Teatime - eat what you are given - or do you give a choice?

[coolbeans]

My ds (2.7) is refusing his chicken casserole and asking for scrambled (skwimmy) eggs instead.

I suppose I don't mind making something different now and then, after all I'm not always sure what I fancy to eat (but would really rather not get into a habit of it). I'm just interested to see if others allow alternatives to what's on offer....

depends on what we are having. if its something that i know dd1 doesnt like/wont usually eat she will be offered an alternative once she has least tasted the other food.

if its something i know she usually eats. she either eats what she is served or she goes hungry

i tend to go with eat what you're given. But my DC tend to like most things so I know they are just being awkward

If you have already cooked it, no choice (except bread maybe)
If you have 2 equally nutritious and convenient alternatives I might offer a choice before I cooked, but not as a matter of course.

I will give something else if they have tried it and genuinely don't like it.

If they are being picky, I usually find that just telling them that there won't be any pudding is enough to get them eating.

I wouldn't get up and start preparing something else, but would let them leave the bit they really didn't like, once they had tasted it. For instance, ds really hates Bolognese sauce, so he'd just eat the pasta and greens.

I'm the same as shell lady - eat what;s on offer or starve but then I offer something else an hour later like cereal / toast that's rather dull but will do the job. If it's something completely new and possibly unlikeable then i will have something else already prepared (like cheese omlette) that magically appears almost instantly as if it was always part of the original meal in tapas style.

DD gets the same as DH nd me generally, so it is a case of eat what your given. If I know she genuinely doesn't like something I will offer an alternative. Have always used this route.

God you are all so lucky. DS can be guaranteed to turn his nose up at just about anything that isn't pasta and pesto. except for breakfast which he would gladly eat 4 times a day. We are in a constant battle to try and get him to eat anything else. Have tried (and still trying) the 'this is all there is' and leads to whine, moan,more whine, more moan, tempers lost all round. To be honest I'm less bothered about him eating than avoiding the huge drama and tantrums around dinner time but giving him pasta and pesto every night will surely just compound the problem. Current strategy is sticker chart (for 'no fuss at dinner') and monumental efforts to remain calm. He is 3 1/2 by the way. Sorry, not much help OP.

Depends how I feel. Sometimes I'll just cook something, sometimes I'll call them into the kitchen and ask would you like A or B.

They either eat it or they don't
Must admit that I am more irritated if they refuse it when they CHOSE IT!!

me "Dinner tiiiiiiime"
them "I'm not hungry/I don't like it?it's yukky"
me "fine, put it in the microwave, you don't have to eat it."

Then they'll either ask for something else (NO!) or they'll go and fetch it back out of the microwave half an hour later and eat it without complaint, or they'll wait until supper.

But I remember with my pfb his eating was TERRIBLE! It made me cry! I used to cook several different meals one after the other, trying to get him to eat something, anything. Those days are loooooooong gone.

If I've made something I know he likes then if he doesn't want it he doesn't get alternatives. If it's a new thing he gets big brownie points for looking, touching, smelling, shoving around the plate, playing ANYTHING (v. big deal that he no longer runs from the room in tears if something unfamiliar on his plate) and if he tries it he can have anything he wants for his meal (within reason obv!). If he doesn't try it no big deal but doesn't get to choose the alternative. (Having his own choice is a big motivator for ds).
But I don't do the "take it away and offer no alternatives ever" approach. In this household this way madness lies.

Eat what you are given the only exception I ever make is when we have creamy pasta dd hates it and has tried it and it really makes her sick ,so when we have that she has noodles .
Bit thats it I am not a cafe

Message withdrawn

I give choices for what to eat. As i think that food and eating should be a pleasant experience right from the start. Lifes to short to have arguments over eating and food.