Am at my wit's end with dd15s appalling eating habits.
She won't eat meals. She leaves the house without breakfast even though there is a choice of things she could have - cereals, toast,fruit etc. She only likes crap like Cookie Crisp and Nutella on toast which I don't mind buying for treats but not for every day. We have things like Fruit and Fibre, I buy white bread for her alone as she likes it, honey, jam, butter. We make her a packed lunch every day and she is allowed lunch money to go out with once a week, we prefer not to give it to her every day as she just buys more crap with it like chips, cans of Coke, etc. For dinner I try my best to make her meals she likes but as that basically extends to either really expensive food like Marks and Spencers ready meals that she gets at my mum's for treats or not hugely healthy stuff like nachos, tacos, fajitas. I do try to cater to her tastes but she pretty much rejects all that I offer up - stir fries, omelettes, pasta, pizza - I've even asked her to create a Pinterest board with ideas for food that she would like but whatever I try to make she just says she doesn't like the way I make it. Every meal time is a battle of her just rudely sitting there refusing to eat.
She is not overweight but is getting there, and is constantly bad tempered, tired and grumpy. I don't keep much in the house in the way of crisps and biscuits, though there is plenty to snack on. I buy things like mini cheddars, hula hoops, cereal bars, etc for snacks to take to school but have to hide them as otherwise she eats them all and there's none left for school. I always put out a piece of fruit for her too to take to school but often find it in her bin.
I'm not stupid, I do know that teenagers like to eat junk food. We're pretty relaxed at the weekend and I often give her and her sister money to go and get a Subway and a treat or get us all crisps and snacks for a Saturday night.
She gets a weekly allowance which we encourage her to save. We've told her that she and her sister of 12 are old enough this year to save up enough to buy all the members of the household a small gift and that we will match whatever they save. DD12 has thrown herself into this and has already bought one gift but DD15 is not interested and I think she's probably betting that we will bail her out.
Anyway she spends all of her weekly allowance on junk food which she buys on a Saturday, sits in her room, and eats. I don't like it but it's once a week so I let it go. However, she's now secured a babysitting job with a relative who pays her £10 weekly to look after her dcs. She's good at it, and we were pleased that she was earning her own money. However she has now taken to going to the shop every day after school and buying crap. 5 packs of cookies, crisps, etc. She then takes them back to her room, eats them and refuses to even pretend to eat dinner.
I know the relative well enough to ask if they would pay her in vouchers instead such as Amazon vouchers so she can't do this. Of course, she doesn't need to do the baby sitting any more so is under no obligation to accept. I know I will probably be accused of being controlling but I am so worried about her eating habits!
I know it is her money to earn and I have no right to say what she spends it on, but I also want her to eat properly!
Please no flaming or insults, but please post if you have advice or think I could be doing something differently or better. I am after constructive suggestions and aware that there is probably a lot I could be doing that I haven't thought of.