Meals for kids, same as rest or differant?

wanderlust_wannabe

must admit I hadn't read the all the articles and so was unaware about the aspergers factor in jellyhead's case.

However, I still stick by what I said for the 99% of faddy kids who are like this because they are used to getting there own way.

jellyhead

my kid is 8 so too young for wine lol! sorry to disagree but my child will easily go for 5 days on nothing but water if there's nothing he wants to eat. he doesn't mind starving, it's preferable to having food he dislikes in his throat. maybe kids who don't have special needs would capitulate sooner if their reasons for refusing foods are different.

i do see your point. i have adult cousins who're always ill because they've grown up on a diet of wheat and not much else, were always allowed to decide what they'd eat and were allowed to be very faddy. my nephews are the same, they don't eat fruit or veg and always have stomach problems, again their diet is mostly wheat and dairy (and mcdonalds far too often). it's not like that in our house - my son HAS TO eat fruit and veg, if he doesn't really like anything on offer he has to choose the one he hates least (this only applies to fruit and veg though, he can avoid dairy and meat). i'd never let him go a day without eating fruit or veg, unlike other kids we know. he has to clear his plate, he can't decide he doesn't like something after asking me to cook it - again that doesn't happen with my nephews - they 'change their mind'. i don't think i'm doing anything wrong with my son, he understands about different food groups, about the need for iron and calcium when avoiding meat and dairy, and which foods contain them. he follows rules, he eats fruit and veg and drinks plenty of water (i never understood children who won't drink water) and doesn't fill up on empty calories. if we eat out he has plain rice or pasta, tries a bit of 'normal' food but doesn't often eat it then has an apple at home. he's not allowed sweets or any treats if he hasn't eaten a balanced meal. sorry but i'm happy to stick to our rules, i think when he grows up he'll eat healthily, if a bit fussily.

Quackers

wanderlust_wannabe wrote:

To sum up - it's your house, your money your spending on grub so give them what you eat! If they don't like it they can wait until tomorrow and see if they want that. It's about who sets the rules and who rules the roost.

Anyway whats wrong with sitting down at 8pm and having an evening meal together? Give them a couple of slices of toast to tide themover after school and them sit down at 8 and have a grown up evening meal. It's how meals are eaten together on the continent all the time, to make it more appealing let them start sampling a glass of wine with they're evening meal. A good way of introducing responsible drinking to the kids.

And if people are happy to do as they please and cook various meals in their house then what difference does it make? As Jellyhead (I hope you dont mind me using you as an example) has mentioned she would rather cook a different healthy meal that her son would eat than put a meal in front of him that will go in the bin. Which is more wasteful I wonder?

We have different meals and different mealtimes in our house due to lots of different reasons but we are happy, it suits us and I do not see a problem with it.

All sitting down to a meal together at 8pm - mmmmmmm, one of mine is in bed, hubby is at work, and I am watching Eastenders

jellyhead

ooops, you all posted while i was writing mine, and helping spud with homework. even though i make a separate meal (usually he eats part of what we're eating though) for spud i can happily criticise other parents for allowing their kids to be faddy :rotfl: the looks on kids faces when they realise that we don't buy coke, ever, is priceless :-) aren't i evil.

Edinburghlass_2

As I have already posted on this thread being made to eat what was in front of me did not turn me into someone who will eat anything.

I have a friend who as a child was not made to try or eat anything they didn't like, I was. End result two people who are fussy eaters.:rolleyes:

Neither of our sets of parents are bad parents because they took different stances on this subject.

Spendless

E'lass -there are very few foods I dislike but my younger sister faddy eater as a kid is just as bad as an adult.

My 2 yr old little girl will eat just about anything. Her 5 yr old brother announces he doesn't like things even before trying.

So both me and my mum have had 2 kids, one being a faddy eater the other not. The youngest in her case, the eldest in mine. Same set of parents in both cases.

gravitytolls

I'm with Hillstep, but in reality it's not so easy.

I'm all for preparing the same meal, but cooking it twice, if necassary.

Also, get them to help you i.e make your own dippers with chicken breast. You can sllice it, they can take it turns to sip the strips into flour, egg and breadcrumbs; then hopefully they'll eat it cos they made it.

Good luck.

crutches

we have a large family so it suits us to cook like this....
giant pan of pasta,1/2 served with pesto ,1 2 with tomato based sauce.OR
giant pan of couscous,1 pan of curry,1 pan of stew(ie curry unspiced !).OR
big bowl of salad,plates of eggs,meat etc,help selves to it.
It all gets eaten,there is the illusion of choice and dislikes can be overcome by seeing how much others are enjoying the food that you didn't choose.