Picky Children-How To Reducate then to OS eating?

taplady

Fizog wrote:

I have one fussy eater now 16, 6ft never ill and one who hoovers anything and is disgustingly healthy too. Same food, same upbringing ... go figure.I gave up being angry when he was about two. I just cook meals we will all eat something of Mr fussy eats anything that was alive so makes it a bit easier and he has added to his menu since he was two but I figured he was the loser. Can't force a horse to drink!!! My health visitor told me to stop fussing as his favourite food was weetabix. She had one child who would only eat brussel sprouts and another nothing but dried spaghetti on her books. On the plus side Mr fussy has never eaten sweets, crisps, pizza, fizzy drinks or fatty foods which may account for his rude health.

What a coincidense, your Mr Fussy sounds exactly the same as mine!:D 16, over 6ft and healthy but a very restricted eater and one who also survived on weetabix as a toddler:rolleyes: my younger son at 14 is a better eater but still not as healthy as I would like. I gave up worrying about him as he was obviously ok.He does like biscuits and chocolate and crisps but I dont but them anymore so he has to go without or buy his own!;) Since he met his GF he has tried veggie chilli and soup:eek:
At home he survives on pizza, fish and chips and bacon rolls, toast and cereal with no milk.Thats it! :rolleyes:

dianadors

I hide veg (courgettes, aubergines, peppers, onions etc oven roasted)pureed into a tin of tomatoes for pasta, spread on Pizza etc.

We also have meals which are much more "fun" than takeaways ie Mexican, spanish, italian, chinese "themed" meals. The Mexican one is always popular with totilla wraps. I find that it helps to invite their friends sometimes - the ones who will eat anything, this seems to encourage my own to try things that they previously turned their noses up at. I also tell them if they go to a friends house for tea, they have to eat what is put in front of them or they can't go again - this has worked well in the past too.

Dont give in - keep putting things on their plates. Eventually they will eat it. Also get them involved with preparing it.

JoeyG

It can work both ways though!

I was a very fussy eater right until I left home (aged 27), I now eat alot of mediterranean food (pasta, fish, white meat, bread, olives)... My mum used to try and feed me things like cottage pie, beef stew, and things like that, which I hated! (and still do)... my mum hates fish so we only had it about once a month.

I'm sure if I tried to make my mum eat 4 portions of fish a week (like you should) she would be just as bad as me.

sticher

I have terrible problems getting my 8 year old son to eat regular meals and my 13 year old, although eating healthily still wont eat the same meal as us. The problem I have with the 13yo is he won't eat a sauce of any kind - so any made up dish is a no no (saying that, my Mum was like that too).

The 8 yr old is my real worry. He lives on marmite sandwiches (every single day) and pancakes. Over the years his diet has changed - he used to eat pasta, but now will only eat spaghetti after a huge battle, and then only on a good day. The trouble is that what he does eat is quite healthy, but not a 'normal' meal. This is a list of all the foods he will eat:

Raw carrots, cucumber, marmite (on bread or crackers or wheetabix), pepperami sausages (used to eat normal ones, but the gristle turns him off!), pancakes (homemade with soya milk) and occasionally a green apple. I did bribe him recently and he ate a banana. Chicken Nuggets and fries.

Recently we had a major break through - we went to a restuarant where he at some breaded chicken and chips (I had never know him to eat normal chips before or anything other than nuggets - but I had starved him all day and told him he would have to eat or stay home.)

The trouble is that I am not sure if he is just fussy or really has a problem - he says he will never go on school trips because he won't want to eat the food and he will not even sit at the table if there are certain foods around. Sometimes I think maybe I have been too soft, but my middle son eats everything - even stuff he says he doesn't really like!

Psykicpup

I used to quiz my kids mates on what they ate then invite them to tea...my daughter wouldnt eat sausages when one of her friends said she didnt so I invited a different friend who loved chicken (my dd had stopped eating that too) - its only polite to serve a guest something they like & 'I'm not cooking half a dozen different meals thank you' - peer pressure has a good side too!

Spendi

My daughter is also a really fussy eater, shes 6 and ive tried and tried with her and she just wont eat.

She also likes some things one week and then wont eat them the next, im sure im just to soft with her and need to toughen up.

Her daily food intake at the minute is
Breakfast - rice krispies without milk
Lunch - bread & butter sandwich ( she wont have anything in it ), a yoghurt, a packet of crisps and a cereal bar
Snack - packet of crisps
Tea - this is where the nightmare begins, unless its plain pasta with butter on, rice, turkey shape, chips or a potato waffle i have a fight on my hands

I wouldnt say im super healthy but i love meat and veg, eat a varied diet and she wont touch it. Tonight ive got an apple and rasberry crumble cooking and a lime chicken curry with rice, i will be lucky if she even agrees to eat the rice, she probably wont even touch the pudding