do you give your children a choice of what they want for tea or do you just give them what everyone else is having and they eat it?

[jojostar]

I have always given my children 6,9 a choice of what they want for tea however this is beginning to be a pain in the arse as they want something different and we have 'no i don't want that, this, the other' I'm thinking that at that age I was just given my tea and I just ate it. I'm considering just doing that and have tried but they look at me like an alien has landed. Do I do the tough mum bit? Thats it or nothing...What do you do?

all eat the same,always have.not a running buffet,no faffing.got lo used to to my cooking when weaning blended what we eat.

when i was growing up ypu ate what was offered, no alternatives.and if you didn't eat it someone else would - forks at ready for any spare

all eat the same,always have.not a running buffet,no faffing.got lo used to to my cooking when weaning blended what we eat.

when i was growing up ypu ate what was offered, no alternatives.and if you didn't eat it someone else would - forks at ready for any spare

I won't give my ds (4) something I know he doesn't like. Although I do give him a little of what he doesn't like (peas, tomato etc) sometimes, but don't force him to eat it (I want him to get to like them, not develop a complex about them!)
I only make different meals if I want something grown up like thai curry or the like.
I usually eat the same thing with him though.

No, I don't give them a choice.

here we gon on the antic fussy eaters again

I used to give dd the choice as dh refused to eat before 8 which was far too late for her. A few years ago dh started unbending a little and we now eat at 7.30 and as dd is (obviously!) older now, she eats with us. This means that she has what we have - including liver and fish! And yes, we had a few battles early on, but now she just eats it.

i suppose this comes down to whether you have time/can be bothered offering alternatives.

also what would happen if no alternative offered eg food meltdown

THEY WONT STARVE THEMSELKVES WILL THEY FUSSY BUGGERS

YADA yada ydada
borrrrrrrrrrrrrrring

we do all eat the same food. However, I don't serve up items that DD doesn't like. Nor those DH or I don't like! Why would I?

There's still enough choice left that we all get a reasonably varied and nutritious diet.

"CHoice? I'll givve you choice. Eat it or leave it."
the words of Granny Twotimes oft echoed in the tt household.

I often serve up something different for Ds who is 6 cause he is a fussy eater. Last night dh and I had prawn stirfry, no way would ds eat that so he had boiled eggs and soldiers.

I was a fussy eater as a kid and my mum always asked me what I wanted and I was never made to eat what they had.#

No harm done. I grew out of it and now I will eat mostly anything.

There is nothing worse than forcing a kid to eat.

And, some 'fussy' eaters actually have very sensitive taste buds and things often taste bitter to them that don't to us.

Btw, I am veggie and everyone eats it. They can cook meat for themselves. Well, dh can. Ds is only 2. He gets it at his Granny's.

we all eat the same -unless dh and and i are having steak which the kids hate.

sometimes i say would you like x or y and go with the majority vote but we all eat together.

i wouldn't cook something someone didn't like or if i did i wouldn';t put it on their plate.
kids have a right to dislike stuff just as much as we do.

We eat the same but we all negotiate over what we have.

So I'll say, 'do you fancy a roast or casserole for lunch tomorrow' and I'll get 4 different answers

I have a rough idea of who hasn't had their favourite for a while and build that into the negotiations.

As my mother used to say to us 'eat it or starve' I havent got the energy or inclination to be doing 4 seperate meals each night.

They get what they are given or else they go without.

I don't dish up and make them eat things I know they dont like . For instance DS1 dosent like parsnips, so I leave them off , DS2 dosent like stuffing so I leave that off, but as for meals, I try to accomadate everyone, we all like chicken and pasta.

I will not do seperate meals.

I havent got a menu they can order from.

Its what I dish up or nothing

We have a meal planner, which is up on the fridge so they know what they will be getting. I try to stick to it most of the time! I do ask them what they would like for tea sometimes and if they can agree on the same thing, that's what they get. I do wish they would eat what dh and I eat - there are only a few meals that I make which we ALL eat! Grr

I don't give them a choice - they get what they are given!

I'm sorry you are finding it boring costaricancod and you've heard it all before why waste your time answering. read and answer other threads there are plenty. it was something that was on my mind does that make me boring or just a mum who thought she'd ask the opinion of another mum. Some of us are new here and havent been posting for the last twelve zillion years and know everyone and i didnt realise threads had to be passed by those who had.

I give DS a choice most nights unless i've planned a meal I know he likes. I wouldn't eat food I didnt like and dont see why he should just because he's a child.

I hated as a child being forced to eat something I didnt like - luckily I dont have food issues but doing that too a child can so easily lead to problems with food.

I personally would rather DS had a different meal if need be rather than have the choice to eat a food he didnt like or go hungry.

Yes they get a choice, they take it or leave it.
We eat together.
I expect them to at least try what is put in front of them. If they really don't like something then I won't give it to them for a while.

I'm not running a restaurant, so I'm with GDG and Wings.