My Kids Wont Eat Right!!!

I have been accused by my kids of being "unfair!" for doing this, but what I make for dinner is the only thing they get to eat. Period. If I'm making salmon for dinner and they don't like it, that's fine. They don't have to eat it, but I'm not making anything else. It took a few times of them going to bed hungry (crying very dramatically) before they realized that I meant business, and now they eat what I make. My other rule is that if they complain about the food or make disparaging remarks about my cooking, I take their plate away and they go hungry. I only had to do that once. It's AMAZING the compliments I get about every dinner I make now, LOL! (Of course, I also started going to Dream Dinners, so now everything I make actually tastes good. I am no fabulous chef on my own, that's for sure! =)

The other trick I have up my sleeve is that I do not allow them to snack after 3:30pm. That way by the time dinner rolls around at 7, they are hungry. Occasionally, if I know I will be making something they don't love, I will buy a treat for dessert, such as strawberries or grapes. It is amazing what my kids will eat if they know they're getting strawberries or grapes afterward!

My last thought is, just be sneaky. I'm a huge fan of the Jamba Juice all-fruit smoothies. All that's in them is fruit and fruit juice. It's 5 servings of fruit in one drink. My kids think it is a wonderful treat - little do they know it's healthy. You could do the same thing at home - just throw whatever frozen fruit you have into a blender with juice and crushed ice, and there you have it! Throw in some yogurt and turn it into popsicles.

I hope this helps!

My 3yr old says she doesn't like it before she even tries it all the time! I set a rule like the ones already mentioned…that this is the dinner served and therefore what we are all eating. I make sure there is something on her plate that she will eat, like raw carrots, or you might choose to scramble an egg or have a small bowl of oatmeal ready just in case. But they will not starve! And if they do not eat, yet say they are hungry later, then their dinner gets warmed back up. Eventually they will eat it. I think there is a rule too that it takes three times, or tastes of something new, for the brain to except it, or something like that…Keep trying!! If you keep making them things they will eat and not setting your foot down then they will expect you to cook for them all the time. End that behavior now!!

M.,

Set a rule in your house for meal times. Whatever mom/dad makes for dinner-- the kids eat it. Lead by example. If you want them to eat healthy, you have to set the example and don't offer unhealthy foods. It may sound harsh, but once they understand that what you make for dinner-is whats for dinner, they will start eating it.

Molly

This is going to sound blunt and a little mean.

Make them try it. Tell them that it’s a rule. When faced with a new food they must try 5 bites (real bites none of that one pea on the end of my fork is a bite nonsense.) If after 5 bits they don’t want anymore they can ask to be excused from the table. 5 bites is enough exposure for their brain to make the connection that this “foreign flavor” is food. Don’t force them to clean their plates and don’t make a special meal just for them. They will protest but you have to do it for their own sake. Sometimes we have to do what’s right for our kids rather than what’s easy.

Two of my cousins were horrible eaters as kids. Their diet was basically yogurt, mashed potatoes, bacon and pediasure. Now their teenagers and it’s not much better. The older one, the boy, will eat some real foods but mostly junk. And the girl hardly eats at all and is anorexic in my opinion.

One day, about a year ago, I made meatloaf, potatoes and corn. While neither of my kids will touch a potato, we all ate the same thing! It was a miracle!

Each month there seems to be one more meal all four of us can eat. I don't force my kids to eat anything. I keep putting it on their plates so they get used to seeing it. I don't say anything and low and behold, one of them usually tries a bite. If I'm cooking something they haven't eaten in the past, I load their plates up with fruit too. They feel in control. We don't have fights about food. My kids are also 3 and 5.

I tried to be that perfect-feeding mom with my first. Veggies first, then fruit etc. She didn't know what cookies were until she was well over 2. With the second, I was a bit more lax. One of his first words was "cookie." My second eats so many more grown-up foods than my first. I don't think what I fed them as toddlers mattered. I think so much of it is texture.

By the way, when they spend the night at Poppa's house, he fixes unusual foods (even by my standards). They always eat parts of it.

Be happy - mine won't eat chicken or eggs. They both eat white fish and shrimp but are virtual vegetarians. And just because we all ate meatloaf the last 10 times I made it doesn't mean they'll eat it tomorrow.

Good luck and if you solve this, please let me know! I'm desperate for more family meals too!

I agree with the mothers here. Don't give in. Believe me you'll be happy you didn't... there is nothing more immature (and in some parts of the world, rude) than an adult who refuses to eat foods they have never tried, and if you cater to them, that's what they will turn into.

Also, keep in mind, it's sometimes the textures that bother them, so don't worry about it too much... they just have to get used to it.

Try the new thing once and wait another week or so to reintroduce it... it's like the mind takes a while to process it.

P.S. My son thinks all meat is chicken... ha ha!! He eats everything though, from pork to fish. This week a lady at Costco complimented me to see that he was eating a combo pizza with the peppers and everything. I was so happy!! :-)