do you offer a choice at meals?

shipoopiisforme

if your kids wont eat a meal do you offer an option?

if so until what age did you do this. 

Ali212

For breakfast and lunch since they aren't huge sit down meals, I tend to give my toddler a choice (do you want X or Y?).  For dinner, she eats what we eat and that's that.  We do tend to serve items for dinner that she *should* eat (not overly spiced or gourmet).  If she doesn't eat it, she doesn't eat.  This has been our approach pretty much all along.  

KYRN

Usually not, but I do make sure that there is something he will eat in the meal.  I try to give him his least favorites first while he's most hungry. 

I will sometimes give him carrots and/or green beans if he doesn't eat our normal supper because they're a healthy option and he'll eat it, we usually have some in the fridge because he eats them with lunch a lot.

smilee

Hmmmm.

If we are making chicken in a way that I have noticed that D does not prefer (  as in a marinade I know he did not like in the past), I will make  a plain piece for him.  I guess that is not really choice, though.

I am truly blessed, though.  There really does not seem to be too much that D won't eat.  He started off hating solids, but when it clicked, it clicked. 

krissyh21

At dinner he eats what I make for the family (unless it is something he doesn't eat then I make him his own dish).

At lunch I offer him a choice of two things and let him pick. I found that it helped Mr Finicky to eat more at lunch (our worst meal of the day)

I plan on doing it until he goes to school, at least, and it works. 

OrangeSmoke

Do you mean another meal altogether?  Then no.

I usually make sure that I offer something that they like.  And luckily for my fruit lovers, that hasnt' been too hard.  Their preference has been, fruit, protein, and then veggies.  So I usually offer the food in the reverse order, veggies, then protein, then fruit.  So they almost always eat something.

But there has been plenty of times they passed on everything except for the 3 cherries at the end.  In those times, I don't make anything else.

 

PhillySue

Nope.  She eats what we eat.  Now, if I am making something that I know she really hates I will vary her dinner a bit but that is what is for dinner. After dinner I almost always offer fruit or yogurt for "dessert" even if she does not eat much dinner but even then to get that she needs to have at least tried dinner.  Katie is almost 2 1/2 and I have been doing this as soon as she was regularly eating what we ate for dinner.    ETA: I will offer her a choice for breakfast and sometimes lunch or if we are at a restaruant I let her pick what she wants (but is it always mac and cheese : )

Mouseygail

nope...not really for the main part of the meal.  He pretty much eats what we eat (unless i have made something spicy or similiarly not suitable for him yet).  if he doesn't like what we are having and seems hungry, I will offer him a yogurt at the end, or some cheese or fruit, something that I know he will eat. 

shipoopiisforme

for breakfast and lunch i really don't offer a second option because i know they will just have a snack if they are hungry later. it's dinner that is the issue. marlo will eat anything so it's never an issue with her. theo is another story, so if he wont eat what i have made i will give him cheese, yogurt or pb&j.

they always have fruit after dinner so i was thinking that plus milk may be good enough to keep him from going to bed hungry. i don't want to create a situation where he thinks he can just have yogurt or pb&j if he doesn't want what i make for dinner. 

ladychicago

I am looking forward to the day when I can, BEFORE a meal starts, ask her if she wants X or Y for a meal.    I think having a limited choice and/or control in that situation is good, and it will (in theory) increase the chances that she will eat what is on her plate. 

But during meals now?   I don't really offer her a choice.   If she refuses, I give her a couple chances (taking the tray away for a few moments before putting it back).   If she still refuses, I will offer her some additional "side" items - but I will not cook/prepare another main dish.   Usually, I end up giving her a puree pouch thingy - because she always loves them and I can ensure she is at least getting some fruits and vegetables that way.     

I fully intend on being the "mean mommy" that won't short-order cook and insists you eat what is being served for that meal or you don't eat at all - but I think she is still a little too young for that.   

howleyshell

For breakfast they sometimes get a choice (waffle or cereal) but if we've got pancakes or oatmeal made that's what they get.

They can choose how they want their egg cooked (boiled, scrambled or "flat" aka: fried)

For lunch they get dinner left overs.

For dinner they get what I cook for all of us, period.

They sometimes get a vote on what fruit to have after dinner if there's an over abundance in the house.

 For snack they can choose from a list I give them.

If they ever mention a request for a meal I try to accommodate that request within a day or 2 when possible but they rarely do this.  They're good eaters and go with the flow quite easily. 

dana316

Nope.

I always have three+ options on the table...and she has her pick of any one of these.  There is always something I know she'll like...and if she eats, great.  If not, the next snack or meal will be at the normal time.

I'm mean like that...judge away

 

muppet.fan

For breakfast, I offer her a couple choices and let her pick since I want to make sure there's something in her belly before she goes to daycare.

For lunch during the week, she gets whatever I send, but I choose things I know she'll eat. I don't introduce new things at lunch. I do that at dinner so I can see what she likes.

For dinner, she gets what we make, but if it's something new or different, I make sure there are other things she likes. And if she at least tries but doesn't like the new main item and is still hungry, I offer either yogurt or applesauce. I don't cook a second meal, but she doesn't go to bed hungry.

sliz

I pull out a bunch of stuff - it's always hit or miss with her. I don't necessarily cook another meal but we try things like cheese, fruit, cream cheese and crackers, frozen mac & cheese etc.

crystalgirl

I ask him at lunchtime because he can tell me what he wants. For a long time I would just offer two choices (and sometimes I still do that). For breakfast and dinner, though, he has to eat what everyone else is having.

He does great with breakfast. We eat a wide variety of foods at breakfast time, and they are always healthy -- whole grains, fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, etc.

Dinner is more of an issue, but we try to make sure there is at least one healthy thing that we know he likes. Sometimes he'll still refuse, but he just has to be hungry then. We do make some concessions like letting him use ketchup if he doesn't want to eat his chicken as is, etc. (We buy organic ketchup for home since he eats it so often.)

Unfortunately, we get take out / fast food way too often for dinner these days, and then he gets to place his own order.