Children and food

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phoenixbaby2014
phoenixbaby2014 Posts: 23
in Health and Weight Loss
been struggling with the kids due to the fact that I've added so many new veg into their diet so that we are eating the same they keep refusing and it ends up in a big row. Any ideas please as I do not have the time or patience to be cooking two different meals.
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Replies

  • lindzgayle
    lindzgayle Posts: 131 Member
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    A rule in my house is "You have to try at least one bite of everything on your plate." After that, if they don't want it, they don't have to eat it. BUT they aren't getting a separate meal. I'm not a short order cook!
  • Codilee87
    Codilee87 Posts: 509 Member
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    Let them cook with you, if they help make it they are more inclined to eat it. Tell them actual facts about the healthy foods they are eating and how it can benefit them (more than just "you'll grow big and strong") When I told my 4 yr old that eating asparagus can make his pee green he suddenly couldn't get enough of it lol
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Perhaps give them a choice. Have some of veggie A or some of veggie B. If they feel they have some control, it can help. And when it comes to new foods - encourage them to try it, but perhaps don't overwhelm them with too many new foods at once.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    We all are served the same food (unless mom and dad are having something my son is allergic to, obviously).

    Everything goes on the plate. It might go on in a different format - if we have salads topped with chicken and soft-boiled egg, my son's salad will be small on the side and his chicken and egg will be separate. Or I will chop up stir fried veggies very small and mix them in with rice or soba noodles for my kid.

    Eat or don't eat, I don't care, but what's on the plate is all there is. Sometimes he eats the veggies, sometimes he doesn't, but I'm not going to battle over it. My goal is not so much to get him to eat the vegetables today, it's to instill familiarity and habits for the future.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    You're doing the right thing. If you feel good about it and stay firm in a pleasant way, they will learn from you. For kids who basically get good nutrition, I think it's very valuable to learn it is ok to be hungry. Choosing to be hungry because you don't like the taste of something is a perfectly acceptable choice. There will be another nutritious meal coming in the morning (or in a few hours). No harm done. Not worth a row.

    On the other hand, learning that hunger cannot be tolerated and must be staunched immediately is potentially dangerous.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    Codilee87 wrote: »
    Let them cook with you, if they help make it they are more inclined to eat it. Tell them actual facts about the healthy foods they are eating and how it can benefit them (more than just "you'll grow big and strong") When I told my 4 yr old that eating asparagus can make his pee green he suddenly couldn't get enough of it lol

    ^^love this!
  • mindidily
    mindidily Posts: 196 Member
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    I don't fight with them. They eat what I make, unless it's something like chili, because they are spice wimps still. I have 2 boys; one is 5 one is 3. The 5 year old eats pretty much everything, but the 3 year old does not. But he knows if he doesn't eat, he doesn't get something else. The only exception is if he asks for veggies (I have a variety of cut up raw veggies all the time).
    I do try to empower them so they feel like part of things. I plan my meals, so I might ask if they want one meal or the other. Sometimes it helps.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    Perhaps give them a choice. Have some of veggie A or some of veggie B. If they feel they have some control, it can help. And when it comes to new foods - encourage them to try it, but perhaps don't overwhelm them with too many new foods at once.

    this is what my wife and I do. And also keep in mind that substantial changes can be overwhelming for adults...imagine being a little kid.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    Have you made these changes quickly?

    Just like we need to make small changes, kids need that as well. Introducing them to new things is great but don't overwhelm them and definitely give options.
  • beckyc0786
    beckyc0786 Posts: 2 Member
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    I don't believe in sending a kid to bed hungry. I will put something on my 6 year old's plate that I know he will eat. Whether it is yogurt or apple sauce or another cut up fruit. Then I add stuff that is new or he's only had a couple of times. Just keep introducing a food and eventually it will be familiar to them. I just feel like life is too short to have a meltdown at dinner every night.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Give them something that you know they'll like (pasta, rice, a familiar veggie) and ask them to take at least a bite of the new veggie.

    Here they don't get any snack after dinner unless they've finished their food.
  • bluestarlight19
    bluestarlight19 Posts: 419 Member
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    Also, maybe learn how they like their veggies. I recently discovered my 3 year old will eat almost any veggie raw, but only certain ones if they are cooked. My 2 year old won't eat anything unless it "looks" appetizing, or she sees my 3 year old eating it with gusto.
    I don't punish them for not eating because they also go through phases where they eat everything at lunch but only pick at dinner, vis versa, or they are getting sick and off of food, or they hit a growth spurt and no food is safe, etc. I just go with the flow. I don't want them to be a member of the clean plate club like I am. I want them to learn to stop when they are full. But your right, I won't make them a separate meal but I do offer a healthy snack after dinner, especially for my younger one, if she didn't eat much. And I try to encourage my older one to take a bite of everything on her plate, but don't force her or argue about it.
  • aeviescas
    aeviescas Posts: 26 Member
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    Find which veggies they like and use them. Don't worry about the supposed health benefits of all the different vegetables (which do them no good if they don't eat them!) You can also try burying them in casseroles.

    Introduce new veggies slowly. Kids (especially toddlers) are pickier about veggies than adults because their taste buds are more sensitive to bitter. This is an evolutionary adaptation: see this article for more details:

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/its-not-just-baby-fat/201104/why-your-kids-won-t-eat-vegetables-and-what-you-can-do-about-it
  • PammieSuzyQ
    PammieSuzyQ Posts: 100 Member
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    Do not fight, making food a battle is a sure way to create food and weight issues.


    I always told my kids, "this is a kitchen, NOT a restaurant. You don't like dinner? There's the kitchen, you may make a PBJ sandwich. That is all."

    Children will eat vegetables in the presence of some sauce or dip of their choosing. You can choose how much of this sauce or dip ends up on the plate.

    Just like when they were babies, don't add more than one new food in a week. Children don't deal well with change.

    Know this, children will not choose to starve in the presence of food. Eventually they will try something new.

    Do not let them make negative remarks at the table about any new foods, the other children listen and tend to take on the negative remark(s) as their own belief.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I give my kids a portion on the smaller size of reasonable for their age. If they finish everything given, they can have a piece of fruit or pbj. They dont have to eat it if they dont want to.....but if they choose not too, they dont get anything else.
  • PammieSuzyQ
    PammieSuzyQ Posts: 100 Member
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    if i was a kid, i would TOTALLY skip veggies and new foods for fruit!
  • crosbylee
    crosbylee Posts: 3,455 Member
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    I have been cooking more lately, but I have a very picky eater. Most of it is due to her taste for food being messed up by her chemo medciations. I am hoping that once we are done with all the chemo, around June of this year, that her taste buds will be more adventurous and she will try more. I do encourage her to try at least one bite of new foods, but sometimes things I think she will love, she turns her nose up. She basically lives off cereal, cheese, peanut butter and biscuits.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    There's a difference between kids who have grown up to always eat what is served, and kids who are accustomed to mom or dad letting them be picky suddenly be told, okay, new rules, new regime. Especially if they were used to eating McDonald's or lots of snack or junk food, and suddenly they're being told that bacon's out, broccoli's in.

    Kids don't handle drastic change well. They're going to be scared, confused and try to test their limits for a while. It's normal.

    Also remember, just because you have certain weight loss goals doesn't mean that they share them. It's healthy to teach them to eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains. It's not healthy to teach them to obsess over calories at such a young age. Be very aware of the messages that you're communicating.

    Slow changes. Gradual shift. And make sure they're getting lots of the stuff you might avoid yourself, like full-fat dairy for their growing bones.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    Oh, goodness, I am strict but I would totally give a hall pass to a picky eater with cancer. It destroys all fast-growing cells, as I'm sure you are well aware, including taste buds & mouth cells. Bless her heart. I hope the chemo works and she gets well soon!
  • PammieSuzyQ
    PammieSuzyQ Posts: 100 Member
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    oh crap yes, let her eat what she wants for now! those meds, while they are killing cancer cells, kill a lot of other cells and make eating so incredibly difficult. please give her a pass until this whole ordeal is over and she is completely cancer free.

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