My 2.5 yr old will NOT eat the same foods at home that she will at daycare. She eats fruits of all sorts all the time at daycare and she refuses to eat them at home. We've tried everything and I'm sick of her living on mac n cheese and chef boyardee.
Suggestions please! She isn't a big eater to begin with but I really want her to have healthy things in her diet....
Give her what the family eats, and don't give in to other foods, you are developing her eating habits, and by letting her control what she eats and doesn't eat, will come back and bite you later. it's important to eat as a family at the family table, and eat the same foods. J.
with our daughter, we just only make one meal and if she goes to bed hungry, she goes to bed hungry. This works well most of the time, but sometimes she wants to go to bed hungry. :-)
Totally agree w/ Sara B.
Our rule, If I make breakfast in the morning, they don't have to eat it, but they get nothing else except water till they eat that. Even if it means eating oatmeal at lunchtime while evryone else is eating turkey sandwhiches.. ;) At dinner same thing, no snack no ice cream no something different, nothing except water unless you eat your meal we provided. You have until it's time to get ready for bed to eat it, if not well then sorry you can have breakfast tomorrow. (We don't make them eat dinner for breakfast tho.) We don't give them anything horrible or strange just like fruit isn't strange to your daughter, she's just being picky. :) Stick to you guns, before you know it she'll LOVE fruit & stuff you won't have to ask her. :)
I agree with the other two mommies! My son never has an option...he eats what I make him or he doesn't eat at all. If you are strict about it, she will eventually eat what you are eating. If you cave (even once), she will know that she has the upper hand and will be able to get her way. Good luck!
If he's eating those things at school, it's because it's expected and it must not be expected at home. That being said, it's hard when you are the mom to listen to them yell and scream, but truly, if you are firm, he should start eating better at home too. One trick I tried when mine were little was to put something I knew they would eat, in your case, mac and cheese, but also put the fruit or veggie that you want him to try on the plate. He may eat all the mac and cheese, that's fine, but no more mac and cheese unless he at least tries the other food on his plate. This seemed to do 2 things for my kids. One, I knew they ate something, and two, it encouraged them to eat/try the other item without too much of a battle. Try not to make food a battle. With my youngest, who is almost 2 1/2, he can be negotiated with. If he wants another bite of mac and cheese, he needs to eat a bite of X first. That works for him. Good luck! Be firm, but if he doesn't want it, drop it so it's not a battle, but no more mac and cheese unless he tries something else first.
my girl was the same way and still is she is 10 yrs. and don't spoil her but we try to give her foods that she will eat b/c she is under weight and tiny- but your girl is only 2.5 yr. so give it time and keep trying
ditto what the other say. I'm amazed at how little my 3 year old will eat when she chooses not to enjoy what I've made. She still has plenty of energy though so I guess she is fine!
ciao non parlo bene inglese , sorry , but ,se lui mangia bene all'asilo a casa dagli quello che mangia senza preoccuparti troppo ,sempre che siano cose sane , la mia bimba che à 5 anni fa cosi ,e non a problemi !!!
Hi C.,
Great news! If you want to learn how to feed your child healthy food and ways to make it FUN for the both of you, I would like to invite you to an informative presentation about our children’s nutrition & health as well as our own. This will be held on July 14 (Yes tomorrow) at my house either at 2:00 or at 7:00pm. We will serve yummy smoothies, and share simple tips and tools on easy ways to help your family add more fruits and veggies in their diet. Your child is welcome to come as well.
We will also watch a 15-minute DVD featuring renowned pediatrician and author: Dr. William Sears.
This presentation will last about an hour and trust me you will not be the only mommy with this issue.
Let me know if you are interested so I can send you my home address. You can also visit my website for more information:
www.andreadallasjuiceplus.com
I hope to see you there!
A.
i've dont this with my son who is also two. fix food. if she refuses to eat it son't give her anything else. when she is hungry enough she will eat this i promise. just be sure to explain why she's not getting what she wants and eventually food wont be a problem.
She probably does it at Daycare because the other kids there will/are eating it... ie: peer pressure or consensus.
Just make a small tray of fruits at home, cut up in small sizes... and leave it on the coffee/living room table.
So she can finger feed herself.
That is what I do at home and my kids will then snack on it.
Versus if I say "how about some fruit" they will say "no."
Or if I serve it ONLY at a 'meal time" on the dining table, they won't eat it either.
But if I just leave it on a cute tray, without 'pressure' and don't say anything, they will snack on it, on their own... even my PICKY son.
all the best,
Susan
