So, tell me, do you think this will work?

[Squirdle]

DS2 (aged 4) is not a great eater and is terrible at trying new foods. I have tried lots of different ways of encouraging him to eat, some have been successful, but the majority not and have now come up with what I hope is a brilliant idea.

DS's 2 and 3 (aged 2) are Thunderbirds mad. So I am going to make a huge wall chart with Tracy Island at the top, numbered circles leading up to Tracy island and the idea is that every time DS2 tries something new (and DS3 on a lesser scale as he is a good eater anyway..and younger) he may move his Thunderbird rocket (made out of cardboard with velcro on rocket and each of the circles) up one space. Then when he has reached the Island, he will recieve a treat.

I am mainly going to use it for fruit and a few vegetables and se how it goes. I know that if DS tries some things he will like them, it's just very difficult to get him to try.

I have put this idea forward to him and he seems very enthusiastic.

So whaddya think???

Excellent idea!!!

Stay calm, almost be not bothered whether hr tries things or not. Children always know when we want them to do something, and then don't. Generally!

Thankyou!

I am always calm about food and mealtimes, DH sadly is not. But hopefully after our lenghty chat about DS and eating last night, he will be.

DS is already telling me what foods he will try to make his rocket get to Tracy Island

I'm going to write his 'mission' at the bottom too.

I wish you were my mum

My main thing will be fruit at the moment as he has just started school and they have a snack of fruit every morning. DS never has it though and I do think he would love to be able to join in. And friut is nice!

Aww

To be honest his not eating is causing difficulties between DH and I (not in front of DS) and I neeeed to do something which will work. I really hope it does!

My way is relax, not worry, he does eat a good varied, if somewhat limited, diet and he is growing and full of energy. Dh's is not so relaxing! But I think we could work well on this one together.

Just gotta make it now!!

Get dh to make some of the wall chart!

Yes I will, good idea Marigold. I am going to get him to print off some proper pictures of the rockets too. Ooh I wonder what we will doing tonight.....

Ah, that's nice. Dh and I will continuing our argument from last night!

Well maybe we will be too...depends if he thinks this is mollycoddling DS! We shall see!

I think your idea sounds fantastic. I shall definitely be filing that one away for future reference!

I was fussy when I was little too. My mum and dad used to say things like 'Oh you don't want any strawberries? Fantastic, we're so glad. All the more for us!!' At which point I'd wonder what I was missing out on and maybe just try one...

I think it's based on something I saw on TV, but don't remember where. Obviously it wan't Thunderbirds, but I KNEW this would have DS reeled in!

abm, we do that too, works on DS3, but not on DS2 unfortunately.

He's playing TB right now and has announced he will have mashed potato with dinner tonight (even before the chart has been made!!!!)

Ooh I'd better go and buy some potatoes!

excellent idea. my dd is rubbish at eating and i have kind of just given up pushing her (which i did for one day and it just made it worse) so am kind of not stressing. but that's a great idea - i may just give it a go. may have to be a dora chart though!

My boys were terrible eaters so i did a big picture of a castle with stepping stones up to the moat. i cut out a photo of each child and put it on the bottom stepping stone. each time they cleared their plate they went up a stone. when they reached the castle they got a prize. it worked for ages as they were competing against each other too (sorry is that pc?). now after about two years of trying different foods and just persevering with mealtimes they eat most of what they are given. its taken a long time but we have just about got there!!!! its been a nightmare at times and i worried constantly but they have no side effects from years of seeming to eat very little.

brilliant idea, i will be watching with interest, as my 3.6 year old eats bread, yoghurt, chips, strawberries, choco hoops and has done for about the last 2 and half years and its hard enough trying to get him to eat those things, let along anything new!!

Let me know how it goes.

did they eat things they previously wouldnt touch crkm? that's my prob - its not the amount its the fact she won't try anything new or anything healthy! they just have this radar don't they?

The mashed potato didn't really happen..but hey, I'm going to persevere. I haven't finished the chart yet anyway, so I'm kind of letting last night go. I am experiencing a tiny amount of resistence from DS2, but nothing I haven't coped with before.

CRKM, thankyou, it's so nice to hear success stories. It makes me realise we CAN do this!

law, my ds isn't quite as bad as that, but not far off. He eats a balanced diet, but it can be the same things every day (which apparently is ok as far as HV, Doctor say...)

Egypt, DS2 is just the same, nothing new touches his lips. I suppose though as he is now 4.9 I have a slight advantage in that I can reason ad explain things to him better. For example last night after the potato resistence, he said 'but I don't like it' to which I replied 'you don't know unless you try, you didn't know you liked orange juice/yogurt/fishfingers etc until you tried them and you loved them!'

Tis a long hard slog!

egypt - my boys are beginning to try new things. my youngest boy complained that i hadn't put green beans on his plate (everyone else had them) i gave him some and he wolfed them down. he had always refused them up till that day. and he ate mash potato with gravy on. That was a miracle - he wouldn't even try it plain before and had a real paddy if you put gravy anywhere near. I think we have turned a corner at last. now its my youngest DD who is starting to get fussy............

this parenting lark never gets any easier!!! its hard work but we got there. GOOD LUCK!!