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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Eat it or leave it - AIBU?

59 replies

KnittingForMittens · 14/06/2019 07:56

I am a Mum of 1 who cooks from scratch 95% of the time. However my DS who is nearly 3 is very, very fussy with food and he will refuse to eat home cooked meals. I make child friendly meals like pasta, homemade burgers and chips, mild chicken curries, bangers and mash, omelette and salad, etc. but he refuses to eat any of it! The only things he will eat are frozen convenience foods like chicken nuggets, garlic bread, lamb burger from the packet. He refuses to eat any vegetables as well. He eats fruit but he will not touch veg. He used to love peas but now he spits it out and goes "yuck yuck" Angry

I have had enough of it now. I always make home cooked food, I serve us all a portion and he just won't touch it. His typical meal plan is porridge for breakfast, an oat bar for snack, ham sandwich and a banana for lunch, pear or another fruit for snack, then dinner along with yoghurt for pudding and a cup of milk before going to bed except he will not eat dinner. I'm trying to set a good example by making proper nutritious meals but it clearly is not working and starting to make me realise that those who shop at Iceland and buying convenience food is because their kids are more likely to eat it

I am worried that I am being horrible by not giving him anything else to eat but I do not want to have to cook two separate meals all the time just because he refuses to eat it. My Mum always said if I didn't eat my food then I'd have to go bed starving... Perhaps that's old school but it clearly didn't do me no harm. Blush

OP posts:
TrumpALump · 14/06/2019 17:27

If he is set on freezer chicken nuggets then you could make some yourself and freeze them. If he sees you taking them out the freezer maybe that would work.

  1. Chop up a chicken breast - Bowl 1
  2. Whisk up a couple of eggs - Bowl 2
  3. Crush up a bunch of cornflakes - Bowl 3

Dip each chunk in bowl 2 then 3.
Lay on a baking paper on a tray.
Oven for 15 minutes

Super easy then freeze them.

ErrolTheDragon · 14/06/2019 17:36

Some bought chicken goujon type things are absolutely fine. And honestly there's not much wrong with a decent fish finger.

RussianSpamBot · 14/06/2019 17:39

TBH that is not a terribly small amount for a toddler. Some of them just don't like eating that much.

I think also with the convenience food, it's 'safe'. It always tastes the same. That has a great deal of value and if you look at the evolutionary reasons for toddler fussiness, it makes sense. That said, I'd agree it's worth trying to make your own too, though it's true that things like bought burgers etc can be good quality.

ErrolTheDragon · 14/06/2019 17:52

There's some guidance on portion sizes for toddlers in here, and some of the other pages linked to may be useful.

www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/nutrition/Pages/Serving-Sizes-for-Toddlers.aspx

The sample meal ideas are based on a 2yr old so the OP might need to scale up a bit but notice there's a lot of fractions in there - half a sandwich, half an apple...

KnittingForMittens · 14/06/2019 20:00

Oh my goodness... well this evening he has eaten all of his dinner! What on Earth was that? It was a homemade chicken curry and rice. I think you all have had your fingers crossed and prayed for me lol! I'm a happy lady. Tomorrow may be a different story.

OP posts:
KnittingForMittens · 14/06/2019 20:01

@ErrolTheDragon that's really interesting! Thank you. I do think portion sizes for him can be quite big but he tends to ask for more food when I half his portion sizes

OP posts:
FancyAPint · 14/06/2019 20:10

Keep meal times positive, no fuss or attention for not eating (praise for eating though - name the praise i.e good trying/eating, even if he only licks it!), should only be a nice, sociable family time, so that he looks forward to a nice time (he will sense your anxiety and get anxious himself, even facial expressions are a give away).
You should be eating too at the same time (even if only some veggies).
Let him touch/expolre the food.
Only clean him/area up once at the end of the meal (so as not to teach him food is 'dirty').
No toys/tv at meal time, distraction only works in the short term for this.
Encourage him to help with shopping, give him a shopping (in pictures) list esp fruit/veggies.
Check your portions (other person gave link earlier).
Look at what he eats over a week - not a day, they are less hungry some days than others.

WiddlinDiddlin · 14/06/2019 22:15

@FilthyforFirth
Not at all, I did say, put stuff out, stuff you know he likes stuff you aren't sure on and some stuff he's refused before...

But then let the kid choose, no pressure (and saying 'ooh just try this' etc IS pressure) at all.

TrumpALump · 15/06/2019 11:30

That's great @KnittingForMittens DD loves a curry. Maybe try a few more stronger flavours. He might just prefer them. DS hates strong flavours but DD loves curry, anything spicy and her favourite snack is anchovy wrapped olives stuffed with peppers. They are twins so I have my own little experiment going on here Grin

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