My child will never eat real food.

BubblyToes

He will grow up eating only overly processed garbage. 

I made a really great, kid-friendly dinner.  He is still screaming and crying about how he hates it (he hasn't even tried it).  

Bribery doesn't work.  Threats don't work.  Nothing works.

I am so sad.

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Heidisean

I totally understand. My daughter will not eat any meat, pizza or sandwiches.

hmckeown

I just responded to you on FB. Hang in there! It is the biggest battle we have in this house. Reid is just starting to come around and is willing to try new things.... and he is 5!

Good luck!

Heather

KrisBriMcBunny

yep you just describe Michelle!  Its a never ending battle

Zenya

Hang in there.  Christopher is no closer to trying new things but we DID help him get a grip.  He no longer loses hisshit if we put food on his plate that he doesn't like. And he'll politely say 'no thank you' and wait until the next meal/snack. 

It got to the point where I didn't care if he ate anything new, I just wanted him to stop being phobic about it.

BubblyToes

Z, it is like a phobia.  He freaks the eff out as soon as I put something new in front of him.  It's instant screaming and flailing on the floor. 

CTFandme

oh yah, epic fight in our house tonight.  I had flashbacks to my own childhood and realized how much I must've driven my parents nuts.  I just don't understand why they say 'I don't like it' when 3 months ago he ate it all the time!  ugh.  hope you're happy hungry!

 

 

AnnapolisLari

Matthew was getting to be like that, so we kinda cut him off at the knees.

We told him, OK don't eat. But you have to sit with us at the table, because families eat together. About halfway through the meal he usually starts to shovel in his dinner. Tonight it was steak, baked potato and corn.

jesssy1204

My child isnt at that age yet.. But I grew up having to eat what my Mom made..If I didnt try it then I didnt eat. She wouldnt make two,three dinners a night. I think I will do the same with our children... I will make things I know everyone likes - if they have a fit that they dont like it then they dont eat..

BubblyToes

jesssy1204:

My child isnt at that age yet.. But I grew up having to eat what my Mom made..If I didnt try it then I didnt eat. She wouldnt make two,three dinners a night. I think I will do the same with our children... I will make things I know everyone likes - if they have a fit that they dont like it then they dont eat..

Good luck with that.

CleoKitty

My dd sort of gets that way sometimes, although to a lesser extent. When it happens we find that we just have to get strict: eliminate all candies, sweet cereals, processed crap, etc from the house entirely (easier said than done, I totally realize- especially since MIL lives with us and I can't control what SHE brings into the house.)

When the sweets and processed stuff is gone she has no choice but to eat other things. The first day or two can be rough, but eventually she gets over it. 

I feel for you guys with seriously picky children. It's one of those stupid things I have a really hard time tolerating in my kids and I wouldn't handle that kind of pickiness very well at all without becoming a totally mean, frustrated parent even though rationally I understand about not making it a power struggle, about how some kids have sensory issues, etc.

*Lu-Lu*

It just has to be this age.  Sometimes I wonder why I even cook.  It's so depressing.  Often, Logan won't even try the food on her plate.  ....and, often she just doesn't eat dinner.   I won't make another dinner for her.   (I also don't make things that I know she doesn't like.)    They won't starve. 

SumnerBride

At least I know it's not just my kid!  I should show Dh this post!  He thinks it's me and I know he's secretly thinking that it's my fault.

Marchmamma

K is like that too.  It drives me bananas.  Meal times can last an hour +.  All I want is for her to take at least one bite!

femmegem

This us totally Alex. I know part of it is his sensory issues, but I'm sure it's partially pure stubbornness. Occasionally I can bribe him into trying something new or he'll out of the blue try something on his own. But most nights he eats plain pasta or rice. I try not to stress about it without much luck.

DandelionMom

You just described my 6 y/o.  She lives on side dishes and never eats the main course (except for mexican food). 

Purrrfect433

We really struggle with Ben over this, too. I hate giving him the idea that it's OK to refuse the meal or that it's OK to flip out if he doesn't like it, so I really make an effort to make meals that have at least one element that he'll willingly eat. This means that I end up cooking the same meals over and over and over again, but whateves! I find ways to make it more interesting for myself by adding new elements, too. My husband is super-picky, also, so I end up having to tailor the meal several ways sometimes. Those are the recipes I rarely make because it pisses me off. He, at least, should eat what I make him and stfu.

Anyway, we also give Ben an easy second option: a waffle with peanut butter or a pbj sandwich. Sometimes he'll pick one of those if he doesn't want what the rest of us are eating and that's fine. As long as he communicates what he wants BEFORE I sit down to eat, I'm OK with it=) 

mamarazzi

I'm sorry.  But know you're not alone.  My 3 year old is very similar.  I HATE the drama of mealtime!

I keep thinking it'll get better soon, but then I remember how much whining I did even in junior high (and maybe high school...) when my mom would make meals I hated.  I'll still pitch a fit if she even says the words "tenderized round steak" or "meatloaf" to me.  ::shudders::

cnybride2be

AnnapolisLari:

Matthew was getting to be like that, so we kinda cut him off at the knees.

We told him, OK don't eat. But you have to sit with us at the table, because families eat together. About halfway through the meal he usually starts to shovel in his dinner. Tonight it was steak, baked potato and corn.

we went this route too.  and i swere they have tried more stuff just because they had it sitting in front of them. my 5 year old more than my three year old but we hope the younger one catches on too. (dh and i put on a show about how great it tastes and then just go on with other convo. and eventually they start eating)

shopgirl78

DS1 is the same way.  I can count on my fingers how many things he will eat and he eats those things well but almost anything else is a no go.  

lizard76

I think you've described many households, ours included, up until about 6 or 8 months ago.  We finally decided to put our foot down about the screaming.  He immediately got sent to his room if he screamed/cried when we put food in front of him.  He was told he could come down as soon as he was calm.  Sometimes this would happen two or three times before he sat down to eat.  We also compromised and decided to always make sure that there was one thing on his plate that he liked, such as applesauce or yogurt.  If he was still hungry after finishing that one thing, we insisted that he take a bite of something that he was "scared" of.

I will say at times, he *really* needed encouragement and reassurance, to the point of him sitting on my lap and me feeding a spoonful/bite of something.  We also really had to stick to our guns and make it no big deal if he barely ate one night.

lsufan

Is there a healthy, easy 2nd option you could offer?  My middle DS is extremely picky, but I let him eat a banana if he doesn't like dinner.  I'm not going to serve chicken nuggets and applesauce every night just so he'll eat, because his brothers will usually try new things.  I just assume that lunch will be his main meal and that he won't eat much if anything at dinner.

KoriBrett

cnybride2be:

AnnapolisLari:

Matthew was getting to be like that, so we kinda cut him off at the knees.

We told him, OK don't eat. But you have to sit with us at the table, because families eat together. About halfway through the meal he usually starts to shovel in his dinner. Tonight it was steak, baked potato and corn.

we went this route too.? and i swere?they have tried more stuff just because they had it sitting in front of them. my 5 year old more than my three year old but we hope the younger one catches on too. (dh and i put on a show about how great it tastes and then just go on with other convo. and eventually they start eating)

To overly abuse the quote function - us too. ?We make him sit there (he's 2 and still in a booster with a buckle. ?MUAHAHAHA). ?Halfway in, he'll calm the F down and usually eat it all.

Zenya

We put C in his room if he was flipping out.  And had him re-phrase every hysterical complaint in a 'normal voice'.  So he could say "I'm not hungry for that right now but thank you".  But not "I DON'T LIKE IT!  WAHHHHHHHHHH".  In to his room, in to his room, in to his room kicking and screaming if that's what it took.  We just stopped tolerating the hysteria. 

 We had thought it was a phase so we'd take the food off his plate when he's freak out but in retrospect that was reinforcing his fear of the unknown.

Like I said, he still won't try anything new (and it's been MONTHS) but I can live with that.  He is just not into food.  Totally eats to live.  He'll even half-eat a cookie and put it away because he's not hungry anymore.  Weirdo