Help!! Triplets Wont Eat Dinners I Make.

I have a picky eater and too and it's hard. I have found that kraftfoods.com has lots of good easy, fast, recipies that are good and my kids like. I have also found that letting my kids help in the kitchen makes them want to eat what they made. They know what's in it and that they helped with it so they should want to eat it as well. It doesn't always work, but most of the time it does. Also trying different cookbooks, like Rachel Ray's kids cookbook. It's meant for kids to use as their own cookbook, but it just renames some recipies that makes it more kid friendly. It's hard when you have a big family and so many different tastes, but you can find a middle ground it may take some time, but it's worth it! Good Luck

I understand where you are coming from. I have 6 teenagers and they never want the same thing. At an early age I taught my children to prepare things for themselves if they dont like what I make. I have one 13 year old that lives on peanutbutter sandwiches. that is what he loves and if he doesnt like what I make he eats that. He is very picky and lives on it. He is 5'10" and has a size 13 1/2 shoe. I know he is getting what he needs. All of my children get multi vitamin every day for what they dont get they will get in the vitamin. We always have fruit sitting out and cheese sticks, yogart and we buy 10 boxes of cereal every 2 weeks. We buy good cereals that are good for them. If they want cereal for dinner is not a horrible thing for a mother to do. We cant please everyone everytime. And as you said you cant make the same things all of the time. Let them make their own food. they fix it after I am done in the kitchen and everyone else has already eaten. Your are not being a bad mom by allowing them to cook for themselves. It is making them independant. It is a good thing. And my children do not eat sweets or munchies because we dont buy them. Try that, they will also enjoy making their own food. It makes them feel like they accomplished something mommy did.

good Luck
D.

I put my foot down with my Husband. I told him he had to set a good example for the children and eat whatever I made, otherwise he could make dinner.

On a side note...You said you only eat Dinner...that is probably why you are anemic and tired Momma, you need to eat at least 3x's a day I know as a SAHM it's hard to find the time to eat but even if you just grab a couple of small things through out the day that are rich in iron you'll start feeling better.

M.,
All 4 of mine went thru this phase and boy does it stink... soooo I used my mom and grandmas theory...... give em for breakfast what they should have eaten for dinner....they will soon figure it out and eat when and what they should.... and go on strike the opposite way DONT buy pb and j and lunchmeat, etc. If its not there they cant eat it... Offer special little desserts for those that finish their dinner (hubby included lol)
Hope this helps with the kids anyway... i know it sounds harsh but it will hurt your feelings more that it will hurt them....
Good Luck
T.

Hi M.,
Sorry, I have no advice on triplets...but I do want to say kudos to you for raising triplets and still having time to cook for them, staying involved with other moms of multiples and being able to share advice on here with us!!

I have a 2 year old daughter who is the same way-nothing but cereal and PBJ roundwiches!! I know this might sound weird but she seems to eat more dinner when I cut down on afternoon snacks!Everyday she takes a nap from 11.30-1.30 and she is always hungary for snack after snack-now I just let her eat a little something then I quickly take her outside or whatever and then I make sure to serve dinner around 5.30 every night and amazingly she is so hungary she eats it!! Kinda sounds like you have to starve them so they will eat huh? She also does not eat alot of meat or veggies so I have recently picked up V8 Vfusion juice with veggies and fruit juice and she does'nt even know the diffrence!! good luck!!

Hi M.,
I'm with you. One meal is all I'm making. My 3 year old is the one that usually turns his nose up at what I fix. I honestly don't care if he eats it or not. But he's not getting anything else until he eats half or more of what is on the plate. The other kids will get a snack before bed and he is offered the plate. Usually, 9 times out of 10, he'll decide to eat the meal so he can have the snack. Lots of times it's not just for the snack but because he's hungry. Nobody has starved from missing one meal. If the kids are up helping themselves after bed time, tell them they get no snacks or treats the next day. Then stick to it. One trip to the ice cream shop where you're the only one that gets a cone will stop the late night snacking.
As for your husband, tell him he needs to eat what you fix. He's an adult now and needs to get over the picky eater stage. If he can't he needs to wait until the kids are sleeping, not just in bed, to fix something else. He's setting a really bad example and it's not fair to you since then you have to become a short order cook every night. I'd tell my husband he can take over the cooking if he wants things to continue the way they are. After a few nights of making 6 different meals I'm sure he'd change his tune.

I have made fun names for food. Broccoli are trees, asparagus are paint brushes. I cut carrots into coins. Cauliflower are trees with snow on them...It works great! Another trick melt cheese.
Or make things creamy with cream of mushroom soup in rice and casseroles also pot pies are easy to make with refrigerated crusts, canned veges & broth. YUMMY! and good luck!

You have my sympathies. I am so sorry to hear how frustrated you are. It's difficult at times to get your family to eat healthy especially with so many other unhealthy options out there. Hang in there. I have a suggestion or two that I hope helps. You may need to sit your husband down and the two of you make it clear that dinner does not include these junk foods and your husband needs to follow these rules too to set an example. It's ok to have tacos, spaghetti, once in a while, but not every week. Then, I would not buy these foods or junk foods as frequently. Instead, load up on fruits and vegetables and other dinner fixins. It will take a while for the kids to get used to this. You'll hear alot of grumbling, but eventually they'll get to eating healthy. Since there are 6 of you in the househould, maybe you should try to make a game of it. For instance, put have each one draw a day out of a hat and then each one can decide what they want the family to eat that night, but it has to be a healthy dinner. And on the 7th day, it's pizza or eating out. Each dinner should include at least one vegetable. This is a difficult thing to do, but is it possible that you can get the triplets to help cook with you or pick out foods at the grocery store? Usually when kids participate in cooking, they'll eat what they have prepared. And, try out some of these websites for kid friendly recipes: kraftfoods.com or bettycrocker.com. Good Luck.

MC

Hi M., Sounds like your three are taking on your husband's demeaner with food selection. Actually, you may want to do what you said, have the stuff available that they like, and save yourself a lot of work and frustration preparing meals that it sounds like, they aren't appreciative of. Let it go, just don't worry about it. They won't starve. I had a set of twins, and 11 months later, had another baby, sort of like triplets, but not quite. Five years later, had one more, and she was my pickiest eater. She didn't start eating more variety until she was 16 or 17 years old-ha. I thought she would never survive on what little variety she did, but I just had to learn to 'let go', with her, because she was so stubborn. (I could write a book-ha). J. C.

TeeHeee...
I have 2 1/2 year old twins, that say 'yucky' to about 60% of it all, too. And a 5 year old, who I have conned into the one bite rule. She has to have one bite of her 'vegetables,' and I say you can have a 'vegetable hug.' She hugs me and eats one bite, and has, through time, discovered she likes only some things. But, its a head in the right direction, and I get a hug out of it!!
I haven't found a way to do that with the twins, yet..hahahahah
I also have a husband with similar eating 'skills.' I have given up on that one...but do feel he needs to eat with the family b/c I put an effort in..
oh well, what can you do?

Good luck - that is tricky. I suggest first off you have to try to get your husband on board. A united front will help with those picky eaters. If he is picky as well then suggest he eat a little plate of what you make and then after they are all in bed he can make what he prefers. Also you could have a family meeting before you go grocery shopping or just talk to each one individually and ask them what they would like to eat and then they can pick the meal 1 night a week -- and/or involving them to help - each one could have their own night to help. And my new favorite tool is a food processor/chopper -- I am able to chop all types of veggies (my oldest is the pickiest) and hide them in his food that way I know he is getting what he needs but the fight has been eliminated. LOL

I was a picky eater too growing up and still at to a degree, and what my parents did with me and with my brother was if we didn't want to eat what they cooked for dinner then they would put it in containers and put it in the fridge. When we complained that we were hungry later and wanted a snack, my mom would pop our dinners in the microwave and that is what we got for a bed time snack. If we refused to eat it then, then we went hungry. That being said, you need to talk to your husband and set some ground rules that will help you establish. My son who will be 2 in November will eat the following (dinner foods): chicken nuggets from Wendy's or A&W, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter sandwhiches and some fruit. I finally got him to eat meat by taking chicken breast that have been cut into strips and then slicking them into bite size nuggets. Then I dip the chicken in an egg that has been beaten (like you're going to scramble it) then I dredge it in a cornmeal mixture. (Coarse corn meal which you can buy in bulk at most grocery stores, all purpose seasoning, garlic powder, seasoning salt, pepper, and parsley flakes) then I fry it in either vegetable shortening, canola oil or olive oil. My son eats them right up. Or if I don't want to go through all that work, I buy Tyson frozen nuggets and microwave them for about 1.5 minutes then fry them in a little olive oil to make them crunchy and he gobbles those suckers right up. Since your children are older, maybe they could help you prepare the meals or come up with some cool food ideas. There are a lot of cook books that are geared towards the kids helping out ... maybe that will inspire them to eat. I wish you luck.

Please when you figure it out, let me know. This makes me CRAZY!!!! My 7yo son is a great eater. He will eat anything however my 3 yo dtr will only eat mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, cheese and yogurt. The only good thing she does like is hummous. Go figure. I chased her around the house with a peach yesterday. I can't even get her to eat lunchmeat. I've tried the one bite rule and it doesn't work. My son was picky when he was little but when he started Montesorri preschool/kindergarten, this all changed. They could only bring healthy food. I'm hoping this will do the trick for my dtr. Good luck to you and keep us posted.
L.