Meal Time Drama.......

Megan - posted on 03/08/2011

My son Devin tries to play that game with me and I used to get so mad that he would ask for something and then not eat it!!! I have gotten to the point now where we all sit for dinner and if you are not done with your meal by the time I finish and do the dishes then to bad. He always asks for a snack before bed on nights that he didn't eat. All I say is " no hunny, sorry, you should of eaten your dinner." It has worked for me. Now he knows as long as he eats his dinner, he can have a snack before bed.

Kelly - posted on 03/02/2011

Glad im not the only one : )
My son was fine untill we moved countries and then into our own house. I think its the kids way of being able to control something.
My son doesnt eat much and always has to have a seprate meal (i use to be the same at his age) but we are slowly trying ot get him to eat what we eat as it is normally things he likes anyways.
We have just started to eat at the teable to try and encourage good eating. We wil eat out dinner qith him normally being stubborn and not eating. we tell him he cant leave the table untill he has eaten something (doesnt have to be it all just eat a bite or two at least) we walk away when we are done. We talk to him nocely when we are done and 9 outta 10 times he will start eating when we arent watching him. We always have an insentive if he eats his whole meal as we always put on his plate something he wont try or doesnt eat just to try and get him to try new things. So he doesnt get the big insentive for not finishing everything but he egst hugs and kisses and gets to watch tv for a lil longer cause he had some dinner. Plus im using a star chart for eating now which helps him eat some food as he wants the star.

We arent turning this into a big deal as i remember it was the pressure of everyone wanting me to eat and watching me that stopped me a a kid eating and trying new food which is why i wont do the same to my kids.. gentle lil steps to try and help and its working so far.
HEs gone from eating no meat to eating shaved ham and shaved chicken and chick nuggets so yeah baby steps i reckon.

Nicole - posted on 01/20/2011

i have the same issue with my nearly 4yo DD. Shes always been a fussy eater, and will take wayyy longer to eat dinner than anyone else. i give her the option of eating her dinner or going straight to bed, if she sits there for 5 mins and doesnt eat then i put her in her roon, then she will come out and start eating. a couple of weeks ago she wouldnt eat anything and i said if she doesnt eat dinner then she doesnt get dessurt, she still wouldnt eat it and we had nearly finished so i warned her if she didnt eat dinner then we were not going to wait for her and would just eat dessurt in front of her. she still wouldnt eat so when we had finished we got our dessurt and ate it in front of her! she watched then asked 4 dessurt and i still said you have to eat your dinner 1st then you get dessurt, she finally ate her dinner and she got dessurt, we had finished by that time but i stuck to my guns. I do dread meal times most nights but hopefully this will pass soon!

Karla - posted on 01/09/2011

I think it's the age. I don't make separate meals ever, I will add something like a piece of cheese or bread if needed. My daughter eats just fine if WE feed her, but just doesn't want to feed herself. She will also claim to dislike things she always eats.

Jaime - posted on 11/07/2010

I don't engage in the fight. I simply tell my son that if he isn't going to eat then he can leave the table, but that there is no more food until breakfast (he only fights at dinner if he chooses to fight me) and I tell him he will probably be very hungry. Sometimes he continues to eat and sometimes he really just isn't hungry enough for eating to be more important than playing so he will leave the table.

Caroline - posted on 11/05/2010

My 3.5 year old is the same, I agree with Gena, they will eat t if they are hungry enough, frustrating as it is to see food you've slaved over going cold....

Judith - posted on 11/04/2010

My daughter Mackenzie is the same way at meal time. She says she's hungry and even asks for specific foods at times, then doesn't eat. What I found that works is I prepare her meal like everyone elses, then sit her down with us to eat. What she doesn't eat we put in the fridge where she can reach. When she says she's still hungry a lil bit later I just grab her plate, warm it up and offer it to her. Works almost all the time she ends up finishing the food and everyone is happy in the end. Instead of fighting with your child to eat just let them eat when thier ready.

Gena - posted on 11/01/2010

He is just trying to control the situation. I would just make what you are going to make and if he eats, fine, if not, I wouldnt make a big deal about it. He is not an infant, if he is hungry enough, he will eat what you give him!!! I let him know that this is what is for dinner (breakfast, lunch) and if you dont eat it, you arent getting anything else. If it was a situation where he truely didnt like something, that would be different, but if you know he likes these foods, he is just trying to control you!!