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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to hate having to decide what the bin eats every day

228 replies

3kidsinsane · 11/10/2021 22:11

I have 3 kids and it drives me nuts having to come up with things to eat that suit everyone for dinner every night. Guaranteed somebody doesn't like it. I feel that the bin is the best fed in our house. DD2 has texture, colour and shape issues with food (if they are "wrong" then it's in the bin) If I get it wrong once then that's the food off the safe list because she doesn't trust it anymore. The other 2 aren't too bad but have phases. I can't remember the last time we had something like a roast dinner where everyone was happy

OP posts:
Jerrysgonnabeacableboy · 12/10/2021 06:04

Kids eat in color on Instagram is good. I like her approach, it's very peace-giving.

People who think it's just a bit of fussiness will never understand and you should ignore them.

IEatEverything · 12/10/2021 06:23

I feel for you OP, that sounds exhausting.

Also, just to say I normally eat everything happily, but during pregnancy I became impossibly fussy, couldn't tolerate fruit, veg, anything wholemeal, or indeee most foods, would often like a PP's child request/buy something only to find I couldn't bear the thought of even cooking it. Or would go in a supermarket looking for a pizza I felt I could eat and come out empty handed and go home and be sick. I was reduced to things like brioche rolls, angel delight, lemon mousse, Maryland cookies and potato. Until I got Ondansetron for nausea and finally I could eat cereal and healthy meals again, only a few foods eg ham were still a problem. Of course I'm not saying your daughter needs meds (or is pregnant!), just saying these weird aversions are a very real thing the body can do and even as a rational adult wanting to nourish a baby it was not something I could overcome in any way until the medication. I'm happily back to eating everything now. Hormones suck for me and I was stressed/anxious too. Sympathy to your DD, it's not a nice way to feel, whatever the cause. Hope the two of you find some things that work for her or ways of coping.

Easterndream · 12/10/2021 06:33

If you are able I would cook a normal family meal, giving variety of foods etc so your other children are not being conditioned/ have a poor diet because of dd2. then cook hers separately, as a rota every week. She can obviously be encouraged to try the other meal if she can as well as her own. If you suspect that this is part of a bigger difficulty ( ie sen) you need to start thinking about balancing the family. You and your other children need to eat "normally" and dd2, at the moment needs to have safe food. You can't force her to eat everything if she can't cope, but the rest of family need healthy food too.

SpidersAreShitheads · 12/10/2021 06:40

Ignore the "if they don't eat it they go without" crew. They clearly have absolutely no idea about parenting a child with additional needs who has sensory or food difficulties. I've got two autistic DC and we've gotten to a relatively good point right now, it's a been a right bastard over the years. I could have written a list like you a few years back - I sat on the pavement outside my house once and cried with frustration.

Bit of a weird suggestion - do you allow electronics at the table? Or have a TV on? I know this is terrible blah blah but actually we found that the distraction worked a bloody treat! Without the complete focus on the food, and being distracted by a favourite show, my DC have gradually gotten better at eating. It might not work for everything, but for those borderline things it might help - and it might help with any anxieties which are present. Texture/sensory issues aren't going to magically disappear but distraction is a very effective technique which I rely on for all kinds of issues!

Also, you might already do this and if I've missed it, I apologise but I never, ever comment on how much they've eaten, or look frustrated with food that's left over. Expectations and demands ramp up anxiety in autistic children/DC with associated sensory disorders and it makes it even more of a battle. One of the primary presenting features for autistic girls is anxiety, and that typically manifests as control. Although it sounds as if she has sensory issues, it also sounds as if there's a lot of anxiety/control issues for her too. Anything you can do to lessen demands/expectations/anxiety will help.

You'll have to judge what works best for you re filling up her plate vs doing a help yourself buffet style. I used to get very anxious with a big plate of food when I was with my ex as he expected me to eat most/all of whatever was on there. (I'm autistic). My DP now doesn't give a shite what I eat, and I feel totally fine with a full plate of food now because there's no pressure.

In contrast, my DS will eat what's served onto his plate and not a mouthful more. We're only just venturing into buffet-style eating now - he found that quite hard. One of the things that is usually recommended for autistic children is a defined "finish" - no matter what task you are doing. That can make a buffet tricky for some, because how do you know when you're supposed to have finished? Not having a defined amount of food can be more stressful and provoke anxiety about how much you "should" take. Different approaches work for different kids, depending on their anxieties. It's worth trying both and seeing what works better.

Good luck, I know how hard it is. And do push for the appointment - my DS was diagnosed at age 4, but his twin sister wasn't diagnosed til she was 10. Girls get missed by the system because it just looks like fussiness and anxiety but there's so much more going on beneath the surface.

Lightisnotwhite · 12/10/2021 06:43

@Jerrysgonnabeacableboy

Kids eat in color on Instagram is good. I like her approach, it's very peace-giving.

People who think it's just a bit of fussiness will never understand and you should ignore them.

I do think people don’t understand. However wasting food is bad practice.

Perhaps taking the emphasis off “family” meal times. Make some food. Let them eat it when they want it. I know the whole sit round the table thing is meant to be great but it’s not working. Sit round the table and do a jigsaw. Dinner is turning into a battleground.

kateluvscats · 12/10/2021 06:44

My daughter is just like yours, will not eat anything mixed together, for example bolognaise. The solution, a tray of food in small bowls, cucumber, carrot sticks, cubes of cheese, yogurt, crackers, etc. Have it most days, she's maintaining her weight and she's healthy. Has reduced the stress massively.

LouLou789 · 12/10/2021 06:48

@ApricotShandy brilliant post. Exactly what I was thinking, except you said it better

WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor · 12/10/2021 06:56

There is a program called ‘fun with food’ aimed at children with Autism. I’m sure there are other evidenced based programs too. Either research the hell out of one and try to do it or get professional help (sensory trained OT). This isn’t just a fussy eater, she is terrified.

Harlequin1088 · 12/10/2021 07:01

Yeah sorry I wouldn't be putting up with that. I'm in the camp of eat it or go without. I don't believe in making different meals for everyone in the household. You're not a restaurant. You'll drive yourself crazy doing this for the rest of your days.

What do you suppose children in disadvantaged homes/poor countries do? Do you reckon they get hung up on the shape of their food? Or do you reckon they're grateful for every morsel? There's your answer.

BreatheAndFocus · 12/10/2021 07:14

If your DD has suspected autism, then so be it, but I don’t like the way everything to do with food is dismissed/condoned by “must be on the spectrum”. There are many reasons why children have disordered eating of various kinds. Yes, autism is one of them but there are a whole lot more, sometimes intertwined.

I think there’s a balance between always providing a safe food as part of a meal, and pandering to every whim. A friend’s DS has had numerous problems after being totally pandered to over food. The psychologist said the way he was treated actually reinforced and ingrained his eating abnormalities.

Her top tips were to provide a selection of foods, and not to react eg DC says they don’t like X, smile and say brightly “OK” and move on. This boy was given a program of new foods too but it took a long time, and the reason for that was because he’d been overly catered to.

Not every child with food issues has autism.

toomuchlaundry · 12/10/2021 07:15

@Harlequin1088 I’m assuming some of them will die.

I am sure there are some children who are being fussy who could actually eat a more varied diet, but there are many others who have sensory issues etc where eating meals can be an awful experience for them which in turn can make preparing meals a stressful experience, like for the OP.

Icannever · 12/10/2021 07:16

We have one child like this and I just adapt what we are eating to suit him or keep a supply of food he likes that can be made easily as an alternative to what we are eating. For example if we are eating a roast chicken dinner, he will have plain chicken, (chopped up so nothing looks odd on it), a Yorkshire pudding or roast potato and instead of cooked veg, I leave him some raw carrots etc which he will eat. So he has a plate with a few separate items on it, all separate, all safe.

If we eat fajitas, he has the chicken separate, wrap separate and tomatoes and cucumber separate.

Curry he has chicken separate (rinced so no sauce) and plain rice (in its own bowl) with some chopped up veg or fruit on the side.

If we eat something like lasagne that can’t be separated he has some type of cold meat, chicken nuggets or boiled eggs with fruit and raw veg
It sounds like a faff but it just take an extra minute or two really now I am in the routine and it means he has a healthy diet and we have no stress.

I second tv at dinner though, the distraction helps him eat all the healthy bits and not think about what everyone else is eating which makes him feel sick. Sometimes he eats his on the couch with a tray.
It was kind of a case of having to change my mindset about family dinner but now I have there is less stress andno real waste

Morph2lcfc · 12/10/2021 07:21

@Harlequin1088

Yeah sorry I wouldn't be putting up with that. I'm in the camp of eat it or go without. I don't believe in making different meals for everyone in the household. You're not a restaurant. You'll drive yourself crazy doing this for the rest of your days.

What do you suppose children in disadvantaged homes/poor countries do? Do you reckon they get hung up on the shape of their food? Or do you reckon they're grateful for every morsel? There's your answer.

Autistic children exist in every walk of life and there will be children from disadvantaged/ poor countries that have severe food aversions. The reality is they prob just end up dying, I don’t think this is what we should be aspiring to. It is already a fact that autistic people in the uk are twice as likely to die prematurely than the general population.

I’m lucky in that I don’t have a child with a severe food aversion but I do have an asd child and have seen enough in other areas from parents of nt children, who quite frankly have it easy, patting themselves on the back for their fantastic parenting and offering out advice when they don’t have the first clue. Like I said my child doesn’t have a good aversion so the eating when hungry would prob work for him but I have enough empathy and awareness of what other people around me are going through to know this isn’t the case for all

TheHoundsofLove · 12/10/2021 07:35

@BreatheAndFocus

If your DD has suspected autism, then so be it, but I don’t like the way everything to do with food is dismissed/condoned by “must be on the spectrum”. There are many reasons why children have disordered eating of various kinds. Yes, autism is one of them but there are a whole lot more, sometimes intertwined.

I think there’s a balance between always providing a safe food as part of a meal, and pandering to every whim. A friend’s DS has had numerous problems after being totally pandered to over food. The psychologist said the way he was treated actually reinforced and ingrained his eating abnormalities.

Her top tips were to provide a selection of foods, and not to react eg DC says they don’t like X, smile and say brightly “OK” and move on. This boy was given a program of new foods too but it took a long time, and the reason for that was because he’d been overly catered to.

Not every child with food issues has autism.

I totally agree with you. My son is very 'fussy' but doesn't have any SN. I say 'fussy', but that's not really the right word as I do think he finds lots of foods/textures genuinely unpleasant. It's so difficult to get the balance right between not making every meal a battleground / getting some actual nutrition into him / not catering to every whim and potentially making the issue worse.
HalfSiblingsMadeContact · 12/10/2021 07:35

My eldest has a lot of sensory issues (and was indeed eventually diagnosed ASD). In retrospect I can appreciate the issues we had with food textures when she was little ... 11 or 12 was when she developed an aversion to meat, but, knowing how concerned we'd been when her cousin became vegetarian age 6, tried to hide it - which she could as she was at boarding school (long positive story behind that, and her choice). The day it came to a head was a roast dinner at home when she'd been involved in choosing the leg of lamb!

I now understand just how lucky we've been that her overall eating has been fairly good but post because of a couple of things we've discovered.

The biggy is that if she's upset or overtired she can't eat, if she gets hungry she can drop her blood sugar and not only become a bit confused but definitely can't eat. Regular mealtimes are thus important and backup options a good idea when doing something out of routine. We've had a few longhaul flights (relatives in Australia) and a couple of cheese sandwiches are now essential carry-on baggage for her; if the food served smells funny she can eat a sandwich and then cope with working out what else on her tray she can now eat. She's now late teens.

With your DD2 I'd agree with rechecking with the GP if you haven't recently, to update referrals including the food information (and discuss whether it warrants going private). She's heading towards puberty and I'd want to use that growth period to help her learn to help herself expand her food range. Maybe a dietician can help support that. Aim for a combination of "safety" (anti-anxiety) and "control" while helping her strengthen her rational understanding of what she eats and what is needed in a healthy diet?

Good luck.

daisypond · 12/10/2021 07:38

I was like this - perhaps worse - as a child. I ate no hot, cooked food ever. I lived on sandwiches, fruit, cheese, milk and cereal. I never ate anything that resembled a “meal”. No pasta, rice, potatoes. No meat. No vegetables. I was a highly anxious child. It only gradually got better when I went to university- I have a strong memory of trying my first chips at about age 19. By my early 20s I had cured myself and I now eat everything with no food trauma at all.

AccidentallyOnPurpose · 12/10/2021 07:42

@Harlequin1088

Yeah sorry I wouldn't be putting up with that. I'm in the camp of eat it or go without. I don't believe in making different meals for everyone in the household. You're not a restaurant. You'll drive yourself crazy doing this for the rest of your days.

What do you suppose children in disadvantaged homes/poor countries do? Do you reckon they get hung up on the shape of their food? Or do you reckon they're grateful for every morsel? There's your answer.

Have you ever had to feed a child like that? How long would you watch them go without? A day? Three? A week? Two weeks? It's easy to say you wouldn't put up with it when you haven't experienced it.
LoislovesStewie · 12/10/2021 07:46

My adult son has ASD, he just will not eat certain foods, certain coloured foods, certain textures. I have literally cooked him different meals forever. I can't offer any advice, but now he is an adult he will cook for himself and I can at least rest easy knowing that he is eating. When he was young he would starve rather than eat the 'wrong' food. He also liked his food on different plates according to what it was;so veg on one plate, meat on another, and he didn't like 'sloppy' food either. Everything was rather on the dry side. He has got better as he has got older, although I think he will never be as other people.
And don't get me started on his hygiene standards; an operating theatre wouldn't be as sterile.

Luminousnose · 12/10/2021 07:47

It probably won’t help if your DD is SN, but for ordinarily fussy children, I’d say don’t worry. My DD wouldn’t eat eggs, cheese or tomatoes. No casseroles or creamy sauces. Then she grew up and got a serious boyfriend. At 19 she ‘discovered’ all of these. Now loves them all. (Good job as she also decided to go veggie.)

ChristinaKulikova · 12/10/2021 07:47

Come on! A man needs food. If smb wants to eat then he will eat any food offered. I suppose that 3 meals a day are best nutrition variant. Without snacks. Exception for some fruit maybe. Some porridge for breakfast, a sandwich after at 7 am. A plate of soup, or meat with garnish for lanch. And cud's with honey for dinner. If DD omits any of meals she will be enough hungry to eat next one.

ChristinaKulikova · 12/10/2021 07:48

@WorraLiberty

Chicken nuggets need to have the tail and be the yellowy colour Pizza has to have the correct ratio of sauce, cheese and occasionally pepperoni (it also has to be built by her so she knows it's ok) Spaghetti bolognese needs to be dolmio sauce, 5% mince and spaghetti (no other pasta is acceptable) Lasagne is only ok if it's a perfect square Mince and potatoes need to be the right consistency Chicken burgers need to be on a brioche roll and the cheese needs to be the right shade of orange

OK, you haven't said whether your child has SN.

Does she? If not, then that takes the piss.

She didn't eat dinner for 6 days or she didn't eat a single morsel of food for 6 days?

What is a SN?
fluffythedragonslayer · 12/10/2021 07:50

My middle child has massive food issues. He is of an age where he should have grown out of it and I have treated him no different to the other two (here's your dinner, eat it or don't) but there is literally about 5 things he eats. It's beginning to make life difficult if we want to go out for meals, most places he will literally just have a bowl of chips.
But I make dinner, he doesn't eat it, I rescue what I can for my lunch the next day, he makes himself a sandwich and that's that.
My youngest is fussy but is trying hard to eat new things, middle stubborn boy just refuses. I think he will only eat potato waffles forever.

AccidentallyOnPurpose · 12/10/2021 07:51

@ChristinaKulikova

Come on! A man needs food. If smb wants to eat then he will eat any food offered. I suppose that 3 meals a day are best nutrition variant. Without snacks. Exception for some fruit maybe. Some porridge for breakfast, a sandwich after at 7 am. A plate of soup, or meat with garnish for lanch. And cud's with honey for dinner. If DD omits any of meals she will be enough hungry to eat next one.
Not all children feel/recognise hunger. It took years for DD to do so.

And no , not everyone will eat whatever if they're just hungry "enough" or if they do, they'll just puke it back up.

Carrierpigeon · 12/10/2021 07:53

I just watched an episode of 'Doctor in the House' with Dr Chatterjee about exactly this. It's on YouTube if you search. The girl had a very restricted diet which she was able to expand with support. He served the adults edible insects to help them understand how she felt at every meal.

TasteTheMeatNotTheHeat · 12/10/2021 07:56

Can you focus on buffet/build your own style meals?

Fajitas, baked potatoes and different fillings, home made pizza, tacos etc can all be good for this.

Then if somebody wants to just have a spoonful of hot sauce and a taco shell, and someone else wants cheese and half a head of lettuce, then it doesn't really matter. Anything left in the self serve dishes at the end of the meal can be put in Tupperware and used for lunch or for tea next day.