To the Moms of Toddlers.... Advice?

j3nnal3igh13 · March 2012

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:

jnh17 · March 2012

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.

fearie_jae · March 2012

trust me you are NOT alone! im just glad i no longer can stand another bowl of mac n cheese.. thats his favorite so he usually eats all of it (hes 4 btw) but sometimes if i make a reeeeally good meal and only allow myself a small portion, if he doesnt finish it, i get upset bc i cant let that good food go to waste and i end up eating it! UGH!!! not all the time but i kick myself if i throw it away and i kick myself if i eat it.. so most of the time i try to be strong.. we'll get thru this. :laugh:

katcod1522 · March 2012

I set my 6 yr olds dinner plate down for the dog after we get up from the table!

qtiekiki · March 2012

Oh you are not the only one. My daughter is 3.5 and my son is 2. I used to do it. Most of the time, I don't anymore. Sometimes I will eat a bit later, and eat their leftovers as part of my meal. The good thing is they eat what I eat, so it's not like I am eating foods that I don't normally eat or will ruin my diet.

Let's say it together.... JUST SAY NO... NO. =D

LilRedRooster · March 2012

I have two dogs. They're more than willing to help eat what she doesn't, so that solves my problem if there's leftovers that I know I don't want in the fridge.

Though I don't know if I'm just tougher on the food thing, but if she doesn't eat what we give her, she doesn't get anything else different, so she's actually pretty good about eating whatever I put in front of her. I rarely find that she won't eat what I give her, because she I know she won't starve.

rcolours7 · March 2012

i have a 6yrold & 3yrold and from watching lots of Oprah - i made a conscience decision not to eat the rest of my kids food b/c i didn't want to end up "fat/obese" unhealthy.

so, my kids eat how much they want and either i save it or toss it - depending upon what it is.

u kinda have to come to terms w/throwing away food at this stage.

1 idea is to give them smaller portion & then ask them if they want more.

it took a long time for my son (3yrold) like mac & cheese. i'd only offer enough for 3-4 spoonfuls until he finally decided he liked it & wanted more.

it is tough - but make the conscience choice everyday at every meal not eat their food.

Spanaval · March 2012

I have a 2 year old. She eats what we eat, not the other way around. I despise cooking, so there is no way I'm doing any more than is absolutely necessary. Her leftovers, if it does turn out to be something I can't eat, go to the dogs.

Have you checked this site out? http://weelicious.com/ They have really good recipes for healthy foods to feed our kids that they might actually eat. IMO, by feeding our kids what we wouldn't ourselves eat because it's unhealthy, we're setting them up for a lifetime of unhealthy food habits.

omma_to_3 · March 2012

I do agree that your kids will learn to eat what you feed them, even if they don't like it at first. Of course they're not going to like everything, but if you only give them fattening stuff, they'll only want that. My 2 year old LOVES salad. And green beans and carrots are his favorite. And he'll polish off any cake or cookie you give him LOL. He'll eat anything. My older two ate lots when they were little too and they are great eaters now at 7 and 8. My 8 yr old's favorite food is apples and my 7 year old's is carrots! What we work on most with my oldest son is portion control LOL. Anyway, I encourage you to try some other things for your kids - dipping sauces make LOTS of things more palatable for them.

As to the issue of eating the leftovers....just put it in the refrigerator! Feed them the leftovers for the next meal. That's what we do, most of the time. Or my husband eats it LOL.

bkandisjj29 · March 2012

I hate wasting food. So I always fill a little container with whatever they have for leftovers, and then serve it for the next snack. That way, the food is not wasted, and I am not eating it! It is harder for me to eat if I think of myself as taking food from them. The worst part for me is when Daddy decides he needs to treat them to ice cream, or we make holiday cookies. That just plain old sucks!!!!! LOL

SPNLuver83 · March 2012

OMG I KNOW!!! I was raised not to waste food because "there are starving kids in Africa who would kill for it". And now as an adult, I know just how true that is. So I look at that food and think what a waste! I used to eat it too. And sometimes, I admit, I will still nibble some of it, sometimes. But not nearly as much, or as often, as I used to.

My advice? If you don't have one, get a dog. And give the leftovers to it before you eat it, so at least SOMEBODY is eating it and it's technically not getting wasted lol.

Im_NotPerfect · March 2012

Probably because most of us were brought up in the "clean your plate" era or "don't waste food" era. However, when ever I look at my daughter's plate (she's 3), I have absolutely NO desire to touch her food because I'm pretty darn sure she's touched every single piece of food on there and she sucks on her fingers. I don't want her germs because if MOM gets sick....NO one in our house is happy!

dawnkykong · March 2012

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.

^^Same here...

I honestly have never had that problem. I normally don't eat at the same time as my 3yr old... And he's not picky, gets fruit with his lunch and veggies with dinner. He's normally eating off of my plate not the other way around Lol...Just dump it in the garbage right away if they don't finish it? Good luck!

cfoster629 · March 2012

Its hard, but eventually it will get better. My daughter eats okay, but luckily for dinner she is finally starting to eat what the rest of us eat. For lunch and stuff I started easing her into what "I" want her to eat, which basically is just trying to fit a few more healthy options like veggies in there. I think you just have to get into the mindset that you won't eat their leftovers. My husband HATED when our 2 year old wouldn't finish her meal, but you can't force feed them. Also remember their tummies are a lot smaller than ours, try giving them smaller portions. I think as they get older it will start to get better. Keep giving them foods that you want them to eat, they may not touch them the first 10 times, but eventually they will probably eat them. Just be strong and refuse to be a garbage disposal

kimberly2578 · March 2012

Probably because most of us were brought up in the "clean your plate" era or "don't waste food" era. However, when ever I look at my daughter's plate (she's 3), I have absolutely NO desire to touch her food because I'm pretty darn sure she's touched every single piece of food on there and she sucks on her fingers. I don't want her germs because if MOM gets sick....NO one in our house is happy!

^THIS^

lmalaschak · March 2012

My big problem is tasting while I'm fixing their plates. The only solution that works at all is to force myself to log every single bite I eat all day. That helps, partly because I can't tell as well how much I'm eating if I'm only taking a spoonful and partly because I know how fast it will add up. But I still fall prey to it way too often.

stephyy4632 · March 2012

I have a 6 year old 5year old and 14month old.
while I don`t eat off there plate if they didn`t finnish something I do tend to taste as I plate things but the kids eat what I eat. If I am making myself a turkey sandwitch for lunch thats what they get , if I make celary with peanut butter for a snack thats what they have for a snack. I try to stay away from processed items for the kids as well as myself ( we do have some but not many I cook from scratch as much as possible). just keep reminding yourself kids learn by example if you eat healthy they will eat healthy

mamakayy · March 2012

I have a 5 year old and a 2.5 year old. And while I will taste what they are eating I never feel like I need to finish it for them. If there's enough to save, I save it, if not, I toss it, or give it to the dog.

Like someone else has said, log EVERY BITE, it helps. If I make myself log everything I pause, do I *really* want to go look up how many cals are in 3 spoonfuls of mac & cheese, or half a thin mint cookie? Usually, no. I've caught and stopped myself from my "mindless" eating quite a few times, just by knowing I needed to log it if I ate it.

ishallnotwant · March 2012

I've totally never understood why moms finish off their kids' food after the kid is done eating. It just seems weird to me...maybe if I was starving and we didn't have food in the house and I had to feed the kids first and then eat whatever might be left over, but other than that, why? I have my own food.

I also never fed my kids "kid food". (Really? It's not "kid food" anyway, it's processed unhealthy nonsense. It's not like it's specially fortified for kids or something.) They eat the same stuff I do and always have. All 2 year olds are not "picky eaters"-if you raise them to eat healthfully, they will eat what you put in front of them. My kids love fresh and cooked fruits and veggies and salads and grains, etc. They've never complained about what I feed them. They didn't know to complain, they didn't realize that some kids don't eat the same way we do. They are just starting to hear from their friends about how other kids get corn dogs and mac 'n' cheese and stuff like that for dinners. They don't seem to think they are missing out, though, they just think those kids eat differently as their families have their own preferences.

I have 5 children. I had 5 kids under 10, and the youngest 3 were all under 3 when they were born, and I just never felt the urge to eat their food. This is probably going to sound really awful, but I always associated something like that with somebody who is gluttonous and has no self-control-it strikes me as extremely unattractive to go to town on my children's plates and eat their picked over food-it always has. I think it's because the whole time I was growing up, my mom used to say awful stuff about the ladies in our family who ate off their kids' plates. It just painted a really undesirable picture of that behavior in my mind.

Airbear3 · March 2012

you could remember my story! i was 19 when i had my first of three daughters....what did i know about raising kids...nothing so i fed her hot dogs and mac and cheese and anything else i would not put in my body now! she is now 11 and won't eat ANYTHING good for her! no veggies no fruits! nothing unless its covered in processed garbage or dipped in ketchup and the ketchup dipping only comes from her eating fish sticks! changed there habbits now before it is too late! she is 5'5" and 170 pounds. i don't buy the garbage but she saves her money and buys it herself! its terrible! i think about her having heart disease or becoming diabetic. whenever i try to talk to her about eating better she says i'm calling her fat, she's at the age where she's preteen and pre menstrual so it gets a little scary around here! anyway the point is change their food now and have your bites of their healthy food and don't worry about it!
i stole a piece of pork chop off my 17 month old and i think a piece of baked potato and she fed me a piece of broccoli... i don't sweat it or log it...i enjoyed the moment with my baby and the healthy food we shared:0)
i guess i should probably say i don't eat her meal, just a bite here and there!

ishallnotwant · March 2012

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.
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:

I'm really not trying to harp on you, but these particular sentences in your post are very alarming to me. You're setting your children up for a myriad of weight and health problems with these kinds of foods being the only things they will eat, and the only things you are willing to serve them. I'm a huge fan of everything in moderation, and I eat junk food myself and so does my family, but perhaps you should really work on serving some more healthy foods to your family...maybe just start with a veggie or fruit each day and work up or something. If you're on this website, you probably know what it is like to struggle with your weight-you don't want your children to end up being on a place like this as adults because they don't know how to eat healthfully and they are obese, do you? Do you want them to go through the pain and insecurity of other kids making fun of them if they develop a weight problem as a result of what you are feeding them? Teach them now while they are little so they can grow up healthy instead of them having to correct their weight problems and be at higher risk for health problems as they get older.

They will NOT starve if you don't feed them what they are used to eating. They may pick at it at first but they will eventually realize that they are getting what you serve them and they will eat it. Part of raising our children is teaching them how to care for their bodies properly, and good nutrition, along with healthy family activity goes a long way to help them grow up healthy. They look up to you, set a good example.

jillyt85 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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 · March 2012

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.

To the Moms of Toddlers.... Advice?

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