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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Other peoples fussy eaters.

27 replies

oflip · 17/12/2011 15:43

So i have my friends boy today, he is 2, gorgeous little chappy.
Her dh brought him at 12.30, he was hungry. She has mentioned that he wont eat certain stuff previously,so i did kinda know.

When i asked what will he have, her dh said, well what have you got..so listed off sandwiches.."oh no, he wont eat sandwiches"
What about beans on toast.."no"
several items later, i said, "ok then, what does he normally eat...""
chicken nuggets" came the reply.
so i went toput the nuggets on a baking tray and her dh said..."oh no, he will only eat 3"

SO now, im putting my oven on to heat up 3 nuggets while the rest of the house are eating ham sandwiches....

Now i think this is unreasonable, the child was hungry and her dh was standing over me expectantly and with no signs that he finds this unreasonable..so i made them.

Child didnt eat them, says doesnt like taste.

I have him till 5.30 and he is going to be very hungry by then. Ive got laods in but he doesnt like anything at all that i offer.

Its difficult isnt it.

OP posts:
squeakytoy · 17/12/2011 15:45

I bet he will eat whatever your own are having, once his parents have disappeared.

thisisyesterday · 17/12/2011 15:46

well you never know., you might find that with mummy and daddy not there, and no alternative options, he may well just eat what the rest of you have!

really, if he is that fussy, they should maybe have brought something they know he will eat

Original poster
oflip · 17/12/2011 15:47

will try sarny, cant bear to think of him as being hungry Sad

OP posts:
HexagonalQueenOfTheSummer · 17/12/2011 15:47

I would just offer him whatever everyone else is having, and if he doesn't eat it then he can go hungry. Sounds like his parents pander to his whims at home.

thisisyesterday · 17/12/2011 15:48

i wouldn't. just make food. offer. if he doesn't eat he can't be that hungry

rhondajean · 17/12/2011 15:49

Just make him what you are having and dish it up and dont make a fuss, see what happens.

ilovesooty · 17/12/2011 15:50

Why didn't they feed him before he came?

squeakytoy · 17/12/2011 15:51

What I dont get though, if he was hungry at 12.30, why has it taken over 3 hours to heat up 3 nuggets, or ask on here for advice? Confused

HexagonalQueenOfTheSummer · 17/12/2011 15:51

And I would have told the dad you didn't have any chicken nuggets.

squeakytoy · 17/12/2011 15:52

Ignore my last post, I re-read and see he wouldnt eat them then.. oh well.. its not long till 5.30.. he can eat when he gets home.

inmysparetime · 17/12/2011 15:52

2 year olds actually need very little food, so I wouldn't worry about him going hungry. I think I read somewhere they need about 8 spoonfuls of food every couple of days. He will eat if he's hungry.
Leave the nuggets on the table and let him go play. You may well find when the focus is off him he comes back to the table and eats them while nobody's looking.

Original poster
oflip · 17/12/2011 15:53

Ive also got my other friends 1 year old coming at 4 for an overnight stay..im having a toddlertastic day today!
I should be a CM really!
Thank goodness she eats everything in sight!!

OP posts:
squeakytoy · 17/12/2011 15:53

I think I read somewhere they need about 8 spoonfuls of food every couple of days.

Are you sure that isnt snakes rather than children?? Confused Grin

Original poster
oflip · 17/12/2011 15:55

squeeky, not asking for advice, i heated them and presented them to him by 1, just watching him play and thinking about the unreasonableness of it.

OP posts:
Original poster
oflip · 17/12/2011 15:57

o hi see, i said "now i am putting 3 niggets on...

also, completely lying about the watching him play, im watching him watch roary the racing car...thats tripe init, but he LOVES it. i could eat him, he is just scrummy.

OP posts:
rhondajean · 17/12/2011 15:57

Hahaha squeaky, thats exactly what I thought too!

Its based on calories for children, they could have 8 spoonfuls of say blanched spinach (very good for nutrients but no energy) if it was based on that.

That poor wee lad is hardly having a balanced diet though is he?

sleeplessinderbyshire · 17/12/2011 15:58

mine is a total nightmare eater so I often bring my own food with me. Will he eat a yohurt or an handful of shreddies, they are major staples at my house

Marymaryalittlecontrary · 17/12/2011 16:15

My mum used to take a jar of peanut butter with her if we visited anyone as my brother was really fussy so if he wouldn't eat whatever was on offer most people had bread to have the peanut butter on.

My 4 year old nephew is quite fussy. When he started school he wasn't eating much of his school dinner but his mum didn't want to give him packed lunch as he 'won't eat sandwiches' and she didn't really know what to give him. In October it was a nice day so we had a picnic lunch with my niece who is a few years older than him. Because she was eating sandwiches he ate sandwiches!

inmysparetime · 17/12/2011 16:18

Squeaky, definitely childrenGrin
Children grow a lot from age 1-2, then stop for a bit. Parents then get stressed as their DC goes from eating everything in sight to eating barely anything. They then try anything to get their DC to eat, resulting in faddiness.
I work with 2-3 year olds, and generally expect them to eat 1 or 2 meals a day. Those who eat well at dinner are generally considered by their parents to be "good" eaters, while those who eat well at breakfast are viewed as "problem" eaters.
OP, no harm will come from the child missing a meal or two, in fact not making a fuss may take the stress and attention away from eating, which may help when he eventually does get hungry.

inmysparetime · 17/12/2011 16:20

Calorie-wise, about 200-300 calories a day on average is plenty to keep a 2 year old going.

Dawndonnathatchristmasiscoming · 17/12/2011 16:21

I have three children with SN. I take stuff they will eat with me.

BalloonSlayer · 17/12/2011 16:24

I have 2 fussy eaters and one with bad food allergies.

I always take food with me that they can/will eat if I am in any doubt. And I am very apologetic about doing this.

To bring a child who is fussy to a house with nothing then say "well what have you got?" is plain rude.

rhondajean · 17/12/2011 16:28

Im pretty sure its nearer 1200 than 200 calories at that age.

rhondajean · 17/12/2011 16:29

And also that its better fed to them in smaller portions throughout the day than one or two big meals, be that breakfast OR dinner.

inmysparetime · 17/12/2011 16:54

NHS is surprisingly cagey about calories for kids, but google says 1000 per day.
I'm sure Tanya Byron said 200-300 on House of Tiny Tearaways one time, but it was a while ago, and the kids on there had lots of problemsSad