fussy child

sam said:

My 2 year old daughter is a very fussy eater all she will eat is

you can put fresh fruit in yogurt
you can make a game out of wheat toast...

say..."nobody better not eat my toast"..turn your back and she will eat
it
just to play a game.

fresh turkey cut into child size forkable pieces (esp when you stop
buying the dinasours)
will taste wonderful! and better for her.

chicken nuggets, turkey nuggets, all that deep fried stuff...it can't
be good for her body while she is building immunities..that stuff...is
salty and greasy you know..

im not putting you down, I know children can be extremely persistent...
and I know...something is better than nothing.

Don't buy no more nuggets?

Children should eat what the parents are eating. Veggies, bread, a
little meat, mashed potatoes, a half slice of wheat toast, with a
little butter on it.

finger foods...fun stuff...she will also learn to appreciate meal times
as they can be time you spend with her.

Good Luck

Pick your battles - if you let this one go without putting up a fight, it
can be a problem for many years. When I worked as a server, I remember
telling a 50 year old businessman that the tomatoes for the burger were
served on the side to which he replied, "are you an idiot? I said I
didn't want to SEE tomatoes on my table." He then asked me to remove the
ketchup. When his food was brought to him (by another server) he exploded
that the tomatoes had "obviously been put on the plate and then removed
at the last second."

Sheesh.

1. Give the kid a variety (as was said above) of colors and textures, but
don't fall into the trap of custom making food forever. What is served is
served. My mother-in-law "lost" the battle and made 2 or 3 separate meals
each day to placate her husband and kids. It is so ridiculous that when
the family orders carry out, she has to stop at 3 different restaurants!
BTW, the "kids" are now 25-35 years old and still do this. They have so
many "food rules" that she even makes 3 different Thanksgiving dishes -
each kid gets their own veggie, meat and even pie!

2. Most "fussy children" learn about food as one of the few things they
can control. As a former server, bartender and schoolteacher, I think
food issues are more about power and control and less about taste than
you might think. Anorexia and bulimia have little to do with taste. You
are the parent - you decide what the kid will eat, not the other way
around.

3. One plan my mother implemented was that each child had one item they
never had to eat - no questions asked. This item could not be changed on
a whim and for most of the family, it was the same item for decades. (For
me, it was brussel sprouts - but I learned the error of my ways in
college)

4. Some kids are naturally lean, some are not. Some eat everything,
others are more picky. But, I have never heard of a child starving
because they were picky. My niece (age 4) frequently refuses to eat any
dinner at all, but will then snack on cookies and cereal all night. Her
mother complains "she never eats, I am worried about her health." Funny
thing, the kid isn't losing any weight. If you start feeding the child
only chicken nuggets (don't get me started) because "that's all they will
eat!" you are setting yourself up for a long, long battle.

This reminds me, a fond memory.

My family visited a temple. And they had vegetarian food. One of
those is sweet black seasame soup (it's sweet, black, and with
consistency like tomato soup)

Anyway, I was little then, looked at it, thought gosh, blo*dy hell not
gonna eat that! That black stuff!

My mum said, "you must at least try! Just one spoonful, and if you
don't like it, then you don't have to eat it anymore."

I was glad she said I didn't have to eat it if I tried and did not like
it! So I did, and I loved it!

Yes quite agree - It is about control - the kids are feeling out of
control.

I think if the parents tell them 'I'll control what you will eat, and
it must be done my way' might not resolve the issue.

And in the same way, when the parents cannot control what the kids eat,
the parents feel out of control of their kids, which will not resolve
the issue either.

The idea about letting the kids choose something they don't like and no
question ask is very useful!! We all change our tastes as we grow and
try new things.

I think it is about choice, if the kids can trust that the parent will
always let them choose, and will help them choose if they ask the
parents to, then they feel they are loved and so do not feel out of
control.

And that the parents can trust that the kids can learn to choose, just
like the brussel sprouts story, and trust the kids will ask if they
need help choosing, then there is no problem.

Thinking about it, this can be applied to everything in life.

"dee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This reminds me, a fond memory.

My family visited a temple. And they had vegetarian food. One of
those is sweet black seasame soup (it's sweet, black, and with
consistency like tomato soup)

Anyway, I was little then, looked at it, thought gosh, blo*dy hell not
gonna eat that! That black stuff!

My mum said, "you must at least try! Just one spoonful, and if you
don't like it, then you don't have to eat it anymore."

I was glad she said I didn't have to eat it if I tried and did not like
it! So I did, and I loved it!

My son was the opposite, sort of. He'd eat ugly food just to get a rise out
of his mother, mostly. The first time I ordered mussels in a restaurant, she
did her usual "Yucky" routine. That was my son's cue to try a mussel, which
he'd never had before (age 4-ish). He then asked if he could have them all.
I ordered more. :-)

In article <[email hidden]>,

sam said:

My 2 year old daughter is a very fussy eater all she will eat is
yoghurts and turkey dinasours, has any one got any tips on how I could
get her to try new things?

It's often about control and power. Sometimes you need to give them
less control and power, and sometimes more. Kids will not starve
themselves to death. If you give them the choice of not eating anything
at a meal, and then refuse to feed them between meals, they will soon
find that eating is a good thing. You don't want to make a big deal out
of it.

Sometimes getting them involved in food prep can give them the control
they want.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA

My 2 year old boy is one heck of a fussy eater, the best thing we found
so far was to limit the amount of food he takes between meals.

Good luck

Dan Abel said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

sam said:

My 2 year old daughter is a very fussy eater all she will eat is
yoghurts and turkey dinasours, has any one got any tips on how I could
get her to try new things?

It's often about control and power. Sometimes you need to give them
less control and power, and sometimes more. Kids will not starve
themselves to death. If you give them the choice of not eating anything
at a meal, and then refuse to feed them between meals, they will soon
find that eating is a good thing. You don't want to make a big deal out
of it.

Sometimes getting them involved in food prep can give them the control
they want.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA

:-D

Sounds like an active and fun kid your boy. All the best!

"dee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

:-D

Sounds like an active and fun kid your boy. All the best!

He's a monster! Until he was 3 or so, his mother could give him The Look if
he'd done something wrong. You know The Look, right? Well, one day, she gave
him The Look and for some reason, he found something funny about it and
fell on the floor laughing. She looked horrified. He had taken away her main
weapon in the war against naughtiness. No matter how serious she tried to
look, it made him laugh. :-)

Doug Kanter said:

My son was the opposite, sort of. He'd eat ugly food just to get a rise out
of his mother, mostly. The first time I ordered mussels in a restaurant, she
did her usual "Yucky" routine. That was my son's cue to try a mussel, which
he'd never had before (age 4-ish). He then asked if he could have them all.
I ordered more. :-)

My son was like that too. He tried my calamari just so that he would tell his
friends he had eaten something disgusting. Once he tried it he realized how good
it was. He had always been easy to please. The only thing I can think of that
he absolutely refused to try was oxtails. Even when we was very young he was
easy to please. He especially liked fish, and few times when he balked at some
sort of flesh we told him it was fish and he ate it up. I had him at a friend's
bar before he was two and people were amazed that he was eating Buffalo wings,
hot, not mild.

One thing he did not like when he was young was steak. A friend suggested
cutting it into very thin strips. That turned out to be much easier for him to
chew.

"Dave Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

My son was the opposite, sort of. He'd eat ugly food just to get a rise
out
of his mother, mostly. The first time I ordered mussels in a restaurant,
she
did her usual "Yucky" routine. That was my son's cue to try a mussel,
which
he'd never had before (age 4-ish). He then asked if he could have them
all.
I ordered more. :-)

My son was like that too. He tried my calamari just so that he would tell
his
friends he had eaten something disgusting. Once he tried it he realized
how good
it was. He had always been easy to please. The only thing I can think of
that
he absolutely refused to try was oxtails. Even when we was very young he
was
easy to please. He especially liked fish, and few times when he balked at
some
sort of flesh we told him it was fish and he ate it up. I had him at a
friend's
bar before he was two and people were amazed that he was eating Buffalo
wings,
hot, not mild.

One thing he did not like when he was young was steak. A friend suggested
cutting it into very thin strips. That turned out to be much easier for
him to
chew.

Yeah...hot wings! Mine too, when he was little. What's with kids? I took
mine to a restaurant here that's famous for wings with names like hot,
catatonic, and wise guy specials (they give you a glass of milk with those
whether you ask for it or not). The friend with us ordered the latter, and
my son tried one, then another, and then his burger arrived and he quit the
wings. But, he liked them. No comment at all the next day about burning
exhaust issues. 🙂

sam said:

My 2 year old daughter is a very fussy eater all she will eat is
yoghurts and turkey dinasours, has any one got any tips on how I could
get her to try new things?

Do you like to eat everything? Neither does she.

There seems to be this notion afoot that parents have to demonstrate
that they're in charge. That what they say goes and the kids have to
just go along and shut up...

Have you forgotten how things were when you were a child? How many
things you were forced to do? Did you like it?

In our house, from the day we brought them home from the hospital, it
was you have to at least taste it. If you say "yuck" you never have to
eat it again if you don't want to. So there has never been a contest in
our house. We saved our parental authority for those things that
represented a hazard to the kids.

When the kids feel like they can exercise some control over their world,
the relationship with parents is a lot smoother.

Pastorio

I've got a grandson that said he didn't like tomatoes when he was about
three - my daughter "convinced" him he was eating spaghetti and
"strawberries" and he would eat it.!!

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob (this one) said:

In our house, from the day we brought them home from the hospital, it
was you have to at least taste it. If you say "yuck" you never have to
eat it again if you don't want to.

Opposite of our house. You don't have to clean your plate. You do need
to help us all have a pleasant dinner time. If you say "ick, I don't
like that" or similar you then need to eat it all for subjecting us to
your whining. If you say nothing, but ignore it and don't eat it you
will not be questioned nor forced to finish that which you do not like.
Rule applies to diners of all ages. Works well for us.

marcella

Marcella Peek said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob (this one) said:

In our house, from the day we brought them home from the hospital, it
was you have to at least taste it. If you say "yuck" you never have to
eat it again if you don't want to.

Opposite of our house. You don't have to clean your plate. You do need
to help us all have a pleasant dinner time. If you say "ick, I don't
like that" or similar you then need to eat it all for subjecting us to
your whining. If you say nothing, but ignore it and don't eat it you
will not be questioned nor forced to finish that which you do not like.
Rule applies to diners of all ages. Works well for us.

marcella

I was forced to eat too many things as a kid to make mine eat things
they say ick about - I was physically ill over several. I still won't
eat cooked carrots

Roberta (in VA)

sam said:

My 2 year old daughter is a very fussy eater all she will eat is
yoghurts and turkey dinasours, has any one got any tips on how I could
get her to try new things?

Just let her try whatever you are eating. That's what we do. Our toddler
will try almost anything... Some days she eats better than others, but
that's normal IMHO. Tonight we had chicken livers and she enjoyed them!
I was surprised, because she is not a big "meat" eater. We don't force
her to eat stuff she doesn't like cos we don't believe in that. But I
don't make "special" meals for her. She eats all sorts of fruit and
veggies, and enjoys to eat raw veggies when I prepare them. Try letting
her "help" you in the kitchen...our little one likes that... it might
encourage her to try new things.

--
Cheers
Cathy(xyz)

sam said:

My 2 year old daughter is a very fussy eater all she will eat is
yoghurts and turkey dinasours, has any one got any tips on how I could
get her to try new things?

Offer her all types of foods in different sizes, shapes, colors and
textures. Offer her different "dips" to dip them in - ketchup, Ranch
dressing, mayo, etc. Sooner or later she will get hungry enough to eat
that whichis in front of her.

Do not pander to her whims, or you will end up in an endless power
struggle over food with your child. If my son (also 2) doesn't eat
his breakfast or lunch, you can bet he eats his dinner, because he is
hungry. Most of the time, though, he eats what I give him (and is an
excellent eater) because I have taken this approach with him from the
beginning. There are very few foods he won't eat. (And, BTW, I do not
give him any "character" foods as I see them more as playthings than
food items. My only exception to this is Goldfish-type crackers
(organic whole-grain version).

-L.

In article <Qx9Ef.82513$4l5.20121@dukeread05>,

Roberta said:

Marcella Peek said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob (this one) said:

In our house, from the day we brought them home from the hospital, it
was you have to at least taste it. If you say "yuck" you never have to
eat it again if you don't want to.

Opposite of our house. You don't have to clean your plate. You do need
to help us all have a pleasant dinner time. If you say "ick, I don't
like that" or similar you then need to eat it all for subjecting us to
your whining. If you say nothing, but ignore it and don't eat it you
will not be questioned nor forced to finish that which you do not like.
Rule applies to diners of all ages. Works well for us.

marcella

I was forced to eat too many things as a kid to make mine eat things
they say ick about - I was physically ill over several. I still won't
eat cooked carrots

Roberta (in VA)

But we don't force anyone to eat anything. We just force them to shut
up about what they don't like. No whining, no problem. If, however,
you whine then the punishment is to have to eat it.

Easy.

marcella

Marcella Peek said:

In article <Qx9Ef.82513$4l5.20121@dukeread05>,

Roberta said:

Marcella Peek said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]> wrote:

>In our house, from the day we brought them home from the hospital, it
>was you have to at least taste it. If you say "yuck" you never have to
>eat it again if you don't want to.

Opposite of our house. You don't have to clean your plate. You do need
to help us all have a pleasant dinner time. If you say "ick, I don't
like that" or similar you then need to eat it all for subjecting us to
your whining. If you say nothing, but ignore it and don't eat it you
will not be questioned nor forced to finish that which you do not like.
Rule applies to diners of all ages. Works well for us.

marcella

I was forced to eat too many things as a kid to make mine eat things
they say ick about - I was physically ill over several. I still won't
eat cooked carrots

Roberta (in VA)

But we don't force anyone to eat anything. We just force them to shut
up about what they don't like. No whining, no problem. If, however,
you whine then the punishment is to have to eat it.

Easy.

marcella

heh - in that case I guess it would only take once or twice to figure
out that being quiet is a good thing 🙂

Not the same as sit and eat until you throw up at all lol

Roberta (in VA)