Tips for dinner..no more "kids food"

Danielle4303 · January 2013

Hi ladies,

I use to post all the time when DS was an infant, but lately I would consider myself a stalker..lol

My son is a great eater, but it is usually "kid" food...nuggets,pizza,grilled cheese etc.. It is really starting to annoy me that he doesn't eat the same dinner as us or healthy food. He is does eat his vitamin every morning and loves fruit!

I just don't know what to try anymore...i gave up on giving him what we eat to try..he takes a lick and then pushes it away...

Any suggestions?!

sugar212 · January 2013

I would (almost) never make my child a separate dinner, he will eat if he is hungry. I kid won't starve their self. Maybe let them help you make dinner, kids love that! and, if you have something they can dip, my daughter loves to dip! even if its carrots in veggie dip or something super simple like that.

funny you posted this though, I just was going to post about my daughter's supper tonight, hence the (almost). I was going to make us Tacos tonight but she insisted on a peanut butter sandwich and apple sauce. I am fine with this tonight because I am not really hungry and its just us 2 tonight.

Jaxmom11 · January 2013

The only time I make a separate "kid meal" for DS is if we are having something spicy. He's not fond of spicy foods yet, but other than that he eats what we do. It amazes me the things he will eat! Only two year old I've ever seen that eats salad!

sosoph · January 2013

We serve her what we are eating plus one thing I know she will eat if I am uncertain about the meal. Our rule is that she must try everything on the plate and then she can have more of anything. We always end the meal with yogurt and/or fruit. She also sometimes gets an extra condiment/sauce/cheese sprinkle to entice her. It generally takes kids a lot of tries to like something, so don't give up!

TiffanyBerry · January 2013

What PP's said. Serve what you are having - making it as friendly to his tastes as is reasonable - and expect him to eat it. Since you have been cooking him what he wants, he will protest. Possibly for a few weeks. But eventually, he will understand the change.

Art Teacher · January 2013

She eats what we're eating (or she'll be hungry.)

saturdaynightdoubletree · January 2013

"You don't have to eat it now, but at least three good bites/attempts..." Usually that results in them taking the few bites and then eating it all, or leaving the table and trying it again later. My daughter will eat ANYTHING if I let her sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, haha. If they made a good attempt but don't like the meal, I try to have a back up next time I make that dinner, and for the night I'll give them a yogurt, banana, and or avocado slices (usually always have on hand and are nutritious enough).

Art Teacher · January 2013

I do encourage her, too, by saying at least try a couple of bites. Sometimes I physically put a couple pieces on her fork, too.

ASmallWonder · January 2013

My kid fights us a lot but there are no separate meals. Sure, sometimes he gets kid stuff if we're having that or we're eating later or something but I think your kid knows a kid meal is lurking around the corner at all times. I wouldn't eat something I didn't love if I knew I had a choice

Stephanie2167 · January 2013

I agree that you shouldn't make a seperate meal. If DD doesn't eat what we serve her, that is all she gets. After awhile she either starts eating what we gave her or she just doesn't eat.

Tonight we had salmon, asparagus and cousous and she devoured it.

I'll make her nuggets or a grilled cheese only on nights where dinner is taking longer then expected and we wont be eating before she needs to be in bed. That isn't very often.

sydneyann2 · January 2013

I always make sure my son sees that his plate looks like mommy and daddys plates. I started young, my 8 month old daughter gets what we are having. To make sure he eats, I always make a side I know he loves, such as rice, green beans, bread sticks... he tends to eat more food off his plate when he sees one food he loves.

One last thing, I have a chalk board with all the dinners up for the week, He helps me pick out recipes and such. I found that getting him involved has helped getting him to try new foods.

Luckie519 · January 2013

Jaxmom11:
The only time I make a separate "kid meal" for DS is if we are having something spicy. He's not fond of spicy foods yet, but other than that he eats what we do. It amazes me the things he will eat! Only two year old I've ever seen that eats salad!

This. Somethings like chilli that he won't eat, even if it isn't spicy. Tacos are also a little messy and he has issue. I tend to make it like a salad and mix it all together.

anvloveskme · January 2013

Luckie519:
Jaxmom11:
The only time I make a separate "kid meal" for DS is if we are having something spicy. He's not fond of spicy foods yet, but other than that he eats what we do. It amazes me the things he will eat! Only two year old I've ever seen that eats salad!

This. Somethings like chilli that he won't eat, even if it isn't spicy. Tacos are also a little messy and he has issue. I tend to make it like a salad and mix it all together.

. Same here - DH and I like spicy food, so often I'll just give her the non spicy version of what we're eating. I don't want to set a precedent of making separate meals

Ardmhs83 · January 2013

My DS eats what we eat...bottom line. We don't buy unhealthy foods, therefore it isn't an option for him to eat. He eats everything! Salmon, tilapia, chicken, steak, veggies, fruit, yogurt, cheese, whole grains. We have never given him any other options, so he doesn't even know a difference.
I would stop buying the "kiddie" foods and have your LO eat what you all are eating. Of course, he cannot starve. Take little steps at a time.

JerseyMa27 · January 2013

I just want to say I'm in the same boat. One thing I'm trying to do now is if I know he will eat say...one part of our meal (like rice, for example)...I'll serve him that part along with something else that I know he will eat so it's kind of like half and half if that makes sense.

Another thing to try is to have him at least start tasting what you are eating. I really try to get DS to at least try what we are having. It has actually opened the door to him eating more of the same things as we do...but we aren't eating the same dinners just yet unfortunately.

As far as the whole "they won't starve themselves"...while they may not starve themselves into being sick, I know my own kid will go to bed without eating and will not give in and eat what I tell him to if it's not something he wants to eat. I never pushed it to the limit where I forced him to eat something becuase I just don't feel comfortable doing that. I don't feel right sending him to bed without dinner...but he is only 2. If he were maybe 4 or 5 I might be singing a different tune haha.

BelhurstBride · January 2013

I don't, nor have I ever made DD a separate meal. She eats what we eat and that's all there is to it.

That said, everybody has a food or two they legitimately don't like. (DD has never eaten a carrot.) We don't make a huge deal if she declares she doesn't want to eat something, she just gets something out of the fridge instead. It has to be something that doesn't require any additional prep work on our party... like cottage cheese and fruit or yogurt with honey and fruit.

For a lot of toddlers eating can be a control issue. I strongly believe that the more of an issue a parent makes out of it the more of an issue the child is going to make out of it. For a lot of toddlers there's a lot more at play than just control.

I've been follwing the It's Not About Nutrition blog for a few years now. (Sorry, can't clicky link, on a Mac). I highly recommend it and can assure you you'll find tons of information on there on how to change your son's eating habits.

https://itsnotaboutnutrition.squarespace.com

ETA: I just wanted to clarify that my daughter is by no means a perfect eater. She's no dummy... if there's meat and potatoes on her plate she's going to fill up on those and declare herself too full to touch the spinach. I've found that 1) having her help me cook helps tons. Not only does she take more interest in trying things... but she generally snacks like crazy on the veggies as I prep them. When she does that I don't worry about whether or not she touches them on the table. 2) I serve the veggies before I put anything else on her plate. She'll usually go to town before it dawns on her to put up a stink and hold out for the salmon.

I also only serve fruits or veggies in between meals. That way I don't have to worry about whether or not she's eating a full serving at meal time.

logoz80 · January 2013

I'm in the same boat and even better, food that she loved 2 months ago, she refuses to eat. She's underweight and the doctor wants her to gain at least 2 lbs in the next 6 months so I can't really afford to have her missing meals, but she refuses to try news things and throws food on the floor too often. My personal favorite is when I make something I KNOW that she likes and she still won't touch it.

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