For those that say the cure to fussy eaters is to all eat together as a family, how do you manage this if both parents work?

[Tinkerdumpsandruns]

I don't get in until after 17:00 and my partner is usually in nearer to 18:00. Have a fussy 22-month old but there is no way I have the time to prepare a meal for us for us all to eat by the time she is ready to go up for her bath. How do people do it?

oh I eat with the kids all the time and so does dh

they are crap eaters

is bolleaux

all eat cheese on toast/scrambled eggs/pasta etc together as a family then have the rest of your dinner once she's in bed?

agree tis only one strategy though

i think the eating together thing is just a suggestion. one of many. if it isn't possible then so be it.

Kids aged (almost) 6 and 3. Have eaten with them all the time.

They're driving me up the wall with their fussiness and bad table manners.

Am THIS close to saying sod it and dishing up turkey twizzlers on their own in front of the telly...

Eat together at weekends

prepare something in advance so that you can sit down and eat as soon as you get in - cold wraps, slices of tortilla, pasta salads, rice salads, or just a selection of cold stuff and cheeses and nice breads

Soup takes 5 mins to reheat

quick cook pasta takes 10 mins

eggs are quick / omelette / scrambled etc

What childcare do you use? Can someone stick something in the oven for you to be ready when you get home?

I don't think it matters if you are not doing it every day, but you could probably manage twice a week in addition to the weekends? Dp can eat later on - it's fine for just one of you to sit down with her.

MrsB that sounds a sure way to put weight on

I think you're supposed to sit down and engage with them even if you're not eating - have a cup of tea or something

or some crudite type veggie strips of stuff

not a kit kat obv

oh and a slow cooker

god this has changed my life

anyone can eat at any time and it cooks it all itself during the day

is magic. it is actually filled with tiny fairies holding little pans

I nick food off dd's plate - does that count?

Although I am home, many of my ds1's activities are late in the day which means we don't get home until 5:30. We eat at 6:20 when my busband comes in the door. Here are some of the things I do:

If you get a slow cooker, you can prepare the meals the night before and leave it on cooking during the day so it is ready when you get back. Some things cook quick as well.

If you are grilling meat for instance, that could easiy be done in the time between you coming home and your partenr getting back.

Cook in batches at the weekend and freeze for nights when you really can't cook.

Do some really simple meals that take no time to prepare: an omletter with loads of veggies and meat in, etc.

It really does work with fussiness. My ds1 ate seperate from us and was very fussy. When ds2 got to 6 months I said that's it and we all started eting together. Ds2 never got fussy and ds1 is now an adventurous eater 2 years on.

Agree with cappuccino - it makes no difference if we eat with them or not. Though I admit - it's usually not because dh doesn't get in till around 7pm and on school days they are off to bed around then.

IME, they just grow out of it - as long as you keep offering the food regardless of whether they eat it or not.

The approach I take is - 'here is your meal, eat if you want, I don't mind if you or you don't, but there is nothing else until tea time/breakfast'. I stick to it every time and eventually they grow out of it. Ds1 grew out of it when he went into reception, ds2 when he was about 3 and ds2 is still in his fussy stage. He's 2.5. He either eats what's there or he doesn't. I keep offering food I want them to eat and in the end, they eat it.

I agree it is morally a good idea but it made no difference at all to ds who is a fussy eater, but then peer pressure another favourite has never made any difference...in fact nothing has

Oh, I am mighty relieved at these messages (except the ones that say it is the cure ) Will post more (cooking dinner now!) but:

a) getting rid of the slow cooker atm, didn't get on with it. Was disappointed that you had to do so much prep beforehand. [lazy emoticon]

b) partner is a food snob. Quick meals on a very regular basis would = him not eating them (and yes, he does do a lot/most of the cooking before anyone says anything )

c) I am not mad on pasta - tolerate it for ease once a week but the thought of it makes me feel queasy.

d) we also have a nearly 10-year old - eats what we eat

e) re batch cooking at the weekends - already feel my weekends are too full of domestic drudgery (and I'm not even very domesticated) that more stuff would really make me feel ground down

God, I'm fussy aren't I?

But still open to suggestions and views.

Do the "nothing else, just eat it" technique too. Ds1 has got slightly better since starting school and seeing friends eat but only very slightly. Introduced them both to a huge variety of fresh from-scratch meals right from very small.

Have done everything "right" and they're still fussy buggers Worse still, my SIL did all the "wrong" things (pandered to their food whims, cooked separate meals etc) and has children of similar age to mine who all clear their plate.

It's not FAIR

Agree with other comments - we eat together at weekends, DTs aren't usually hungry enough for proper tea after a full day at nursery, where they get tea at 4ish so we have soem toast/crumpets etc with them which keeps us going then we eat later (if at all!) on the 2 days I don't work we have tea together when DH gets in, or DH sits with them while they have their tea.

Rubber duck, you sound so stressed about it. It can be infuriating can't it! Sounds like you need to recharge your batteries. Can you get someone in to cover meal and bed times for a couple of evenings and go out to a restaurant?

Thank you, otherside I'm actually not as bad as I sound and I'm very careful to avoid any sort of "atmosphere" at the dinner table. It does frustrate me horribly but then if I'm honest, I was always a fussy eater (but always LOVED my mum's food and only my mum's food) so I suspect the apple didn't fall far from the tree

It's not just the eating (or lack thereof) though, it's all the buggering about, the burping competitions, the sliding under chairs and general chorus of "YUCK! DISGUSTING!" as they approach the meal that gets me down.

At the weekend we did say "bugger it" and all went off to MacDonalds and ended up really enjoying ourselves with a very relaxed meal and it was lovely. Just not totally sustainable over the long term

Sorry... have sidetracked from the thread somewhat

I know what you mean, and it's the putting the brave face on it, staying calm and cheerful, that makes it so more tiring.
How old are your DCs? We haven't got to burping competitions yet but when they are in high spirits we have peekaboo under the table, standing up on the chair out of sheer excitement, shouting silly phrases which DS (4) invents and DD (2) copies....
Still, rather that behaviour than the whiney days!

Almost 6 and 3! Am hoping 6 and 3 will be the golden age of having grown beyond that

Just remembered that I know a set of identical twins. One fussy, one not. Fussy one about an inch shorter than the other. But presume have been brought up identically re food and dining.

I have to say the idea of eating dinner with the Inferiorettes every night is sheer hell on earth. I like food they don't. And to do antisocial things like slump with a book.

IME, at that age they don't really want a full meal at 'dinner-time' anyway. My nearly 3 year old sits with us at the table if she's still up, but is allowed to just eat fruit or bread and butter or whatever. We do family meals at weekends though.

you could always decide whether you think a daily bath is more vital than sitting down at the table together - it's not really necessary for most kids in terms of cleanliness, more as a fun thing