and kick off at first, that's the part you gotta grit your teeth for, but after that it's broken record technique "oh honey we don't have any nutella but you can have this/that/the other".
  • Flafster
    Flafster Posts: 106 Member
    Options
    All kids like not being forced to sit at the table to eat something that someone else has told them to eat.
    It's ALL about independence and boundary pushing at this age. Your son is two. Don't give him nutella.

    Offer a range of healthy foods. We keep a fruit bowl available all the time so they can graze on what they want. Offer a range of 'picky' things for some meals - chopped up cucumber / carrot / pepper / celery; halved cherry tomatoes, breadsticks, cubes of cheese, hummus or something else to dip into. Make a range of interesting textures.

    Put things on a central plate and let your child help themselves to their own size portion.
    We all have days where we feel hungry & days when we just don't want to eat as much. Having someone else pick your portion size can be overwhelming. I've even gone as far as making it a game, only putting a single piece of pasta on a plate and told them they can have some more if hungry.

    Try letting your child eat what he wants for a week (disclaimer, you choose the foods to provide) I find lots of children self regulate with normal food, only processed food really needs to be controlled. Some days, or even weeks, they can be all about the carbs, some weeks all about protein. It's hard but a lot of it can be trying to get a reaction. Don't react. No cajoling, no "well done" no food games. Provide food and remove what isn't eaten.
  • Diary_Queen
    Diary_Queen Posts: 1,314 Member
    Options
    You should at least switch to a healthier brand of hazelnut spread, like Jason's. Nutella is mostly sugar.

    I completely agree with this. Nutella seems awesome, but we only allowed it as a rare snack, not an everyday thing. My children went through that attempt at being picky eaters. I say attempt because I squashed that ASAP. If they didn't eat, they didn't eat, but I let them know that what they were served was what we were having. No way I would be a short order cook in my own house cooking a different meal for everyone. It's the same way for us. If they don't like something.... I ask them to try it. If they can eat a good portion of it, then great... if they refuse to eat, then they can sit quietly until everyone is done. We don't play around with the rules in my house and I won't bend my rules to any child. I'm the parent and I act accordingly. Now, I have great eaters! They help me shop and beg for asparagus and brussel sprouts and homemade chicken nuggets over McDonalds or Chik-fil-A.... they just needed the guidance to understand that the pretty packaging or what might seem like the best tasting stuff isn't the ONLY good stuff out there. I've heard you have to introduce a new food to a small child 15-20 different times before they get accustomed to it and can discern whether they actually like it or not.
  • Ezwoldo
    Ezwoldo Posts: 369 Member
    Options
    [/quote]

    He is 2 years old, you are the parent...so what if he cries and throws up. If you calmly ignore it, and just clean him up he will get over it. It takes about 3 days to break a habit in a young one ...so you have 3 days of hell and then it will be over. But you are the one in charge, not him.

    I would cut out all nutella right now and go on from there.
    [/quote]



    Love this I may try this with my son who is a sugar junkie
  • chljlleal
    chljlleal Posts: 230 Member
    Options
    My son has always loved anything with cheese (broccoli and cheese, mac n cheese, etc) and things with dip (chicken breast with bbq sauce, cucumbers with salad dressing, etc). What about those things? Also, try making things in fun shapes--like a heart or circle. Good Luck, stay consistent and they will be fine. Worse case, perhaps you can use bribery : If you eat your dinner you can have nutella with pretzel sticks for dessert. :)

    I used to have to make shapes/letters (anything) out of the food to encourage my eldest to eat some things.

    But I also find bribery works for me! My youngest (3) will clear his plate with a promise of ice cream - doesn't matter what ice cream either so I have stared buying frozen yoghurt ones with less fat & sugar and he loves them!
  • dayone987
    dayone987 Posts: 645 Member
    Options
    Try chocolate milk; tastes great and has calcium, protein, calories, and fat.
  • Laylasmom77
    Laylasmom77 Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    That's all my 12 year old son wants from the grocery store is Nutella!
  • GuruOnAMountain
    GuruOnAMountain Posts: 489 Member
    Options
    I'm not a mum, so I guess it's easy to give this advice when I've never experienced living with a fussy kid but I was a fussy kid myself and soooo wish my mum had taken the hard line approach with me.

    I, like most kids, liked junk food, crisps, chips, fish fingers, baked beans, chocolate, processed rubbish and because I would be awkward and moan if my mum tried to give me anything else, she took the route of mostly giving in to me and letting me have the processed rubbish. Roll on a whole childhood of being chubby and then being a fat adult which I'm not trying to fight! I still don't like a lot of vegetables and I'm sure if my mum had forced me to eat them as a kid, I'd have acquired a taste for them by now. Instead I find myself having to try to train myself to acquire these tastes as an adult while recording calories here trying to get my weight in check.

    I can imagine it will be tough saying no to your kid, who you love and want to be happy but in the long wrong you'll be doing him a huge favour. Just get rid of the Nutella, provide him with healthy food and make it plain that that is all there is. Don't break one day and give him some Nutella just 'cause you can't be bothered with the fight that day or whatever because if he knows that you've broken once, he'll know there's a chance that he can break you again and he'll just continue with the fussy behaviour. Stick to your guns and he'll thank you for it when he's older. Good luck!
  • MessyLittlePanda
    MessyLittlePanda Posts: 213 Member
    Options
    Try chocolate milk; tastes great and has calcium, protein, calories, and fat.

    um....and about as much sugar as Nutella!
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
    Options
    Try compromise...tell him if he eates 5 bites of dinner, he can have two bites of Nutella..and if when he finishes more..he can have more nutella. It worked with my kids when all they wanted was yogurt for dinner! I would let them have it at the table as a "side" dish.. don't get caught up in the "kid food" either..it will be another hard habit to break. If he eates what you eat now..he always will and he won't be filled with all that processed junk that they promote for kids! Good Luck!

    This! But also, I read somewhere ages ago that kids need to be introduced to new foods up to ten times before they will accept it (and it doesn't always mean they have to eat it). I couldn't possibly cite this (I read it so long ago and had no reason to keep it), but basically it said put a very small portion of a new item on your kids plate. Answer questions about it if they ask, but otherwise don't make a big deal about it being there. If they don't eat it, they don't eat it. Put it on their plate another time. By the third or fourth time, because they see you eating it, but you're not making a big deal about them eating it or not, most kids will try it. If they don't like it, it may just be because it's a new taste. Continue to put a small amount on their plate for a while. Eventually, they will either dismiss it altogether or try it again until they adapt. I've actually found this has even worked for me as an adult (trying just a bite of something I don't care for every time I encounter it). I am not eating lots of new foods I never ate as a child, teen or young adult.
  • caramkoala
    caramkoala Posts: 303 Member
    Options
    A toddler will not starve rather than get the food they want. They don't yet have the metal capacity to stage a hunger strike. This child is playing a control game and nothing else. He may complain loudly, but ultimately he will eat what is provided. If you want him to stop eating so much Nutella. Stop providing so much Nutella.

    don't negotiate!
  • sexynatasha
    sexynatasha Posts: 8
    Options
    Get rid of the nutella and don't buy anymore let the child have a tantrum he will soon get over it. It may take a few days of frustration once hunger takes over he will eat whatever you put in front of him . I have a very stubborn child she's 13 now and will eat anything. We have a rule in our house don't eat your dinner you don't have anything else till breakfast always works if they want dessert.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    Options
    Stop buying it?
  • wbgolden
    wbgolden Posts: 2,071 Member
    Options
    Stop buying it?
  • Sharyn913
    Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
    Options
    2 yr. olds are tough, but the good thing is they can't go to the store. If you don't bring it into the house he'll forget about it and when he's hungry he'll eat. Just give him healthier options.

    http://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/

    This. You're child is two. Be the adult! I guarantee you that if your child does NOT have Nutella, they will eat when hungry.
  • DoomCakes
    DoomCakes Posts: 806 Member
    Options
    Your child has fantastic taste, and sadly a bit expensive. I love nutella.

    But for some ideas, try making healthy things look fun. Veggies and dip etc. Have him help you in the kitchen make his food. For example, you could do chicken nuggets one night, and let him make crunch up some corn flakes or something so you can mix it in. Get him started on a healthy life sooner, but keep it fun so he's interested. I've seen some parents take the food and make shapes or patterns on the plates too! And if he does do well, give him like apple slices and nutella!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Options
    MY son is still at the run into walls and fall down stairs phase. Complete Id complex. No negoiations. Plus, he will force himself to throw up if I let him cry. Little Bastered has me by the short hairs.

    This behavior will continue until you stop giving in. Then it will stop.
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
    Options
    just a suggestion for you grown ups- don't share your nutella w/ the little ones. It's a rite of passage for responsible adults, just like driving, drinking, voting. :laugh:


    BTW, do some goggle searches and make your own nutella

    or at least tweak some healthy low sugar/sodium peanut butter, dk cocoa powder and sweetener of your choice
    to make a delicious, *healthier* alternative than the over-hyped Nutella- which can be addictive but overcome as well.
    I broke free from its *evil* bondage by doing the above^^^

    *don't lead them into temptation, but deliver them from evil......... hahahaha
  • dayone987
    dayone987 Posts: 645 Member
    Options
    Try chocolate milk; tastes great and has calcium, protein, calories, and fat.

    um....and about as much sugar as Nutella!

    It does have a lot of other nutrients such as postassium, Vitamins A and B , etc.

    I think though in the US they add HFCS to it but not in Canada.
  • TChester_05
    TChester_05 Posts: 83 Member
    Options
    2 yr. olds are tough, but the good thing is they can't go to the store. If you don't bring it into the house he'll forget about it and when he's hungry he'll eat. Just give him healthier options.

    http://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/

    ^^^^^^^ What she said... my two year old would only eat french fries and hot dogs if thats all I gave him. But since I dont, he doesn't. No matter how willful or decisive your two year old tries to be they are still a toddler who doesnt yet have the capability to make rational decisions. Calm and control will ultimately win given the chance. When they are hungry they will eat and if you dont provide nutella...you win.

Categories