before he gets older ...... help

[bonn]

hia
i wondered if any one has any other experainces to share or advice ....

well i have a 5 year old daughter who is very smart and creative and expressive which are all very good quilities to have not saying shes a angel as we all know kids are not angels (well not all the time)
my 3 year old son is very much they same although ....

getting him to eat veg is a NIGHTMARE ... tonight was the worst, he was screaming i hate u and your not my mummy no more, which hurts even tho he dont mean it, his temper is getting really bad

i know what your thinking ... cut down or stop his snacks ... but i dont do snacks i dont buy chrisps or chocolate bars ... i get them a pack of sweets now and then if they are good dont get me wrong but i dont buy them in packs where they can snack on them all day long .. i believe kids should have good eating habits as healthy heart healthy mind! i dont even buy fizzy drinks ... maybe to harsh but want them to grow into healthy young people, does that make me harsh????... does that make me a bad mum????

i have tried alsorts ... making food fun .. section his food and veg first, hiding it etc etc! and as for the temper im a found lover of the naughty chair .. and its working but for how long that will last i dont know ...

friends and family say dont make a big deal out of it ... all kids go through it .. and they might be right but i do worry as he needs the goodness and trying to get him to eat is ripping me apart!

any help/tips would be fab

thank you

Bonney

What does he eat? What's a typical day/week's food for him? With a toddler, you shouldn't look at what they're eating at one meal or in one day, but over a longer timescale than that.

I would definitely say ease back, don't make food a battle - but if he's only eating chips and marmite, you might need more info than that!

hi

they have breakfast and all justin will eat is toast!

dinner ... sandwich (cheese and ham most of the time) with pear or bananna sometimes both! and a cheese strip

tea .... veg every night everything mostly is homemade!

they both eat fruit and there are no snacks between meals ... unless they want fruit .. that they can help them selves too !

i try not to make a big deal out of it and tonight was a prime example ... but i cant ease back when it comes to being worried! ... i dont force feed him not by any means!

thank you

Bonney

To be honest that sounds fine to me. OK so you'd like him to eat veg but he's eating a pretty balanced diet. Will he not even eat sweetcorn or peas?

My dd is 4 and is a bit of a challenge when it comes to veg but she will now eat peppers, cucumber, peas, corn and carrots. Oh and the other day she ate a shred of cabbage! But she will eat stacks of fruit and is pretty healthy (not too many sweets, no crisps, etc). I've more of less given up cajoling her to eat broccoli/mushrooms/tomatoes/onions.

I wouldn't make a big deal of it at all. I would keep putting a tiny (really tiny) portion on his plate and if he doesn't eat it, then just clear it away without a word. Likewise don't make big song and dance if he does eat it. You could insist he at least tries it before getting pudding but I can't help but think you'd be setting yourself up for big fights every meal time.

I did read something in a parenting magazine that said that 25% of children are "supertasters" meaning a whole range of fruit/veg are just too bitter for them - broccoli, spinach, grapefruit, etc. Maybe he genuinely doesn't like them?!

hi

thank you for that ... he went through a stage of eating them when he felt like it, im keeping a food diary ...

as for the fights at meal time .... im carm and make meal times fun well as fun as i can .... but he will sit on his chair and scream even if there is no veg !!

last night i said here you go if you dont want it just eat what you want ... he just sat there and screamed for no reason ... he is only happy if he has sasuage chip and beans ... but i cant give into him, i do dish up the veg and its not loads ...

i must stress that i DONT force feed him but i do ask him to try it before leaving the table sometimes he does and its fine but others he dont ... i dont think thats too harsh... its fair because if he knows i wont ask him to try even a little bit then he knows that he dont have to and the saying "whats the point if i dont have to" will happen and thats the last thing i want ..

Nothing wrong with sausage, chips and beans imo. Sounds like meal-times have become a battle. Just because he doesn't eat what you want him to eat now doesn't mean he'll be living on junk food all his life. Some of my older children have gone off "healthy" food for years. My 19yo didn't start to take an interest in a wide variety of foods until late secondary school. He now eats anything put in front of him (still lazy when he has to make it himself at Uni ). He is healthy and he has a reasonable knowledge of nutritional values of various foods. Don't give up offering a variety of foods but don't force the issue or get upset if he doesn't want it. As he gets older he will understand better your explanations of why a variety of foods is good for him. I agree with your family and friends don't make a big deal of it. It's a phase and it will pass and your ds will be none the worse for it.