To Bed Without Dinner??

caseyleigh77 · July 2010

Does anyone else send LO to bed without dinner? I know I am pretty easy when it comes to food for DS#1. He eats no vegies except for corn (thats on a good day) Otherwise the kid lives off of pb&j, grilled cheese, quesadillas and cereal. Last night he ate almost 1/2 a box of froot loops, so tonight I told him that he had to eat lasagne (which he has had before) and taste 1 green bean, He ate half a dinner roll and refused everything else. So bath and to bed he went. Mommy guilt is setting in.

bunch · July 2010

S just started getting super food picky. A couple of weeks ago we did just what you said. Then, when she woke up an hour later hungry- we offered her dinner again- same food. She had a HUGE fight, we held firm- and she ate it. At least enough to sleep.

Since then, she'll eat at least the "3 bites of meat and all the green beans" or whatever we make her before she can have another (healthy) choice. Tonight that was our deal, then she got some yogurt with blueberries.

True love since 5/7/99 · July 2010

My dd is 6.5 years old & she lives on pb&j, chicken nuggets, grilled chesse & quesadilla & fresh Carrots!

Dinner time she has to eat what i make to she doesnt eat & goes to bed hungery.

Normally about 10 mins after i tell her to go to her room she will come out & sit & eat what i have made, Also my dr said to try to make atleast 1 thing at dinner time i know she will eat.

So i normally make, rice, potatoes, peas, corn or i just give her from fresh carrots,

WineCountryWife · July 2010

Yes, we have done this before. Fights over food just isn't worth it. You can't force them to eat, but you can offer the food, and give them x amount of time to finish it in, and if they don't - then its off to bed. You give them choices, and they get to choose. Don't feel guilty! There is nothing you can do to make a child eat who doesn't want to eat. And missing one meal and and there isn't going to starve them

hersheykiss · July 2010

We have not gotten to this point yet, persay but we do try to give Emmalee 4-5 choices for meals each time. If she doesn't want any of those or anything on our plate, then we do take her out of her chair and say, "Dinner all done." I am hoping she learns that what we offer is what she gets, otherwise she can not eat. I am like the PPs, a skipped meal here or there will not starve them or kill them.

megan0071234 · July 2010

DS is almost 10 and we send him to bed all the time. He is a SLOW eater (to get out of eating). We finally, at the urging of his counselor, put a 30 minute time on the clock when he sits down to eat. If he is not done (or almost done) by the time the 30 minutes is up, he goes to bed.

Also at the urging of a counselor, we don't offer any different food choices for him unless he has a pass- he has "earned" a special meal. The power struggle for food was just getting too great, and he was winning.

But, he is getting better. He has realized over the years that it is just better to eat his food and be able to do the things he wants to do instead of going to bed. At 9, his bedtime is way later than dinner, so he was missing out on lots of stuff.

We have been doing this battle for quite some time, so you are not alone. Good luck!

futrkingsley · July 2010

My child is still young, at only 2, and is a healthy weight so at our house, if he doesn't want to eat, that's his choice and he suffers no punishment. I offer him a healthy meal that includes at least two things I know he will eat and a very small portion of whatever we are eating for him to try. He is allowed to choose how much of that to eat and is always allowed to ask for more of something being offered (so more meatballs, or more cheese or spaghetti or whatever). Thankfully he likes a decent variety of foods and willingly eats all kinds of vegtables and fruits without prompting. Our only issue is the very small quantity that he eats on a daily basis and we agree with our pediatrician that it isn't a cause for concern.

dblhappiness · July 2010

We do have some of those nights here...it's mostly because they just don't want to eat. So I just keep in mind to look at their food intake over the course of the day or week. Most often than not, they are hungry in the morning and eat an amazing breakfast. Hang in there---it's so not easy to deal with.

True love since 5/7/99 · July 2010

megan0071234:
DS is almost 10 and we send him to bed all the time. He is a SLOW eater (to get out of eating). We finally, at the urging of his counselor, put a 30 minute time on the clock when he sits down to eat. If he is not done (or almost done) by the time the 30 minutes is up, he goes to bed.
Also at the urging of a counselor, we don't offer any different food choices for him unless he has a pass- he has "earned" a special meal. The power struggle for food was just getting too great, and he was winning.
But, he is getting better. He has realized over the years that it is just better to eat his food and be able to do the things he wants to do instead of going to bed. At 9, his bedtime is way later than dinner, so he was missing out on lots of stuff.
We have been doing this battle for quite some time, so you are not alone. Good luck!

My DD is also a every slow eater so have have to set a timer for her or else it would take her 2 hrs to eat dinner!!

caseyleigh77 · July 2010

Thank you all for inputting on here.I am so glad I am not the only one that struggles with this stuff. I feel normal!

Love To You All!

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