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Original poster

Why won't they eat 'good' food?

39 replies

WishYouACrappyChristmas · 06/12/2005 08:40

It's really getting me hacked off now. DS1 (4 in Jan) has always been a picky eater but until recently I've just about managed to get most of the food groups in him everyday and have been giving him vitamin supplements to make up for anything lacking in his diet. But now he barely eats at all! Yesterday all he ate was a boiled egg and half a slice of buttered bread. Is normal for a kid his age?

Now DS2 (15months) is at it. He'll stuff fruit and peas into himself as if there's no tomorrow but as for anything else? Not a hope in hell.

I don't pander to them with regular sweets and crisps etc. These are kept as treats once a week if everyone's been good.

I just find it a bit upsetting to spend ages making things out of my feeding babies and toddlers book for them to turn their noses up at it and shove it away from them. If DS1 doesn't eat it he doesn't get anything else but that doesn't appear to have any effect, is DS2 too young to do this to? I think he still is.

Any ideas?

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Helen38 · 06/12/2005 08:48

Have you tried a star chart with ds1? a star for a clean plate or for trying something different, we have probs with our ds2 (4) so don't give a huge amount to start off with and reward if does well. Doesn't work with them all, worked better with ds1 but it could be worth a try.
Sound fairly normal to me both of mine ate anything as babies then got fussy, ds1 is 6 now and has grown out of it.
Home made soup is quite good you can hide all sorts of things in it and wizz so they can't see!!
Will let you know if I have any more thoughts, good luck

Twiglett · 06/12/2005 08:49

can you not change your christmas name? its really really horrible and I hate it every time I read it

Tommy · 06/12/2005 09:44

agree with Twiglett re the name but would like to assure that my DS1 (also 4 in January)would probably also only eat that in a day. Don't know if it's normal - I think he's weird (Was heard shouting at me - in the street - the other day "Why did you buy me sweets Mummy? You know i don't like sweets" but he's growing and seems generally OK so I try not to worry about it

bizzi · 06/12/2005 09:53

I've had similar worries along the way, ds and dd2 will eat almost anything but dd1(8) has always been very fussy. I think things have got easier since I stopped fretting, I still insist she tries a very small bit of everything then let her choose. I then pander to her tastes with easy to eat healthy bits, eg peeled tangerines, raisons, cut up apple, raw carrot etc.
Don't forget some kids survive fine on white bread and chips!

Original poster
WishYouACrappyChristmas · 06/12/2005 10:13

Ok, Ok, will try to think of a different name - maybe it is a big bah humbug and as I'm starting to get into the Christmas spirit (1st party on Friday) it's not all that fitting any more.

DS1 looks and seems healthy enough, he's not thin or anything so maybe I shouldn't worry. Oh, how I wish he'd eat soup! Maybe I'll just have to ride it out with both of then until they're old enough to be force fed (not really).

OP posts:
handlemecarefully · 06/12/2005 10:13

Who are you Wishyouacrappychristmas? I'm too bone idle to look it up...

No suggestions really. It seems like you are doing everything by the book (not pandering to them with sweets and crisps etc)...just loads of sympathy because my children are exactly the same. Sigh....

Original poster
WishYouACrappyChristmas · 06/12/2005 10:14

bizzi, thanks for that. At the moment in desperation just to get DS1 to eat something during the day I have been known to give in to his "chips in a box" (mirco chips urrgghh) demands. And yep, I use Hovis Best of Both - all the goodness of brown blah blah blah...

OP posts:
Glitterygook · 06/12/2005 11:01

If he likes chips you can get organic frozen ones in Tesco. The only ingredients are potato and sunflower oil - can't really remember the make but it says organic in yellow letters and it's a browny/red packet.

Will he not eat potato wedges for chips? Just chop a potato into wedges, drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 35 mins?

Do they eat pasta? That's a good way to get to them to eat lots of things - i make bolognese sauce and all sorts of veg in and then blend it to a smooth sauce and just tell them it's tomato sauce!!

Original poster
WishYouACrappyChristmas · 06/12/2005 11:16

Glitterygook - he'll eat spaghetti but won't touch the sauce! I make a mean spag bol and each time I try to tempt him with no luck.

I've tried wedges and stuff made by my own fair hands and he's just not interested, however those organic chips - we do have those from time to time and they are really nice aren't they? He does like those. Maybe I should keep a McCain Micro Box a put these in it?

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Original poster
WishYouACrappyChristmas · 06/12/2005 11:33

Oh and I've thought of a new name since my current one is so rubbish, how about RudolphsAuntMabel.

OP posts:
RudolphsAuntMabel · 06/12/2005 11:34

Da Daaaaaaa!

DinosaurInAManger · 06/12/2005 12:00

My 16 month old DS3 is just like your DS2. Fruit and peas! Oh, and yogurt. He was a really good eater up until the summer. Aaaaaaargh!

Twiglett · 06/12/2005 18:32

much better

don't geddit but much better

RudolphsAuntMabel · 06/12/2005 20:54

Twiglett - Glad you like it m'lady, we aim to please (I don't get it either, just sounds better doesn't it?)

sugarbaby · 06/12/2005 22:57

I think most kids go through a fussy stage. I am very fortunate in that my DS (age 3) loves fruit and vegetables and in actual fact prefers them to meat, but he certainly has his moments.

Try to keep a weekly count though of what your DS eats - chances are he does eat some healthy things, it's possible he eats lots some days and not so much on some others.

When I was a child I apparently ate nothing but dry shreddies for a period, and my mother pandered to this wim - god help me lol!

bobbybob · 07/12/2005 04:04

Don't spend ages cooking from a book for babies and toddlers, just feed them both what you are having and have it with them. Baby and toddler cook books only exist to make the people who write them in organic obscure vegetables.

RudolphsAuntMabel · 07/12/2005 08:15

sugar - my bro ate 1 bag of crisps a day for about 6 months!

bobby - if only it were that easy . the reason i got the book was because he won't eat what we eat, so i though i'd try it the other way round. now reached the conclusion just to leave him alone and as long as he's getting some goodness don't worry.

spiderfan · 08/12/2005 08:34

I don't really understand this obsession with getting kids to eat. Creates all kinds of problems later. I give my children a range of food. If they eat it that's great, if they don't we take it away without a fuss. We try and keep it healthy and have veg and fruit with every meal and don't ever give sweets or crisps and rarely chocolate, biscuits and cake. As long as the kids are healthy they're obviously getting enough. Sometimes my kids eat nothing for one meal and all of the next and sometimes they eat little for a whole day or days and that wolf everything down for other days. This is just what kids are like. They have small tummies so eat small amounts and their appetite is affected by tiredness etc. This is all perfectly normal. I find that persistent 'fussy eaters' are created not born usually reflecting their parents 'fuss' and often parents are so unnecessarily worried about eating that they start offering alternatives which means the kids always ask for the alternatives and so it continues. My advice is stop worrying. If you follow this your kids will eat or not as they need.

spiderfan · 08/12/2005 08:39

Also, young children still get most or many of their calories and fat from milk. This country is suffering from a growing obesity crisis so the last thing we should be doing is forcing our kids to eat more! We should be encouraging kids to have a healthy relationship with food and decide themselves when they've had enough. What's wrong with peas and fruit esp when they're drinking pints of fatty, calorie-rich milk? Rant over. I've just seen so many kids' relationships with food ruined because of parents who think children need to be eating loads of food every meal. Not directing this at anyone in particular. Just makes me mad that nobody worries about fat, bottle-fed, sweet and crisp filled babies who will never learn to eat properly.

RudolphsAuntMabel · 08/12/2005 12:49

spiderfan - thanks for the input. You've just reiterated everything that I do - if he doesn't want it I take it away without causing a fuss and he doesn't get anything else until the next meal time. I was just worried about the tiny amount that he does eat - as I'm writing this he is sitting on the sofa watching a Timon and Pumba video eating a bowl of ..........PRAWNS!! Now that's not bad is it? Ok, so I have told him that he can have a cookie afterwards but hey, he's scoffing!! Hurrah!!

RudolphsAuntMabel · 08/12/2005 12:52

Also, DS1 and 2 were both breast fed for a good period of time and they both look slimmer that bottle fed kids which I know is the norm. I'm much rather have slim healthy kids that fat sluggish ones who eat too much rubbish - but then I don't stop the kids having junk (but not too much) as IMHO if you try to stop them having something they want it more and a young age is a good time to start teaching them that a little of everything in moderation is fine.

Eaney · 08/12/2005 13:42

My DS is a fussy eater and I have worried about creating a bad relationship with food. Trouble is he is always sick and as an asmathic this is a worry. He has a few severe allergies which has also helped confuse his relatioship with food.

I tell him that he can have sweets after he eats his 'proper food'. He then eats very little sweet food as he is full. He also can't watch TV until he eats his proper food. I tell him that at any time he can leave his meal but consequence will be no sweets or TV. Sometimes he does leave but mostly he stays.

I also try and cook things I know he thinks is OK and avoid things I know he really doesn't like. For a while I spent ages cooking tasty meals but now I give him plain pasta with olive oil drizzled over it, plain rice, boiled veg or even raw veg and plainly cooked meat. The reward of sweets after the meal works well for me but you could try a different reward.

Good luck.

vivie · 08/12/2005 14:01

I'm with spiderfan and I think Rudolphsam you're doing all the right things. You don't want kids to drink too much milk though, about 17oz/ day inclusive of what's in food. Are your kids drinking lots of juice? This can be really filling so limiting drinks to plain water between meals may help.

Eaney, I don't mention sweets or pudding to my kids until after their main course is eaten or I think that they will get the idea that they need to be rewarded or bribed to eating. It's great that they eat, and I always praise a clean plate, but they should enjoy their savory food too. And they do, it's delicious!

Sometime kids don't eat because they're just not hungry!

Eaney · 08/12/2005 14:49

I was an incredibly fussy eater as a child and to this day there are things I will never touch which the vast majority of people find bizare. Generally though I will eat a wide variety of food. DP was and still is a very fussy eater and will go hungry rather than eat something that is not to his taste. He is probably underweight or bordering on being underweight. I suspect DS may have some of our traits

Some people are known as super-tasters and it is thought that these people are more inclined to being fussy eaters. Others like my Dad would eat anything put in front of him. He used to eat roadkill. Honestly he would eat anything.

RudolphsAuntMabel · 08/12/2005 15:10

what about a dead cat?