This is what the one end of the dinner table looks like night after night, dinner rejected....
And the other end, hoovering happily.
With one child dairy free and the other super picky, I am out of options. I am not the world's greatest cook, let's be honest here, and I am tired of dishing up eggs and toast.
Luka won't eat much at all- only eggs/ fish/ meat (like sausages or steak) / bread/ mandarins/ oranges/ apples (sometimes), ham, and yoghurt. No mince, cheese, soup, pasta, mashed potatoes, pizza, other fruit, any vegetable...a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. at all. And do not try anything new.
Lordie, I am at the end of my rope. I tried a childhood staple tonight- fish cakes with one piece of roasted carrot. He went to bed hungry as he would not touch a thing.
Help. Me.
Any ideas?
I feel your pain. I have always felt that i don't want dinner time to be a war zone so I TRY to ensure balance has been had during breakfast/lunch and snacks. Mr 4 will NOT eat fruit or vege - so he gets dried fruit/vege wiggles bars which aren't the healthiest but better than nothing. Dinner time he usually eats his carbs, tomato sauce and sometimes some meat.
ReplyDeleteWe just got a juicer so try sneaking in some vitamins that way. Sushi seems to be a winner. We also make a special tomato sauce with other vege sieved through.
Meatballs work well as can make them out of half vege with the help of the food processor.
He cooks dinner with daddy most nights, and helps in the garden...so those ideas of involving the kid haven't worked for us.
Some ideas that worked for Miss 6 were letting her eat in front of the computer while it was in video mode - so she could watch herself. Also getting her to just kiss or lick the vege was a good intro to different tastes.
My theory is keep offering/providing but don't sweat it. Keep meal times fun (sorry long comment but I sooooooo hear you!!) xx
oh I feel a bit scared of answering as we haven't had those issues.... my only ideas are shifting this meal to the middle of the day (last nights leftovers??) so that the end of day pressure isn't part of the equation,
ReplyDeletesocial eating.... with friends sometimes little people eating something
disguising different ingredients??...
maybe having a one bite only rule with reward chart for having a go... having a family focus on having a go in lots of different areas - mum has a go at making a tower, sister has a go at trying something tricky for her, dad has a go at baking, Luka has a go at trying a new food???
Little trys are the first thing I would think??
That's all I've got to offer
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ReplyDelete(Sorry, just testing that I could comment!) My children are older now but I remember those days REALLY well - hubby and I would look at eachother and say (sarcastically), "Meal times are soooo relaxing." Here are my thoughts/tips:
ReplyDelete- Agree with Lyns above; keep offering and encourage him to have 1 bite. - Don't offer an alternative - he looks like a healthy boy who won't starve if he misses the occasional dinner.
- You and hubby decide you will NOT let his behaviour spoil meal times for the rest of you. He stays at the table while everyone else eats, include him in conversation etc. but don't let the meal be spoilt.
- If you would normally have dessert/fruit/yogurt after the main course, then let his sister have hers while he sits and watches. But remain pleasant.
- Remind him that it's his choice. If he cries/moans about what his sister has ("it's not fair!") agree with him - "I know, it's such a shame that you chose not to eat your dinner tonight, I wish you could have dessert." Believe me, it helps!!
All the best!! And a word of encouragement....this won't last forever!!
Beejay
oh the joys of mealtimes... We've had our struggles but our worst was breakfast for #1. With her we know it's not that she isn't hungry as such it's just that it's not what she wants. So after lots of tries at different things we seem to be getting somewhere with a reward chart. If she eats her Wheatbix within a given time-frame every morning for 9 days, she gets to have whatever she would like for breakfast on the 10th morning. We have a wee chart on the fridge and she puts a sticker on each day she succeeds. Once she realised she had the power to make this happen she was away. of course we still have days where breakfast takes an age or doesn't happen at all because we need to head to school etc, but overall everyone is feeling alot better. It's about all I can offer as help Sammy - good luck though - it's a tough one! x
ReplyDeleteWhen the girlies were younger we had a one bite rule in our house. It was a simple plan that I took from a parenting book. Basically the girls had to have one bite of everything on their plate. if they did that then they could have some yoghurt for dessert. The yoghurt gave me the assurance that the girls had protein in their tummies to keep them full throughout the night. Over time they began to enjoy the taste of foods they once disliked so much. These days they are much more adventurous than they used to be, which is great because once upon a time all they ate was vegemite sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteAll the best. xxx
We're the same as Weza - we try to make sure Lydia has at least one bite of everything on her plate, but if that is it then we aim for yoghurt and fruit (she will ALWAYS eat this), but she only gets that after she has had her alloted portions!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry - wish there were some easy answers!