Multiple meals.

Christina - posted on 03/11/2012

i dont fix my 2 year old anything different but shes not picky. if shes hungry she opens the fridge and finds something. yes fruit and veggs are good for him but he needs to learn to eat what you fix. otherwise you will be a short order cook in your house for a very long time

Julie - posted on 03/11/2012

When a child is hungry they will eat... Have good healhty things on hand and do not watch how much they eat, but eat as a family and enjoy talking to one another, etc., while you eat. Turn off the t.v. and focus on their day -

Jen - posted on 11/22/2010

my son whos 2 tomoz has days where he will eat what i give him n then 3 days later like today will just snack on breakfast then have a sandwhich or biscuits

Laura - posted on 11/22/2010

I agree with most people I do not make a separate meal. If they have tried it and truly do not like it I will try not to make it or make something to go along with it. I have a 2 yr old that will eat anything but my 4 yr old will look at something before he even tries it and says "yuck, I don't like ____" He sits at the table with us and if he doesn't eat he doesn't get anything and latter when we are all having desert or a snack and he wants one I get out his supper plate. If he wants the snack he has to eat supper. I want my kids to try new things and I won't give in just cuz they think they may not like it.

Merri - posted on 11/22/2010

I dont think anyone looses. I think its preference. If my son wants to skip a snack ok. But i am not going to let him skip a whole meal esp. if he would rather have soup over chicken. Honestly I dont find it to be that big of a deal in the long run

Erica - posted on 11/22/2010

A child that age WILL NOT STARVE THEMSELF....I refuse to make something different. I did have picky eater and when I started giving him what we ate , he nows eats a large variety of food. If you continue to give in then he wins and you will loose in the long run.

Merri - posted on 11/22/2010

I will make another meal for my child if he doesnt want it. He is 3 so he doesnt understand he needs to tell me if he doesnt want something for dinner while I am preparing. Usually i will put it in front of him and he says he doesnt want it. So I will make him something else. That is fine with me. Sometimes I am not in the mood for something too. He doesnt do it very often and I will not let my 3 year old go hungry so I just make the seperat meal. Could be something as simple as a sandwhich or a bowl of ceral but at least he is getting soemthing into him

Sarah - posted on 11/22/2010

We have 2 menu choices in my house-Eat it or Leave it. If you give him a range of things, including food you know he likes, then it's his choice to go hungry. Two is old enough for him to be able to think, I don't fancy this, I'll hold out for something better.( not in those terms, obviously, but you know what I mean.)

Bernadette - posted on 11/21/2010

I never make another meal. I just try to remove whatever they dislike or I'll make a salad as well because I know they will all eat it. The more you make separate meals, the more they will come to expect it.

Emily - posted on 11/21/2010

I don't make multiple meals. If my kid doesn't eat, I just tell him he has to eat 2 bites then can get down. I won't make him something special. If he's hungry later, he can eat leftovers from dinner or something else healthy.

Firebird - posted on 11/21/2010

My daughter is a picky eater, and I'm not a short order cook. She can eat what I put in front of her, or she can stay hungry until the next designated meal/snack time. I always make sure that there is at least one thing on her plate that I know she'll eat regardless of what kind of mood she's in.

Amanda - posted on 11/21/2010

I never make another meal for my children.., (never have too). I now have 3 children who will try anything once, and have very few dislikes when it comes to food.



Actually they found out this christmas wont be at their grandmothers, each of their reactions was, "that isnt fair, we dont get octopus this year. Thats right their fav part of christmas it the octopus served before christmas dinner.



Kids will not allow themselves to go hungry, this is why I dont make other meals, if they are truely hungry they will eat everything off their plate.



As for waking up in the middle of the night, give him a large glass of milk before bedtime if he hasnt ate his dinner (it is a whole food and will keep him go through the night).

Medic - posted on 11/21/2010

I have NEVER made my kids a second meal because they wont eat what I have fixed. My son is now four and he will sit at the table by himself until he has eaten or he can go to bed. He has never woken up but he would be shit outta luck if he did. I am not his maid, I am not his short order cook, I am definitely not his friend, I am his mom and he can eat what I put on his plate.

Danielle - posted on 11/21/2010

Thank you all so much for your advice.
I have let him go without supper when he had refuse to eat and he ends up waking up in the middle of the night, hungry. We have supper around 6-6:30, and he goes to bed at 7:30, so he usually only gets a small bedtime snack before going down for the night (except when he decides to be picky and I try to accommodate him). There has been instances where he has waken up at night because he has gotten hungry. It is a lot harder to get him back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night because we then have to fix him something quick to eat or else he will cry in hysterics, and wont fall asleep until he has eaten.
Keep in mind he is only two, so that is why I was wondering.
The meal was something that he has eaten numerous times. When he is older I suspect that he will have a better understanding that there is only one meal available.

Lisa - posted on 11/21/2010

I have an almost 4 year old and almost 2 year old. I want my children to appreciate food and do not want battles over it. If it's something I know they won't eat, I make them a separate meal. If they do not want to eat what I've made, they can have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I know there are many people who will say that you shouldn't have to prepare two meals but to me, making a separate meal for the kids is so easy because I always keep fruits and veggies ready and cut up and keep nuggets, fish sticks, lunch meat on hand.

At 2, a child is going to have a relatively simple palette when it comes to food and what he will like. However, 2 hours is quite the time length to have a battle over food!! You do have patience. :)

Laura - posted on 11/21/2010

I battle a picky eater in my house too, and she's 12! The rules for the dinner table have always been that I prepare one meal only! I usually ask for suggestions for a meal (so she feels included on the decision-making) but if I don't hear anything by a certain time, I choose! Any suggestions need to include a veggie and fruit as part of the meal. I like trying new foods myself, which doesn't always set well with the rest of my family. When a new food is introduced, 1 -2 full-sized bites are required before opinions are made. This has worked fairly well to date.

When my daughter was little, I would sometimes fix her something else, usually when she was sick. Now that she is old enough, she is allowed to fix herself something else--I still only prepare one meal! She knows that a good meal contains something with protein (meat or eggs, for example), a starch like bread or rice, and fruits and veggies. This way she at least knows what types of food go into a meal and she can then pick things she likes. As a soon-to-be teen, she actually doesn't fix too many meals on her own, even when it is a new dish!

Finally, Louise is right--you don't want to make a big issue out of food and eating at meals. Young kids won't go hungry and as long as healthy foods are available, they will eventually eat. A missed meal now and again won't hurt. Offer what you make with a "bites rule" to at least try it (if it's a new food) and then drop the issue. If he doesn't eat the food, then so be it. Consider setting a time limit too! Your child shouldn't be sitting at the table for two hours having a battle of wills with you over food! YOU will lose that battle, not him! : ) When the meal is done, so is he, whether he's eaten anything or not. If he gets hungry later (and he will!) you can choose to offer him fruits and veggies then. Personally, I wouldn't, but that is a choice you can make.

Remember, too, that kids at that age have fluxuating appetites: Growth spurts can dramatically increase eating and growth slow-downs can reduce appetities. Your son may not be eating because he simply isn't that hungry. Teething can also reduce appetities because chewing may actually cause some pain. So don't worry, skip a meal if you have to and try again next time. Hope this helps and good luck!

Catherine - posted on 11/21/2010

my 3 year old has suddenly got picky and wont eat things he used to so i know he likes them i put his dinner down for him and if he eats it he gets pudding if he doesnt no pudding then its his choice but he never gets anything else. if its something new i make him a small portion along with something he usually will eat and ask him to try it. he has a reward chart by the table and gets star stickers depending on what hes managed to eat. if he can get 3 at a meal time he gets a sweetie after dinner (if before bed i tend to try and just give him a cookie or something) and if he gets 3 at every meal for a week then he gets a new small toy or magazine. i find it works really well and if i give him lots of encouragement when he does try things he is a lot more inclined! hope it helps

Amy - posted on 11/21/2010

I try not to make separate meals but my son is super picky so if I'm making something that hss sauce in it I set a portion of his aside that doesn't have sauce. The dr gave us a tip when he went in for his 4 year check-up, because he's 4 he has to take 4 bites of something before he says he doesn't like it. By doing this I can keep introducingfoods and eventually he'll ask for it. Good luck!

Louise - posted on 11/21/2010

What I tend to do is if the food is something different she has not tried before then I offer it to her and then if she refuses it then I give her something else. If it is a food she has eatten before then I leave it around for a while and then throw it away. She does not get anything else as I know that either she is not hungry or is just being silly. It is important to get the balance right. Making an issue out of food is not wise. If she eats it fine if not let her go without. Just remember a child will not starve it's self. If she is truly hungry she will eat.