Do your toddlers eat what you eat?

[ghostpop]

I'm in a bit of a rut with my two, heavy rotation of meatballs, spaghetti bolegenese, cheesy pasta, sausages and fishfingers. Oh and homemade pizza.

I know people always say "just give them what you have!" but AIBU to think it's not that simple? This week me and dh have had halloumi salad, a spicy curry, tuna steak, a morrocan chicken stew thing (which I did offer leftovers of to the kids but they didn't touch it).

We eat together at the weekend so they get introduced to stuff then but in the week I just offer what I know they will probably eat tbh.

What are your meals that you can share with your toddlers?

@Sipperskipper yes this is how I feel, I love cooking and food so find it quite soul destroying to see nice stuff get thrown in the bin! So I go through phases of really trying to offer different stuff and phases of sticking with the classics I know they'll eat.

My lot are on a similar rotation to yours. They’ll also eat bits of things, so they’ll eat vegetables, plain rice and chicken but wouldn’t have anything with a sauce except spaghetti bolognese.

Yes and no. My toddler eats better than we do generally so I do give her separate meals quite often. Also timings don’t tend to work in the week as she’ll want dinner at 6.30 and we often eat after she’s gone to bed. Where we can we try and share ours but she generally eats better having things she knows and likes (or stealing ours when we don’t want her too).

I always offered the same as me, but with something on their plate I could guarantee they would eat as well.

That depended on what favour of weird fussiness each of them decided upon! DD1 was fine actually, DD2 went through a long phase of only eating raw fruit and veg (it was more annoying than it sounds!) and DD3 was a classically fussy plain pasta only child. It all passed eventually, as it does with most children and at 12, 10 and 7 they all eat pretty much anything.

We shall see what DS1 decides to throw at me to keep me on my toes when he becomes a toddler!

mine is 5 now but I've always just cooked us all the same and luckily he eats most things. He doesn't like curry so to be honest i just mix the meat/veg and rice with coconut milk which he really likes. We had lamb over weekend that did 2 meals roast dinner then leftovers. Tuesday I was at work we just all had omelettes and salad , Wednesday we had pitta pizzas I just do whatever topping anyone wants. Yesterday I cooked large ham joint so we had ham, veg and root veg mash. I'm use the rest for something today. With things like Moroccan stew I'd just give the chicken, veg and then whatever carb you had with it. We all eat at the same time so I guess that's easier

We tend to eat more child friendly food now than we did before but they generally eat what we do. Mine are 2 and 6.

Last night we had chilli, rice, cheese and tortilla crisps. They ate plain rice and cheese. Dd1 tried the tiniest bit of chilli, the two year old just pushed the bowl away.

Tonight it’s fake kfc so chicken goujons, fries, southern style gravy and some sort of veg. They will eat all of that.

If we have a curry I just make sure it’s of medium heat. Again they will eat the rice, both will have a little curry (normally eat the chicken out of the sauce) they will both eat some naan bread and try a bahji or samosa.

If we have chicken and chorizo traybake they will eat the chicken out of it and crusty bread with butter and some of the roast potatoes that’s about it.

I just always make sure there’s at least one part of the meal they will eat and there’s always fruit, yoghurt, toast or cereal if they’re still hungry.

Mine gets offered the same because I'm not cooking two meals (dietary requirements make it hard enough!) but she tends to not eat much dinner really so I don't worry too much. I do give her extra of the bits I know she'll eat like rice or chickpeas or add yoghurt to a spicier curry, but I don't change much! Raw fruit and veg is available to her during the day but she's quite good at eating raw veg, if she wasn't I'd probably focus more on things I know she likes!

My DS is at nursery full time during the week so he eats there and we eat in the evening after he’s gone to bed. At the weekends we try to eat together and I cook meals I know he’ll eat. Roast dinner, fish pie, pasta bake, shepherds pie, sausage casserole, risotto, bolognese are all safe choices. He’s not a big fan of chillis or curries at the moment so I try to do them during the week.

Yes it is really soul destroying OP, I found myself getting into arguments with her so I asked her to pick ten meals she likes and we rotate them. So the rule is now, here’s your dinner, you chose it take it or leave it there’s nothing else

Mine is quite picky and so will eat a little of the main meal but I tend to also cook something he will eat. Waffles and baked beans feature frequently as do peas.

Tuna pasta bake (homemade sauce with onion, carrot, celery, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes etc and not too much salt/sugar).

Omelettes with ham/cheese served with raw veggies.

Jacket potato with beans and cheese or tuna mayo.

Roast dinner with small amount of gravy for dipping.

Salmon, pasta, veggies.

Grilled chicken with pasta and homemade sauce and cheese and extra veg on the side.

Beef casserole, slow cooked and served with mash and green veg.

Shepherds pie and veg.

Fish pie and veg.

These are all regular meals in our house and dd has eaten them happily since being a baby. I just used to restrict salt and sugar content when she was really tiny.

I have a 3yo and a 6yo.

Things we can all eat together are fish pie, mild curry, spag bol.

3yo despises any vegetables so they have to be hidden in things. The 6yo doesn’t eat sauces really. It’s really hard finding things they will eat.

I could offer my children Halloumi salad and they wouldn’t eat it and then I’d say 'well that’s what’s for dinner if you dont eat it you'll be hungry' and they wouldn’t eat it and they’d be hungry and then lots of shitty behaviour would happen because they were hungry and I’d be in a bad mood because I was frustrated and we’d all be miserable. Also the 3yo would be constipated. He really will not eat an obvious vegetable.

So I’d rather give them things they will eat.

Yes, but in reality it's actually turned into, we eat what they eat, not they eat what we eat.

Our meals are a rotation of spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne, spaghetti and meatballs, pasta bake, jacket potatoes, eggs and chips/fish and chips, mild curry, roast dinner, chicken/lamb casserole, pizza, sausage and mash.

Dh and I just don't have anything adventurous anymore.

Yes we did, never have cooked separate food, even at a year I mashed up our foods. They have eaten curry, chilli etc from around 10 months. Obviously there's a few things that they wouldn't eat - salad for example, so I cut carrot sticks and cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes etc. Dd1 being autistic was a nightmare but spicy food she liked, go figure.

If you are having something they really don't care for then i would offer an alternative on that day but the exception not the norm

We always have eaten at 6.30-7pm even when they were babies do we ate together. As to chilli, add a bit of chopped fresh chilli when you add coriander at the end but kids can eat spice

Depends, but more on the time more than anything else...on a day when DS is still happy at dinner time we all eat together, on a day when he's cranky post nursery at 5pm I make him one of his favourites (eg pesto pasta or potato and baked beans)

I'm lucky though because his nursery does amazing food, my family are Italian and DHs are Filipino so he has a very varied diet

(Although the day he tried to mix black bean noodles and pasta sauce was multiculturalism gone too far! :) )

We have to cook separately sometimes OP. DH doesn't get home till 8.30pm on some shifts and DS is in bed by 6.30pm. On those days I will cook the meal ready for DS' dinner time and I'll have a mini dinner with him and then finish the rest off with DH later.

On nights like that where DH and I might have steaks, For example, I would buy DS a similar meat substitute and still do the same trimmings. Most food heats and saves brilliantly though. But then I am a fan of the slow cooker anyway. Also DS likes spicy and flavoured food anyway, guess I'm lucky with that.

I always thought mine would eat what I would but like most parenting I've discovered it doesn't work out quite how you imagine it.

Mine won't eat rice or anything remotely spicy (unless it's crisps ) we also eat a lot later than her so she only eats the same as us a few nights a week if it's something like spag bol or stew that I can then reheat for myself and DH later.

Like pp I get frustrated throwing away perfectly good food so go through cycles of trying new stuff then just giving her something I know she will eat like fish fingers or pesto pasta with added veg.

Bloody hell, we were so smug when DS1 was 2,he'd eat most things, including loads of fruit and veg and all the traditionally "problem" stuff. Fast forward to 4, and he's so fecking fussy we cook plain pasta with grated cheese pretty much every night! Oh he will also eat macaroni cheese, but has now said he doesn't like our pizza as it is not square. Slient screaming

I feed mine a lot of curry and I like it hot.

I just add natural yogurt or coconut milk to make theirs milder. Hoik some bits of meat / veg out, mix in Yog and add spoonfuls of sauce to taste as necessary. Helps cool it down so they can eat straight away too

Things like tuna etc, I'd feed them the same but maybe sub tuna out for a sausage or a scrambled egg or fish finger, but same rice/potatoes/veg whatever. And give them a small bit of tuna to try.

So I do steps towards the same without the meal being identical.

Equally some nights (yep, my two would refuse Halloumi and toddler won't yet eat any kind of raw veg or leaves) I give them weetabix with natural yog and fruit or tinned tomatoes (they call it tomato soup ) with cheese on toast.

I think eating together is lovely but I'm not sure it's worth the pain to insist on it every day. I probably manage 4 or 5 dinners a week together, that's an OK balance for me

I'm always dubious about the previous eating habits of people who claim children can just eat what they eat.

It would be highly unethical to give a toddler a stroganoff with the amount of brandy I throw in at the end. There's no way you can 'just add spices at the end' and get a curry that tastes like one where the spices have been properly fried and cooked in for hours. Making 'mild' versions of many foods that are supposed to be firey just ends up bland and pointless. I wouldn't be happy with giving the kids salty fatty delicious takeaway regularly, either.

So we have partly changed what we eat to put more emphasis on the things the kids like (spaghetti bolognese, sausage and mash etc) and one or two nights a week they have a kids only meal (something they love - chicken nuggets etc) and we have takeaway or something properly spicy etc.

Why wouldn't you offer your children spicy food? I've been eating chilli since I was toddling and still love hot food

It’s easy if you don’t eat salty, fatty takeaway type stuff and I like mild curry so it’s not hard to eat the same thing.

It’s a relief though my middle child wouldn’t.

Last time DN came for dinner I made moules mariniere she loves it and she's three, also loves prawns, calamari and all kinds of veg, won't eat a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets, though I don't think that's an issue!

I hate throwing food away, so whilst we do have a few meals that everyone will eat (roast/lasagne/chicken casserole) generally the stuff that DH and I like eating is too spicy/rich or has unusual flavour combinations for the children.
The people I know who eat with the children tend to just all eat blander meals and I would just rather cook twice.