Fussy Eaters (merged)

Rockporkchop

I really understand how stressful and upsetting it is when children don't eat. Mine are all teething at the moment and I have been in tears sometimes when they have gone to bed on empty stomachs.

For breakfast I have found that crumpets and flapjacks have gone down quite well, also they really like dry cheerios in a cup they can hold. I have recently been making broccoli and cheese muffins (the recipe is on the channel 4 website) which they really like and can eat in the evening.

I hope your two get their appetites back soon.

RAS

The other thing to watch for is carbonated drinks and squashes. If you are currently letting them drink these, remove them completely for a while and give them water and milk. If you want to reintroduce them later, allow them only after a meal.

fernliebee

Like others say they really will eat when they are hungry. You have some great advice on this thread, and I'm sure they will eat more when they are ready. My DD will eat most things but a tiny amount, she won't eat much at all at lunch and dinner. Her main meal is breakfast, she eats a huge bowl of porridge and then at lunch most days she will pick at some fruit and a piece of toast mostly not eating hardly any, but then about once a week she will eat most of it. I think this one day a week must keep her going for the rest of the week! For dinner she isn't really fussy and will try a few mouthfuls of what we are having and thats it, rarely does she eat much more (unless we have carrots and she will normally eat a few of those as she loves them)

This is quite a good site:

http://www.littlepeoplesplates.co.uk/tot-it-up-tool.html

But just to say, I am not putting it up so you can look to worry yourself, but you look at the amounts of most things that are suggested and you would be surprised at how little kid's need I think. There is a 1 day or 7 day overview, however I have heard it said that with little one's it is best to look at what they eat over a fortnight as it is common for them to stick to one thing at a time. Eg one day eat loads of cheese, another day only grapes, another day only bread etc but over the 2 weeks they will have had a bit of each food group.

I can only echo what others have said, hard as it is, don't get worked up by it, they won't starve themselves, don't make it into an issue just move on if they choose not to eat.

Also sometimes giving them a bit more responsibility can help with food issues. As for some children it is a control thing. Could they lay the table with your help, and help to do some cooking, or shopping, or choose a meal ie "shall we have pasta shells or spaghetti" etc.

Good luck with it, it's understandable that you are concerned but I think most kids will go through a picky phase.

fernliebee

Also the age old "dinner faces" work well with little ones! Then you can say are you going to eat the eyes/ mouth/ nose etc. Also fruit kebabs went down well with my 5 yr olds at work. It meant they could choose what was going on their plate and they liked that it was a bit different to what they normally had. I make faces for my DD with slices of banana with raisins for the eyes and she thinks it is funny, and usually does eat a little bit more than if I just give her banana and raisins in a bowl.

Marcheline

If my daughter plays up over food (it's rare now though and she's 3) I divide the plate up and say she has to eat the amount I've put to one side or she can't get down from the table. She then eats it, cos she knows she won't get to play otherwise.

Maybe i'm harsh as she sometimes cries about it but I stick to my guns and say she either eats it or has to go to bed. I've only ever once had to start taking her up the stairs to bed and she said "ok, I'll eat it". She has a fantastic appetite and eats a varied range of food and will try anything once. She has one food dislike and that's it. She is not overweight in the slightest either.

To be honest though, if they're hungry they will eat. If they're honestly not hungry, there's no point in forcing them. The reason I've started using the method I do is because my daughter'll say she's not hungry at tea-time, but by the time I'm putting her to bed, she says she's hungry and wants toast and I don't want to be faffing around at bedtime when she should have eaten her tea in the first place!

tiamai_d

Firstly, children are like cars, some get more miles to the sandwich than others.

Secondly, stop the 'oh but they must be hungry as they didn't eat dinner'. Replace them with healthy, maybe a bit boring snacks.

Thirdly, just put food down, if they eat they eat, if they don't they don't. Don't make a fuss don't tell them off don't say 'oh but you have to eat'.

My DS2 goes to bed rather than eat dinner most nights but he is growing fine.

Ruby_Moon

clare1076 wrote: »

Hi

i wonder if anyone can give me some advice, i have a ds whose 5 and a dd whose 2, at the moment i'm really struggling to get them to eat their breakfast and evening meals, lunchtime is ok as ds has a packed lunch for school and eats this and dd will eat her lunch.

Breakfast is a big concern for me as my ds goes to school after eating probably only one small pancake, i've tried toast, porridge, weetabix you name it i've tried it.

Last night was awful as they didn't eat a thing and i panic thinking they'll be hungry all night. People keep saying leave them they'll eat when their hungry and i know i should be it is becoming a concern especially with my dd she's the worst and generally won't eat a thing.

Short of force feeding them which i would never do i am really at my wits end any advice would be a great help.

Thanks Clare

If your child doesn't eat their tea, do you think they will starve? They won't. Are you just worried because you think that they will think you are mean? They might! But so what? You're their Mum, not their best friend, and Mum's have to make sure the children get a healthy diet no matter what. It is essential!
In a morning, make them their breakfast, whatever that is, maybe porridge.
If they don't eat it fine, let them go to school and do not make an issue out of it. But do not give them anything else even if they beg and plead.
When they come home, do the same with dinner. Again, they get no supper if they didn't eat dinner no matter how they beg and cry.
They will not starve and it will not do them any harm!
After a couple of days they will learn that if they do not eat the food in front of them, they will go hungry. They will also learn that causing a fuss about things does not get them their own way. They will also learn respect and gratitude.
You have to be tough at times. That's why its called Tough Love.

gingin_2

My lovely mum was a health visitor and was very good to me when I had a fussy eating DS. She suggested that perhaps I was scaring him by serving him too big a plate of food and that if you just present them with just a very small amount, they will be more encouraged to eat it and you can praise them and go on from there.

I also taught DS to eat hs least favourite food first and save his favourite until last. It drives me mad now but does mean he eats all hs veg.

What are their weight and energy levels like?

positivelymummy

gingin wrote: »

My lovely mum was a health visitor and was very good to me when I had a fussy eating DS. She suggested that perhaps I was scaring him by serving him too big a plate of food and that if you just present them with just a very small amount, they will be more encouraged to eat it and you can praise them and go on from there.

I also taught DS to eat hs least favourite food first and save his favourite until last. It drives me mad now but does mean he eats all hs veg.

What are their weight and energy levels like?

i was just going to mention the portion sizes! i've got 2 girls who were (and still can be) fussy eaters, when i reduced the portion sizes they seemed to eat it better, maybe such a big plate full for tea seems overwhelming.

barbie_babe

What do they eat at lunch times? If they like fruit and yogurts at lunch time. Try these at breakfast time. (You may find they like a lot of different fruit)

Sit down with the children and look through a kiddies cook book for the evening meals and get them to cook them with you. (Even simple kids meals are filling if they are little)

My dd is nearly 13 and it took me a long time to realise that letting her eat what she liked(not junk) and helping me cook the family meals made life so much easier.