My step kids won't eat anything nutritious!

You could use my method and see if it works, I share custody with my ex-husband and he has his own, not so healthy, choices that he makes for my daughter and I choose healthy 90% of the time.

I make only one meal for everyone in the house and if she does not like it then it's either sit at the table till her plate is empty or she can go straight to bed hungry and she will get nothing but water from that point onward. At first she refused and would go to bed hungry and be upset (she is 4 so she does need to eat, but some lessons need to be learned) and would cry for maybe 10 minutes then settle down and then go to bed since there is no other option but eating the food on the plate. It took 3 tries before she started eating most of what was on her plate and then I would offer to give her a nice dessert (chocolate pudding with a bit of whip cream) if she finished her plate. This also took about 3 tries before she started finishing her plate and now when she finishes maybe 25% of the time she will actually want her dessert and a good chunk of the time she has now started asking for carrot sticks instead. SHOCKING!

This may not be a method that can work for you, but you never know

Good luck!

I'd quit making food the issue. They'll eat when they're hungry especially if you don't make a big deal out of them not eating -- just wrap up their food and let them know they can have it later if they get hungry. The one thing I would correct is the "never hide their disgust" thing at dinner time but that's just because I'm big on manners and that wouldn't be acceptable to me.

This. My kids have come around. They still get treats but enjoy the healthy food also. I'm not cooking 2 dinners...they will eat what I eat.

You could use my method and see if it works, I share custody with my ex-husband and he has his own, not so healthy, choices that he makes for my daughter and I choose healthy 90% of the time.

I make only one meal for everyone in the house and if she does not like it then it's either sit at the table till her plate is empty or she can go straight to bed hungry and she will get nothing but water from that point onward. At first she refused and would go to bed hungry and be upset (she is 4 so she does need to eat, but some lessons need to be learned) and would cry for maybe 10 minutes then settle down and then go to bed since there is no other option but eating the food on the plate. It took 3 tries before she started eating most of what was on her plate and then I would offer to give her a nice dessert (chocolate pudding with a bit of whip cream) if she finished her plate. This also took about 3 tries before she started finishing her plate and now when she finishes maybe 25% of the time she will actually want her dessert and a good chunk of the time she has now started asking for carrot sticks instead. SHOCKING!

This may not be a method that can work for you, but you never know

Good luck!

Sounds like what my parents did. She'll grow up liking lots of different kinds of foods (because you are making her try them) and contrary to popular belief she will still like and love you even though you aren't trying to be her best friend. Sounds like great parenting to me

My kids aren't super picky, but they have their moments. We have a "this is the meal, eat it or not, your choice, but don't be rude" rule. If they choose not to at least try their food (which for my kids is a couple bites) , that fine, they can go play. The meal will sit on the table, and whenever they are hungry, they can try it. Until then, no other food. If they give it a genuine try, they can pick something else to eat. The "something else" is not a highly desirable food (grilled cheese for my kids, lol) it is something boring like a peanut butter sandwich.

Our other policy is that if they want a second serving, they need to finish the vegetables on their plate first.

Forcing kids to finish their full plate or eat food they hate is a recipe for disordered eating. Ellyn Satter is an expert on this and there is a ton of good info on her website. Ellynsatter.com. I have no connection to her, just passing on info from friends who have used her methods with success.

I'm a tough love kind of dad.... my kids eat what I make or they don't eat.... and guess what? They eat. And they have great BMIs.

I also am a believer in not making a kid clean a plate...and definitely not rewarded with a treat only when doing so...

I feel this just sets the child up for food issues later. I do however require them to take a few bites of vegetables I know they will eat before they can be done, even if they did a good job on the main dish.

My 4 and 5 year olds are testing the manners on the seeing dinner and making negative comments....it is a direct sentence of sitting on your bed to think about your behavior.....I will not allow disrespect like that...and it is already less frequent.

I think it is normal for kids to hit that stage, especially when they hear it a lot from the other kids at school meals..

Simple. I'd tell them "Eat dinner now, or eat breakfast tomorrow. Your choice." Keep all good food in your house so even if they try to sneak food, they'll still have to sneak good food. (fruit etc).

I didn't read all of the responses, but I agree that you just should stop making it an issue. The reality is, it is most likely a power struggle and since you can't literally force them to eat, they will win. At our house, we have family meals and you can either choose to eat or not eat, however, you must sit with the family during mealtime. Dessert may be offered if they have eaten healthy food first, but it is not used to bribe them to eat or as a reward for eating. If they choose not to eat, it's perfectly fine with me. If they are hungry later, they can have their skipped meal reheated or wait until the next meal (I won't withhold food later as a punishment for not eating during mealtime).

The only time we've had an issue is when my ds at around age 8 started not eating dinner and then getting up just after bed time and sneaking protein bars or snack type foods. It did get to where we started putting a video monitor on him to make sure he stopped doing this at night. After he learned that sneaking food at night wasn't going to fly, it's been better. But he's got some behavioral issues related to this kind of thing that we're working on.

The issue of them not hiding their disgust is a problem too in my opinion. At our house, if you don't like something, you simply say "thank you, but this doesn't suit my palate". I know it sounds weird, but I don't want my kids saying "that's gross" or something like that. We encourage them to try new foods and they almost always do, but never force the issue, because again, I don't want to get into a power struggle with my kids over food.

Anyway, I think you have the right idea of just making mealtime a relaxing and enjoyable time where they will see you guys enjoying your food. More than likely, if there is no pressure to eat, they will go ahead and eat.

You think you have it bad? My kid just turned down a trip to McDonald's! She said McDonald's was unhealthy! She's 5, is that too late to leave her in a basket at the police station?

This is awesome! My son would rather an apple to a candy bar any day!

I just posted it on another Board, but check out the cook book deceptively delicious - it takes foods kids normally likes and offers recipies to make them healthier meal without tasting or looking different.

I believe the saying is "CPS requires that you provide food and nourishment. It doesnt say that they have to eat it."

I agree with the - if you keep making a big deal about it, it will only get worse. Not to mention there could be other divorce/mom/dad/step mom issues going on.

Eventually they will be old enough to decide whether or not to see you and your husband. I wouldnt want to push them away.

Yup....hence picking one's battles.