Problems at dinner time.

Narcissa - posted on 08/31/2009

mine only wants something and chips or jam sandwiches when he comes over and its annoying as he used to eat everything i gave him and we would even have to order extra like black bean and beef when we have chinese as i dont eat it but he loved it.

he has my stubborn streak to the point of he would rather not eat at all for nearly a full weekend rather than eat something that isnt chips or jam sandwiches

Denise - posted on 01/16/2009

You are not alone. My son is the same and he is now 10yrs old. I have a daughter who is 6yrs old. Glad I am not alone:0)

Odette - posted on 11/27/2008

thanks i will try anything out. he is somehow of good weight and very active!!

Carrie - posted on 11/26/2008

I used to have that problem too. I started letting him have control over his own portions by letting him serve himself. I did lay down 3 rules:

1. He has to try a little of everything on the table.

2. He has to eat everything he puts on his plate.

3. Also, he has to sit there until all the food is gone (I have to leave the room though otherwise he's completed distracted). This has resulted in him missing several exciting events so he learned very quickly to speed it up.

Letting him choose his portions has made all the difference. Sometimes he only puts a little on his place and sometimes there's a lot. But as long as he eats it all and doesn't complain about hunger later in the evening, I'm fine with it. Dinner is a much happier time now.

Jennifer - posted on 11/26/2008

Hi Odette, I'm Jennifer, mother to 2 girls ages 6 & 9. Funny you post this as my 6 yo (born March 2002) won't sit still at dinner or rarely any meal, but that's the one we're all together. She picks at her food and will only finish with lots and lots and lots of coaxing and even then more often than not won't eat half of what's on her plate. And we don't give her a lot because we know she won't eat it and we don't want her to feel overwhelmed.

I'm wondering if she doesn't have some oral issues. She seems to focus better on eating when I literally feed her.

We encourage her to try at least everything on her plate. No dessert unless she eats all her dinner (again, which isn't a lot) and nothing else after if she doesn't eat. We figured after going to bed hungry a few times, she'd eat more, but nope. She's gaining weight somehow. She's a healthy girl and very active so I'm not all that worried. I'm hoping she'll come around in her own time.

Oh, and if I'm cooking a new food or something I'm not sure they'll like, I'll try to make sure the veggie or carb is a known food group that they'll at least eat that.