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Original poster

Do you know what?/...I'm so sick of the f*cking veryday battle to get them to eat something half way decent that I feel like saying b*llocks to it all and feeding them shite!

135 replies

LadyTophamHatt · 14/09/2006 18:42

Honestly I'm sick to ficking death of it.

Ds2 is currently getting into bed because of his refuse to eat a single spoon ful of bolognaise that had lumps ins. Tiny lumps of soft courgette and mushroom, all covered in bolognaise sause that he loves.

He's 5 yrs old FFS...he can eat lumps.

He was gagging and chockingand generally making a huge great deal of of it.

I took the plate away, after telling him to forget it a spit it out, threw it on top of the empty plates of Ds1+3 and broke it.

F*cking Great!

OP posts:
hermykne · 14/09/2006 21:49

had this too with dd and ds this week, and its really pushed me
said to dh on the phone tonight as hes at work we have to get over it somehow
so he said why dont u cook no dinnner tomorrow friday, and when its time for us to eat then they can have it

dd eat and spat out her meatball tonihgt after promising me she'd eat her dinner - what consequence can i use - star chart doesnt work
do i take a toy away?

Tommy · 14/09/2006 21:50

I broke a plate once like this too...

I'm not sure if our situation is getting any better or if I'm less stressed about it but I haven't broken another one since.

Do wonder sometimes why I bother putting it on a plate at all when I could just cook it and put it straight in the dustbin...

Cappuccino · 14/09/2006 21:54

Tommy lol at throwing it in the bin

I lost it completely this morning and told dd I was going to throw everything out of the fridge for the bin men

I have thought and thought and thought and thought of a way to recycle gooey Weetabix but nothing comes to mind

if only I had a dog

scotchick · 14/09/2006 21:57

It's so hard, but all I can say is that it will get better. You can only do your best at the moment. What I say when they don't eat is 'fine. mummy made the food, and served the food, I did my job'

There's no other way, that I've found. My ds1 is nearly 8 and is getting better all the time. They begin to have an awareness that they HAVE to eat healthy food - they learn it in school and at home with me. DS1 is pretty bad at the moment, but having gone through it before, I'm OK with it.

But obviously don't substitute with crap food.

If they eat, eg breakfast and lunch, it doesn't matter about dinner. Honestly.

Bozza · 14/09/2006 21:59

LTH I think you will have to present it 21 times unblended TBH. I think that will count as seperate.

Peridot30 · 14/09/2006 22:12

Eemie my ds gets a packed lunch at school and doesn't eat sh##e. he takes a sandwich, yogurt,2 diff fruits and a piece of cheese most days. so they can take a packed lunch and still eat healthily and i know exactly what hes eating

Cappuccino · 14/09/2006 22:16

I particularly love it when they gag

also when they kind of wipe their tongue with their hands

[eww]

moondog · 14/09/2006 22:22

I threw up my dinner once.
In 1974 when I was 7.
Mind you,as it was a particulalry nasty tinned Russian salad and spam,I feel it was justified.

ediemay · 14/09/2006 22:23

flashbacks to Russian salad!!!!!!!!!!!! eeeeeek

moondog · 14/09/2006 22:23

Grim shit.

ediemay · 14/09/2006 22:29

Next time there's any grumbling here at a mealtime I might serve that up MD

moondog · 14/09/2006 22:29

lol

DumbledoresGirl · 14/09/2006 22:35

If it is any consolation LTH, I still blend my bolognese sauce too and my children are 10 (ffs!) 8 6 and 3. I do it to smooth the lumps of meat, hide the onion and all the veggies I put in it. I suppose I mostly do it for the 3 yo's benefit, but I do it for all of them nonetheless.

Also today I made a lovely sausagemeat hotpot which we have not had for years although it used to be one of my favourite meals. All 4 of them pushed it around their plate but they all ate it eventually because I had made chocolate Angel Delight for pudding and they knew they had to eat dinner or get no pudding.

Have you tried making a favourite pudding and using that as a bribe?

Tommy · 14/09/2006 22:38

easier said than done DDG - DS1 only likes fruit, yogurt or ice cream for pudding! Today we had dougnuts and lemon cheeecake but he wanted a wildlife fromage frais.....

DumbledoresGirl · 14/09/2006 22:39

Ooh can I have tea at your place? Doughnuts and cheesecake?!

moondog · 14/09/2006 22:41

You see,I don't believe in bribes. I think it could lead to weird food issues.I want them to eat it and enjoy it or go without of course.

I often find my children will try something if i don't push it.

I also put the food out on the table for them to help themselves.

Gobbledigook · 14/09/2006 22:47

Oh LTH, I know how you feel!

With my kids though, they take it turns to act up - I think they hatch their plan in the playroom while I'm cooking

I just go along with 'ok, don't eat it, it's up to you, I'm not bothered, but that's all there is and there'll be nothing else if you don't eat it'. I stick by it rigidly and never give in.

However, it doesn't make them eat it! Many a night ds2 goes to bed with practically no dinner but I refuse to make something else or give them stuff afterwards. Otherwise, it's just a clear message that throwing your toys out the pram gets you what you want.

If a meal is something I know they are going to grumble about, I might try to strike a deal with them so that they eat so many mouthfuls and then they can finish.

I have managed to increase the length of the list of things that they eat but I still feel like I'm churning out the same old stuff all the time and it does get boring.

I used to go absolutely ballistic at meal times but for the past couple of years I've just chilled out about it, realising that getting cross just doesn't make a difference (dh hasn't grasped this concept yet and it's sooooo painful watching him supervise dinner).

Tommy · 14/09/2006 22:47

we had a friend round "for coffee" - she bought the cheesecake for us and the doughnuts for the boys - little did she know about DS1's weird eating habits

Mondog - not sure if it is a bribe? DS2 wanted a pieces of cheesecake so I said he could if he had one more bit of potato - and he did. It showed me that he could eat more potato but he just couldn't be bothered or whatever.
I would always offer the fruit/yogurt option but not a "treat" if they haven't eaten a minimum of main course

Gobbledigook · 14/09/2006 22:49

It's quite funny when striking a deal because I'll say 'ok, eat 5 big mouthfuls more and that's it' and they'll say 'no, 7' so I say 'ok!'. Hehehe!

If I do this kind of deal then they may get yoghurt or fruit after, or I might still say nothing else because they didn't eat it all. There would deffo be nothing out of the 'treat tin' though.

DumbledoresGirl · 14/09/2006 22:49

Moondog, I don't use it as a bribe as such. I don't say "Eat your dinner and then you can have some nice pudding". I simply put the pudding out and make it plain that no-one gets pudding who has not eaten their dinner. In fact, I don't even do anything to make that plain - they just know it.

Gobbledigook · 14/09/2006 22:50

oh fgs, potty training books tell you not to bribe but chocolate buttons got mine trained in 3 days flat!

I don't care - if bribing them with a yoghurt means they'll eat 5 spoonfuls of fresh veg - it works for me!

DumbledoresGirl · 14/09/2006 22:52

I know what you mean GDG about them taking it in turns. Mine seem to do that too although the youngest can always be relied upon to join in with whoever else's turn it is to make a fuss!

moondog · 14/09/2006 22:53

No surrender in Moondog household.

I am a brutal bitch......

curlew · 14/09/2006 23:11

Point 1.Healthy children don't starve themselves to death.

Point 2. It is a parent's responsibility to provide adequate healthy meals at regular intervals. It is not a parent's responsibility to make a child eat htem.

Point 3. If children don't eat their dinner, then provide fruit or plain wholemeal bread. Nothing else.

Point 4. Pay absolutely no attention to children's plates at mealtimes - cheerful conversation at meal times, and all plates cleared when the last serious eater has finished. Hungry later? Refer to point 3.

Point 5. It does not make you a bad person - or even a bad mother - if children do not eat a meal.You do lots of other good stuff with your children, and you could do a lot more it you let go of the mealtime angst and remember point 2.

ilovecaboose · 14/09/2006 23:17

My ds is a nightmare when it comes to food. We tend to try and give him 2 meals the same every day (breakfast and lunch) as they are quite healthy.

Dinner we try new foods - so now he has stopped eating any dinner (for the past few months) most days. Even if we give him reasonable food he likes he won't eat it.

Now on wheat free diet so fine on first day but for last couple of days he wouldn't eat any breakfast as can't have his beloved toast (doesn't like the wheat free stuff). Don't give him anything else, but wonder sometimes how he can survive on so little. And yes I have completely given in b4 now and just let him have biscuits - made him worse.

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