Inspired by "No more soda in schools" thread..

[C.Ann]

Do you feed your children only what they "want"? I'm always amazed when the subject of school lunches and such come up and people state that if the foods offered were healthier, then their kids wouldn't eat them..

My answer to that is, "So what?" A child won't drop dead from skipping lunch and sooner or later they're going to realize that there's something there that they would be willing to eat if nothing else were available..

Same thing with dinner discussions.. While I wouldn't force a child to eat something like liver - I don't think it's unreasonable to expect your child to eat whatever the rest of the family is having - unless it's something that truly makes them gag (like liver - LOL)..

I also don't think it's unreasonable to insist that a child at least "try" a few bites of something as opposed to them making a face and saying, "I don't like that" when in fact they have never tried it..

If either myself or my children had been allowed to eat "only" what we "wanted" I'm pretty sure that somewhere down the road it would have had an impact on our health - either with weight issues or lack of essential nutrients..

So what do you do as a parent? And what would you do if the school lunches miraculously became healthy and your child insisted on not eating them?

 

[MrsKreamer]

My view is that I am NOT a short order cook. I cook one meal and if you don't like what I am cooking then don't eat. I will and do make exceptions for strong dislikes like liver, or raw onions...etc. My son eats what we eat, simple as that. I can tell you that if my school had only offered healthy fare I would have eaten it. Like C. Ann said if they refuse, then they don't have to eat.

 

[Planogirl]

I pack a lunch and avoid controversy. My son gets a sandwich, a few chips, fruit and a bottle of water and he's fine.

As for meals at home, I balance his likes with what is healthy and what we all like. He does get some unhealthy meals so I'm not strict about this but he primarily gets lean meats, maybe a small amount of pasta and fruit. Veggies are a problem but we continue to work on those.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

well i am not a chef
dinner is what i make and thats it
i take into account their likes and dislikes when i make a menu
as for at school ds6 buys linch everyday they offer to different lunches we have never had a problem with him not eating but he can be picky

 

[LindsayDunn228]

C. Ann, I agree with you 100%!!! My mom never really gave me an option. You ate was was cooked and if you didn't like it, sorry. Thanks to her I am not a picky eater and will try most anything once.

It disgusts me to read about so many with kids who will only eat pizza and chicken fingers. Uhhhh, who's fault is that?

 

[jennyl772003]

I was raised to eat what was on my plate, and that is how I raise my son.

I feel that is why my son has such diverse tastes. He will try anything, and will usually like it.

 

[Longsx3]

So what do you do as a parent? And what would you do if the school lunches miraculously became healthy and your child insisted on not eating them?

Currently it is only DD & I because DH is deployed..so typically we will agree on Dinner. DD is currently calling herself a fruitatairan (Sp?) meaning she doesn't want to eat meat. So if I make dinner that includes meat, usually she doesn't eat that. She prefers, cheese, veggies, fruit, pasta and seafood. When Dh is home and I make something she doesn't want she is free to make herself something...usually Ramen noodles.

When DD complains about school lunch it is about it's taste or lack of, not it being healthy. She will often get fruit or a premade salad because the food they serve is yucky. So as long as it taste good she would be okay with healthy.

 

[Kae]

There are a few things my kids do not care for that DH & I eat, so when I make those things I do make the kids others things-But I am taking mainly side dishes. Like they get applesauce weh Dh & I have salad, green beans when we have Brussel Sprouts. And DS does not care for eggs but DD does so when we make omelets he gets a frozen waffle.

DS8 eats school lunch about 85% of the time.

Kae

 

[Beth76]

Fortunately, for me, my sons aren't picky. Fortunately, for them, I am. So, they aren't ever going to have to deal with liver or brussel sprouts.

I wouldn't say I go out of my way to cook what they like, but I do buy what they like. They like things like yogurt, veggies and fruit. I try to find new things to make for them and they are really good at trying everything once. If they don't finish something, it's not the end of the world, but it's the end of their meal. I won't make something else.

 

[CEDmom]

Well, since I can't live on an all chocolate diet (my food of choice) my DD isn't allowed to subsist on only what she wants. For breakfast, lunch and snacks I do give her choices (i.e. oatmeal or pancakes; soup or sandwich; apple sauce or grapes etc) but dinner for her is a variation on what we're eating. For instance if we're having a chicken stirfry I'll put aside some chicken, veggies and rice to give to her seperately. Like a lot of kids she doesn't like things all mixed together and I don't have a problem accomodating her.

We do encourage her to try new things but don't make a big deal about it. We're also lucky in that she's not keen on typical kiddie food like chicken nuggets, fries or mac&cheese. She takes her lunch everyday because she honestly wouldn't eat what is served which I think is a good thing.

 

[transparant]

My kids eat what I put on the table. If I'm going through the hassle of cooking for 8 people - they better...or they know I'll turn into

 

[Philadisney]

my parents got me to try everything (and taught me how to count!) by always insisting that even if i didn't like something, i had to eat X amount of bites before i could be excused from the table. it worked better than just being told to 'clean my plate' and i enjoyed keeping track of the bites. i guess it worked, cos now i'll eat anything

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

In my house, you eat what mom made. If you don't like it, then you starve. My mom used to make us eat our veggies when we were kids. And she never made you a special dinner unless it was something like liver (ew). Even now that me and my brother are older, you eat what she makes. Back when I was young I considered myself a picky eater but nowhere near todays kids. Kids these days eat chicken nuggets and pb&j, everyday. That I don't understand. During a family party not too long ago there was ham, turkey, twice baked potatos (the best ever!), broccoli with cheese and stuffing. The little kids refused to eat any of that and would only eat a peanut butter sandwhich. I could not believe it. I wasn't expecting them to eat the broccoli but at least a little bit of turky. I know if I did that to my mom, she would tell me to starve. There was no way she was making me a special meal.

When I was in school I only bought lunch on chicken nugget or pizza day. The cafeteria food left a lot to be desired.

 

[lulugirl]

I'm pretty lucky, my kids are great eaters so we really don't have any food issues. I just always have healthy snacks in the house Dd (6yrs) can have whenever she wants.
As far as dinner goes I only offer an altenative if I make something that I know the kids don't like (spicy Mexican food), in that case Dd can make herself a sandwich. IMO things like macaroni&cheese and chicken fingers should not be a staple in a childs diet.

 

[Sparx]

i am a pickey eater, but I try most things. Most meat in my mouth (fish, beef, pork) will make me gag. Cooked onions will make me gag. eggs, olives, tomatoes, and anything like that will make me gag. I hate how 'soft' food feels in my mouth, and I will not eat it. (I cook pasta hard too, almost kindof crunchy) My mom/family knows this and they do not cater to me. I cook my own food if I don't like what we are having.

but on the other hand I will eat some seriously off the wall stuff. lol

 

[grlpwrd]

We have 5 kids and I don't cater to them in terms of cooking.

I cook a variety of foods (ethnic, vegetarian, etc.) since they were small and we sometimes try new recipes. They also help cook at least twice a week on the weekends.

One issue we have is when I cook beef my kids refuse to eat the meal so I rarely cook it now, but they just ate the salad or whatever side I served. They will eat only chicken or turkey, not beef, which is okay to me. I also don't force them to eat raw seafood which is part of our Polynesian and Asian heritages. They are free to eat along with me if they choose.

 

[tiff211]

DD3 has turned into a picky eater. She will sit at the table refusing to eat what I cook. I do try to cater to her wants a little bit only because she is thin as a rail. If she could have it her way, she'd eat PB&J every meal, every day. I usually will have a feed her a couple of bites of everything.

 

[glass-slipper]

My ds will eat or try anything. My dd is the picky one. To say she is picky doesn't mean she eats junk food or unhealthy food, just certain items she doesn't like and I will not force her. I figure she'll try different things on her own eventually. I do prepare dd different meals when the rest of us eat a dish she doesn't care for. That isn't a big deal to me.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My kids aren't old enough for school lunches yet, but the oldest will be next year. I don't fix only what they want, and they eat the same thing DH and I do. They're both good eaters, never complain and aren't picky at all. I guess we got lucky, but we've never thought to handle meals any other way. They aren't required to clean their plates, but they almost always do, and they are both willing to try new things.

 

[padams]

My kids go to a small private elementary school. Lunch is included in the tuition, and children are not allowed to bring their own lunches. The dining hall serves a hot lunch (one entree and 2 side dishes) and there are 2 sandwich options. Fruit is the dessert at least 4 days per week. The menu is designed to be healthy. The kids eat what's served or they go hungry.

My older DS eats whatever the dining hall serves. My younger DS probably doesn't eat much at lunch because he's our picky eater. At age 8, I figure that he is smart enough not to starve, and I don't worry about it. I make sure he eats well at breakfast and dinner.