When your LO refuses to eat what you offer...

Lolo4283

What do you do? How many options do you give? My LO often refuses what I make her or even what we are eating. The doctor said to only have one other option available to her, and if she refuses that as well, she may just need to go to bed a little hungry for a night or two before she learns to eat what is offered. My fallback is always yogurt. The girl LOVES yogurt, but I don't want to give it to her all the time.

 

Jills83

I try to add something that he loves to the same plate.  LO loves cheese.  If he isn't eating what is on his plate, I will break up a few pieces of cheese and put it on the plate with his meal.  Sometimes this gets him to start eating the cheese and then he will move on to the other food without realizing.  Sometimes it fails and he only eats the cheese.  In that case I will call it quits and make sure he drinks plenty of milk or has a snack later. 

Ooglybear

I spank her.

 

 

kidding.

I let her sit and play with the food for as long as she wants (hoping that eventually she's put it in her mouth). I don't offer anything else normally b/c I put out one thing I know she likes. She nurses after dinner/before bed, so I know she's not starving.

RingOfFire11

Ooglybear:

I spank her.

kidding.

I let her sit and play with the food for as long as she wants (hoping that eventually she's put it in her mouth). I don't offer anything else normally b/c I put out one thing I know she likes. She nurses after dinner/before bed, so I know she's not starving.

I laughed out loud.

I usually wait it out. Typically, she'll eat whatever she likes the best first and when she realizes she won't be getting anymore then she usually gives in and eats what she was avoiding. Sometimes if I eat a bite of whatever it is she's refusing, then suddenly she likes it again, lol.

JavaVino910

I'm guilty of pulling more stuff out of the fridge until I find something that she will eat. Her going a little hungry isn't really an option for me right now. Maybe sometime in the future.

ann_jeremiah

I will give DS bread with peanut butter on it if he refuses to eat anything else.... and I let him sit in his chair a little longer, occasionally, he'll chip away at the other stuff.

Andie_83

Jills83:

I try to add something that he loves to the same plate.  LO loves cheese.  If he isn't eating what is on his plate, I will break up a few pieces of cheese and put it on the plate with his meal.  Sometimes this gets him to start eating the cheese and then he will move on to the other food without realizing.  Sometimes it fails and he only eats the cheese.  In that case I will call it quits and make sure he drinks plenty of milk or has a snack later. 

This. Even though I don't want her to be hungry, I don't want to start making a million different things for supper. Better to start now with keeping it consistent.

M&M227

I try to always have something I know she'll eat - usually pasta.  Then I don't feel bad if she refuses the rest of the meal, at least I know she has something in her stomach.  Our pedi warned us that her good eating will probably turn into picky toddler eating soon.  

I have found she tends to eat one big meal and pick at the rest.  

MommaG123

If she doesn't eat what we serve she just doesn't eat. I still nurse in the evening so I'm not worried about her starving. For dinner she gets one food from every group with fruit for dessert.

kas80

Our food therapist says for every meal have one thing you know they like, one thing close to what they like(in taste, texture or color) and then something new.  That way they get the exposure to widen their palate without you stressing that they aren't eating anything at all.

magnoliablossom00

We have a super picky eater as well. We try to put only one item on her plate at a time. If she eats it, great. If not, then we wait a few minutes (let her play in it), then add one other item. She will usually start eating the 2nd item b/c she didn't want the first, or she will realize to get with the program and eat. If she continues to flat out refuse to eat what we are serving, then we keep her in the chair with the food until we are all done (so she is still having dinner time), and make sure she gets some milk and a snack.

**I read in Parent's Magazine that a study showed that kids are more likely to eat what they are given if a variety of colors and textures are shown. It said that adults prefer to have 3 colors on their plate, and kids prefer 5. Just a suggestion!

march2008

kas80:

Our food therapist says for every meal have one thing you know they like, one thing close to what they like(in taste, texture or color) and then something new.  That way they get the exposure to widen their palate without you stressing that they aren't eating anything at all.

This is basically what I do and she almost always eats at least some part of every meal. If she doesn't eat one part of the meal, I try it again a few days or weeks later.

ETA: I usually give her 3 or 4 different things to eat at each meal. I just give her small portions of each item. She'll usually eat just about any type of veggie or fruit nowadays.

MommaA117

It's rare but if it happens I will make her something else at this point. She's tiny and I feel like she needs her food.

waterfall11

DD often sometimes rejects what I feed her.  I usually give her the vegetables and meats I want her to eat first and then break out the fruit and carbs near the end of the meal.  If she just isn't having any of it I don't offer something else right away but I will let her play for a while and then give her something I know she will eat.  She doesn't eat right before bed so we have time to offer food later.