Does your child eat what you cook?

Mrs.Guz

or do you cook something separate for them? (allergies aside)  A rule in our house is you eat what I cook or you don't eat.  I fix foods that I know she will like, or has liked before. I'm no gourmet chef, so everything is very basic. But I refuse to fix separate meals just because she doesn't like something at the moment. I don't want to encourage picky eating, and I feel like fixing something separate is doing just that. But that doesn't seem to be the norm in my circle. Am I being too harsh?

Elaine&Matt

Now he does.  About 6-4 months ago though, he would be ready for bed around the time we would normally eat.  So he would eat dinner at 5:30-ish and be ready for bed when DH got home at 6:30.  Button doesn't go to sleep until later now, so he usually eats what I'm fixing.

mingaling2

I don't think you're being harsh.  We try to feed her what we make, but we also eat really spicy food a lot and eat later in the evening. 

I will sometimes make dinner and serve her first, put her to bed, and then we'll eat as a couple later. I know this isn't ideal, but I still can't figure out how to eat as a family by 6:30.

JoJoEspana

I don't think you are being too harsh, but I also refuse to indulge pickiness.  Caroline eats what we eat or she doesn't eat at all.  I always try to put at least 1 thing on her plate that I know she'll eat, in addition to whatever I fixed - like fruit, cheese, peas, etc.  But how else do you expect them to branch out and try new things if you only ever offer them chicken nuggets and mac & cheese?  

Caroline is a really good eater and loves aspragus, eggplants, tomatoes, and brussels sprouts, but it all goes back to nurture vs nature.  Is she a good eater inherently, or is it because I've forced her to be?  Maybe we'll find out with our next baby...

yellowtulips80

Most of the time she eats what I make.  But L is picky and I have to be sneaky with vegetables, so I sometimes add a puree to her portion of anything with sauces on it.  She loves her carbs and has suddenly stopped eating cheese. And I swear my kid is the only kid that will eat the crust off a sandwich and skip the middle.  She also likes meatballs and I can freeze those.  So I keep some home made ones on hand that I have snuck veggies into.  Sometimes I am also able to coax her into eating by offering her a few bites of her favorite food first and then she'll start eating dinner.

K&P414

For the most part my kids eat what I cook, or at least some variation of it.  If I feed them seperately from when DH and I are going to eat I make them something different or if I know it's a gamble whether or not they'll like something I've made I'll make an easy mac to go along with their meal.

I am constantly reminded though that the way to get them to eat new foods is to keep offering it over and over again.

emowens

My problem is I have a picky DH who eats very few things, so I am constantly struggling to make things that he will eat, that I like and that are good for the kids/us.  I do have days that are more "kid friendly" than others and easy too...veggie chicken nuggets and mac n cheese are definitely liked in my house.  I don't do them every week though. 

Now that we have 2 kids, I've found it MUCH EASIER to get them to eat new things because we make a game out of it...who will try their eggplant first?!?!  And they both try to beat the other one.  VERY HELPFUL. 

I would eat anything, any cuisine, you name it I like it.  I hope my kids are somewhere between my picky hubby and me when it comes to food adventures. 

MLvK

There are times I make something and I just know Evie is going to struggle with it.  She is a pretty good eater and most of the time she eats what we eat.  No, she cannot have PB&J for dinner because she doesn't like what I made. 

But tonight I am making a vegetable quinoa, which I am not sure she'll love.  I am going to pull components of the quinoa out and make her a separate veggie thing and some grilled chicken.  And she'll have to try ours to see if she likes it next time.

She has to try three bites of something.   Like Josie, I always include something I know she'll like such as peas, black beans, fresh fruit in place of a salad for us, etc.   I would say 90% of the time though, she eats what we eat with no modifications. 

myrall

For the most part, she eats what we eat. I make exceptions for spicy food and soups. And maybe if we're having collards, I'll make her a tiny batch of broccoli.

But like Jojo said, sometimes I can't tell if we're just blessed with a good eater or if we actually did something right. 

One rule we DO have is that she has to take at least one bite. That's often enough to convince her it's good. Or, "not bad" as she says.

emowens

I forgot that too...we do have a certain number of bites that they have to try everything on their plate.  the number of bites is their age. 

So Danielle will eat 4 bites of grilled salmon or asparagus and Darren has to eat 2.  I struggle with him sometimes to get 2 (just because he is only 2), but he's much more adventurous than danielle. 

donna&ed

Mrs.Guz:

or do you cook something separate for them? (allergies aside)  A rule in our house is you eat what I cook or you don't eat.  I fix foods that I know she will like, or has liked before. I'm no gourmet chef, so everything is very basic. But I refuse to fix separate meals just because she doesn't like something at the moment. I don't want to encourage picky eating, and I feel like fixing something separate is doing just that. But that doesn't seem to be the norm in my circle. Am I being too harsh?

I don't think you are being harsh. We only cook one meal. William doesnt eat spaghetti (I know) and on those days he eats a nutella sandwich for dinner.

Mrs.Guz

emowens:

My problem is I have a picky DH who eats very few things, so I am constantly struggling to make things that he will eat, that I like and that are good for the kids/us.  I do have days that are more "kid friendly" than others and easy too...veggie chicken nuggets and mac n cheese are definitely liked in my house.  I don't do them every week though. 

Now that we have 2 kids, I've found it MUCH EASIER to get them to eat new things because we make a game out of it...who will try their eggplant first?!?!  And they both try to beat the other one.  VERY HELPFUL. 

I would eat anything, any cuisine, you name it I like it.  I hope my kids are somewhere between my picky hubby and me when it comes to food adventures. 

DH has a bad reputation of being a picky eater. But I got tired of eating the same things, so I started cooking what I like, and told DH that if he didn't like it, he knew how to fix his own food. He's broadened his horizons quite a bit since I started cooking things besides chicken & rice and spaghetti.

emowens

Actually I did this too.  We have "family dinner" about 2-4 times a week (when he's not traveling) and during those times i cook things that I know he'll eat.  The other times of the week (again, when he's not traveling).  I pretty much cook for me and the kids and he cooks for himself.  We used to eat completely seperate from the kids when they were younger.  I pretty much taught him how to cook everything he can make today, so I made him self sufficient ;-) 

AugustaBride04

donna&ed:

Mrs.Guz:

or do you cook something separate for them? (allergies aside)  A rule in our house is you eat what I cook or you don't eat.  I fix foods that I know she will like, or has liked before. I'm no gourmet chef, so everything is very basic. But I refuse to fix separate meals just because she doesn't like something at the moment. I don't want to encourage picky eating, and I feel like fixing something separate is doing just that. But that doesn't seem to be the norm in my circle. Am I being too harsh?

I don't think you are being harsh. We only cook one meal. William doesnt eat spaghetti (I know) and on those days he eats a nutella sandwich for dinner.

This!  Hailey hates spaghetti too. We are having it tonite in fact, so I'll make her a variation with the meat that she will eat. We only cook 1 meal though, but i always make sure to have at least 1 -2 things that I know she will eat.  H loves veggies, so occasionally I will cook an extra veggie just for her.  Or if I feel like DH and I are eating "junky", like last night we had BLT's and chips, I will make a healthier, balanced meal for her.

amanda_holbird@hotmail.com

When dh is traveling, I tend to make foods that I know my boys will eat, and they are fairly good eaters.  When dh is home and he's doing the cooking, he's more gourmet and adventuresome so the boys tend to not want to eat what he's fixing because it doesn't look good to them.  We ask them to at least try a couple of bites of everything on their plate, but sometimes that's just not happening, especially with Jack.  I do not make them a different meal than what we are having unless it's something spicy. 

hthomas02

I have to say, we did the exact same thing with both boys and we have one picky eater (RILEY) and one not as picky (Finn, though now that he has seen the absolute tantrums Riley throws over food, he now thinks he doesn't have to eat things.....how is it that the younger corrupts the older sibling????).....I digress.....we all eat the same thing at the same time for dinner.  I also always give them one thing I know they will like and usually that "gets the motor going" and they will eventually eat the other things.  though like others there are things that I know they won't eat (spicy foods) so on those nights I make them something separate, but its very rare.

KT&John

We all eat the same thing. Cadence is pickiest about veggies so I do tend to stick more to the ones I know she will eat (brocolli, mixed veggies), but if we are having one she doesn't like (green beans) it still goes on her plate and she has to eat at least 1 bite.

We always give her the dish the same way we eat it even if it is spicy or an acquired taste. If she doesn't like it, we will make it simpler for her the next time...like pad thai..she doesn't like the fish sauce so we just give her the noodles with chicken and shrimp and crushed peanuts.

andrea922

We try, but it is hard because Finn is the pickiest eater I know. And we have tried every trick mentioned in the previous posts on here. The one thing that bothers me is when people (this is in general, not anyone on this post) say that I must have a picky eater because we don't make him eat what we do, or we don't expose him to a variety of foods, as if we are doing something wrong. He literally does not care about food, or eating, and hasn't since day one. He would rather be playing than eating, and he could easily go 2 days without eating. Probably more.

MLvK

I should really give Evie more credit sometimes.  I totally forgot to leave her veggies out of the quinoa dish I was making and just put the whole dish together with nothing special on the side for her.  She loved the whole meal and ate everything but the chicken. 

 

ally-cat

I used to, but that was ages ago.  Now, like you, If he doesn't eat what I cook, oh well.  Sometimes I give in, but he generally eats most of what I cook.  He does go through his stages though, which are very frustrating.

Janimal

For the most part, we all eat the same thing.  Which has the added benefit that we are so concerned with DD eating her veggies, that DH is eating more of them too.  But sometimes I do make different food.  I mean, if we want someting spicy, I won't force that and I'll make her something different.  Last night I treated DH to some lobster tails -- DD got fish sticks instead!

mrsd0907

emowens:

My problem is I have a picky DH who eats very few things, so I am constantly struggling to make things that he will eat, that I like and that are good for the kids/us.  I do have days that are more "kid friendly" than others and easy too...veggie chicken nuggets and mac n cheese are definitely liked in my house.  I don't do them every week though. 

My DH is the same way and we usually have pretty simple meals since he is picky. I will add things to mine and Derek's plates that he doesn't eat though and Derek always has to try a few bites. Unless it's something I just know he doesn't eat or it's spicy, he eats whatever we are eating.

slwprincess

I used to be really good about making sure that Gavin eats what we eat.  But since Sophie was born, our eating habits have taken a major downturn :-(  I have no time to even think about cooking.  At least we DO all eat together as a family- even if we are eating total crap.  Even Sophie sits in her highchair or bouncy seat next to the table.  I would say that 80% of the time, Gavin does eat what we eat.  But I will totally admit to making him a PB sammich if I know he's not going to like what we're having.  But I have definitely noticed an increase in his pickiness since I've stopped cooking as much "real" food so that is one area that I need to improve on.