How do you feed three kids who turn their noses up to EVERYTHING!!

[AMYCC1]

OMG..my three kids won't eat anything I make these days. They're 6, 3 and 3. Unless it's macs and cheese, chicken nuggets or pizza. Everytime I introduce something new, I have to hear the chorus of ewwwww or yuck, which drives me absolutely insane!!

 

[msmayor]

I used these words when serving dinner, upon hearing "EW!" or "I don't want that"


Me: "Oh well, I'm sorry to hear that. Breakfast is tomorrow morning at 7am".

Seriously, if they get hungry enough they'll eat. They won't starve, and the more you cater to what they want the less they'll even consider trying other stuff. I wouldn't make them eat a lot of what is 'new' to them, but if they finally do try a spoon or two of a new food and still turn their nose up, be proud of them for trying and give them a bowl of cereal. Eventually, they'll tire of cereal as well and learn to like the 'new' stuff.

 

[minnie1928]

I used these words when serving dinner, upon hearing "EW!" or "I don't want that"


Me: "Oh well, I'm sorry to hear that. Breakfast is tomorrow morning at 7am".

OOOOH! I so have to try this! My kids are 5 and 10 and eat virtually nothing (variety wise).

 

[eh24fan]

As a picky eater myself, I totally understand not liking something. HOWEVER, my rule is that the kid MUST try to food at least 2 times before deciding they don't like it. After that, I won't force them to eat something they honestly don't like. At the same time, I don't cook a different meal for them either. I don't expect people to do that for me, I just find something in the meal that I do like and eat that. So a kid can do the same thing. I also never made a point of serving things like mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, etc on a regular basis just for that reason. I make sure to make different foods so that they have no choice but to eat it or go hungry.

 

[ElizK]

I used these words when serving dinner, upon hearing "EW!" or "I don't want that"


Me: "Oh well, I'm sorry to hear that. Breakfast is tomorrow morning at 7am".

Seriously, if they get hungry enough they'll eat. They won't starve, and the more you cater to what they want the less they'll even consider trying other stuff. I wouldn't make them eat a lot of what is 'new' to them, but if they finally do try a spoon or two of a new food and still turn their nose up, be proud of them for trying and give them a bowl of cereal. Eventually, they'll tire of cereal as well and learn to like the 'new' stuff.

This is what we did, too. Don't get upset, don't try to convince them, just let them go hungry. If you cater to a picky eater it becomes a control issue.

 

[delmar411]

I used these words when serving dinner, upon hearing "EW!" or "I don't want that"


Me: "Oh well, I'm sorry to hear that. Breakfast is tomorrow morning at 7am".

Seriously, if they get hungry enough they'll eat. They won't starve, and the more you cater to what they want the less they'll even consider trying other stuff. I wouldn't make them eat a lot of what is 'new' to them, but if they finally do try a spoon or two of a new food and still turn their nose up, be proud of them for trying and give them a bowl of cereal. Eventually, they'll tire of cereal as well and learn to like the 'new' stuff.

This is what I do as well. We dont' do new things but they'll do this a lot to some of their favorites. I'm not a short order cook and whatever I make is what's for dinner.

There are many days that DD (4) goes to bed w/o dinner. That's her choice. There are other days when I'm not sure she'll eat what I've made but she surprises me and eats a ton. It all evens out in the end.

 

[SGMCO]

I agree with PP and stick to it.
Hide anything they can try to sneak and eat.
I worried about my DS because he was so picky when he
was younger and now loves everything that we like to eat.
He's willing to try new foods and his favorite vegetable is Broccoli.
Also, try to be a good example by what you eat and they
will eventually copy that example.
It also helped me to explain the benifits of healthy food choices.

 

[kristilew]

Serve meals on paper plates for the next couple of weeks. Makes it so much easier to calmly scoop up the whole thing and trash it at the first Ewww.

My mantra: No discussion! Action!

You are kind enough to cook and serve a meal. They can be polite enough to at least sit there silently and not complain, even if they don't eat it.

When they get hungry enough they will eat. But make sure the kitchen is CLOSED between meals!

At our house, you must thank the Lord for providing, and the cook for cooking, period. After that, it's up to you whether you eat or not, but there will be nothing else until the Lord and the cook provide again.

 

[Bren's Mom]

ITA! I cook one meal, trying to keep everyone's preferences in mind and also being mindful of serving a healthy, well-balanced meal. I don't force anyone to eat, but I also don't cook anything separate for anyone else. You're always welcome to make yourself a pb&j sandwich, though, and clean up after it yourself.

 

[beckanoah]

Well, I started from when dd was a baby, but I just may be lucky with her. Her first foods were all the veggies. Eventually I served a veggie, and then a fruit. Later when she was on toddler food she had (frozen) cooked peas and that kind of thing for her meals.

I always put some of everything I make on her plate and we always have one "No Thank You" bite that she takes. She tries it, if she doesn't like it she doesn't have to eat more. However, the only thing she TRULY doesn't like is onions. If she sees them she won't eat them, so I make sure she doesn't see them. Her favorite foods are any raw vegetable (except onions). She actually eats better than me, and actually amazes waitresses when she'll order veggies instead of fries at restaurants. Sometimes cooking things a different way is the best way to go. She's on the ASD spectrum, but she is a truly great eater!

 

[d1gitman]

my mom used to put my plate with food on it in the fridge if i wouldn't eat. everytime i said i was hungry, she would pull that plate out. eventually i would eat what was on my plate.

i was allowed to fill my own plate but had to eat everything i put on it as not to waste food. i also was expected to try new things 1x. i don't recall being a super fussy eater and my mother would tell you that i wasn't. fact is, she didn't allow me to whine at the dinner table.

 

[MouseTrip07]

It is so funny that I read this today. I was making my September meal calendar last night and complaining about the same thing! I am tired of fixing 2 meals, 1 for DH and myself and 1 for my 2 kids (also 6 and 3). I am also tired of spaghetti, pizza, grilled cheese, and chicken tenders all the time.

Hearing that other families have had this challenge and lived through is encouraging. I am going to start repeating to myself "Breakfast is a 7....Breakfast is at 7" right now and fix pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes for dinner-with no other option-tonight!

Jennifer

 

[clownchk]

We have a rule in our house: You have to try it. You do NOT have to like it, but you do need to get through a "No thank you" portion of it at least.

If you get through that portion (generally about a tablespoon full) without complaint then you may have a PB & J or a bowl of cereal.

My kids are almost 8, 6 and 3.

 

[dismom24]

I guess I'm a softie, but it works at our house. The rule is I make one dinner, but I always have fresh fruit and veggies available. I have one child that is just about a vegeterian (he will try anything that has grown in the garden, but not a fan of hot food - he will try it, but does not like it). I keep clean cut up veggies available and if they do not want what I cook, they can eat all the veggies they want. When I started them on veggies, I learned a little trick - things look better at someone elses house. They would try veggies at Garndmas and then come home and tell me all about the new things they had tried. I am careful to make sure his diet has plenty of protein choices at breakfast and lunch (eggs, cheese, and milk) since he does not eat much meat at dinner.

 

[StillPinballFamily]

You've gotten a lot of the same advice I'd give - the one thing I'd add is that we also offered a choice of an apple, banana, carrot, or small salad a few hours later, if our starving children "made the choice" to complain about the meal and/or refused to try a bite or two before they had to leave the table. After an hour or two alone in their room being hungry, the kids usually gratefully accepted the fruits/veggies, but it didn't alter the circumstances of our expected behavior standards and making good food choices. It didn't happen often.

Our children soon outgrew this picky phase (but beware, it reoccurs several times during a typical child's development!!!) and now are pretty healthy eaters.

Family dinner time is a very precious and important time in our day. Not all families get to do this all together - and we don't get to *every* day, but many we do. You'd be wise not to let your meal time become a battleground every day! The last thing I'd suggest is that your children are old enough to begin helping prepare meals - we noticed a big change when they participated in the process, and their pride in serving, eating, and cleaning up after "their" dinners.

Stick to your guns - this is important!!!

 

[musclemouse]

My son, Tristan, will eat just about anything. So I have no problem with him. As for Aidan, it's a challenge. He never ate babyfood - HATED it. I kept him trying new foods but he wasn't having any of it. I very well couldn't let my baby starve (and he looked like he was). Doctor gave me a list of foods he might be able to tolerate. I get that my son's issue is bigger than this, (i.e. textures, etc.) But he is four now and he is slowly allowing new foods into his diet. He eats healthy but I do have to do extra meal preps for him. I'm happy to do so.

 

[sandycarroll]

I feel like so much has been thrown at us moms to let our kids "graze" that it actually leads to kids that are never hungry. They eat little amounts all day and then when it comes time for a meal they aren't really hungry enough.

I had to start limiting any snacks about 1 1/2 hours before lunch and dinner and found that I should try to get dinner on the table about 30 minutes after they start complaining about being hungry. It sure makes them more willing to try things.

Also, I try to compromise. We make something like eggplant parm that the kids need to try, but also have spaghetti with sauce that they love. I'll always provide a bowl of carrots, cucs and celery to fill in for veggies and they'll always eat it. An entire "weird" meal is too much to expect, so I combine new foods with favs.

 

[threecrazykids]

I agree...I'm not running a buffet. When I serve dinner and they ask "mom...what are we having?" I typically say "tonight we're having yuck-i-don't-like-that".

However, if they don't like what I've made I always tell them they are welcome to make a pb&j or a bowl of cereal.

I have a gal I work with who (God bless her 350 lb frame) says "my daughter will only eat McDonald's chicken nuggets for dinner every night". My response was "hmmm...i didn't know McDonald's delivers." If you don't drive them through the drive thru every stinkin night they will eventually eat what IS available to them.

 

[cseca]

OK, this is something I heard from tv or radio somewhere.

Get your kids involved in meal discussion. For example, ask them if they'd rather have A or B (make it 2 options and if they balked after you make it then the "Breakfast at 7" respones is warranted) or if they're old enough involve them in the meal prep. mix a little bit of this, measure a little bit of that. Apparently kids are more likely to eat the food they prepared themselves... sense of accomplishment kinda thing... Plus it's a good time to teach kids about nutrition and math...

 

[devalsam]

I used these words when serving dinner, upon hearing "EW!" or "I don't want that"

Me: "Oh well, I'm sorry to hear that. Breakfast is tomorrow morning at 7am".

I only had to do this ONE time! My daughter, 7 at the time, refused to eat what I made for dinner and insisted that she didn't like it. I told her that I was not making her anything different and that there would be no cereal for dinner that night. She, being a stubborn 7 year old, said fine, I won't eat. There were a couple times when she came crying to me that she was hungry and I told her that I had saved her a plate and would heat it up for her and she refused. So she went to bed hungry and when she woke up the next morning, I went to get her breakfast and while she was sitting there eating, talking about how hungry she was, she told me that she never knew I could be so mean! :lol: Funny thing is, the next time I made that meal, she ate every last bite!

The rule in our house has always been that you have to try something before you can say you don't like it. That goes for everything, not just food.