Is he going to starve? Should I give him something to eat?

[NatalieJane]

DS1 (5yo) is such a fusy eater, we have really had enough of giving him the 5 or 6 things he will eat, so today we dished him up boiled potatoes and meatballs, he hasn't touched it, crying because he is hungry, are we right to dig our heels in? Should I give him just a little something? Hellllllllp!! Am I an evil mum?

No. How many 5 year olds have you heard of who have starved themselves to death?

Keep offering & hold firm

How long do I keep offering? he has had them infront of him for an hour already, when do we say enough is enough?

has he eaten these foods before?

an hour is a long time, he can hold out longer than you, excuse him from the table and stand firm

He has eaten boiled potatoes before but he just will not touch them now.

it's late for tea ,no?
maybe too tired to eat?

as Noddle said, he won;t starve himself...

agree lulu let him leave the table but offer nothing else. I have awful memory of being made to sit with a plate of shepards pie in front of me for ages when i was young and still can't bring myself to eat it now at 30 years old. If he is hungry he can go back to it.

Stand firm. Tell him calmly that that's his tea, and you're not cooking anything else. You have to stand by your guns tomorrow though and give him ordinary food which you all eat - do you eat together?

You just keep offering the usual food at the usual times.

Make sure he is drinking

No he is used to having tea around 7-ish, he is normally in bed by now.

I am going to take it away... sometimes I hate being a mum Why does it bother me more than him?

Yes we eat together.

My DD eats well but refused to eat dinner tonight. She has to sit at the table till we have finihsed, and then if she doesnt eat, I tell her she is getting nothing else and take away plate.
She wont strave but did go to bed with no tea.
Maybe try adding one of the things he will eat and one thing he wont, and lots of praise for just trying new foods.
Good Luck

don't be he won't hold this against you ! you feel guilt becasue of the whole food/ nourishing / nurturing thing..he'll be fine x

Poor you, it hurts you more because your world goes further than what's happening here and now, unlike his. You think about nutrition, balanced diets and good behaviour. He thinks about superheroes, chocolate biscuits, and showing the scrapes on his knee to his friends at school (if he's anything like my DS). Don't worry, you're doing the right thing.

Stand firm.

Well he has gone to bed, hungry.

Who feels like the wicked witch of West tonight?

It gets to the point where the stand-off is the issue, not the food, IMHO.

If my DS really isn't going to eat something, I'll say fine, you may leave the table. Get on with bath, but make sure he drinks a bigger glass of milk at bedtime. And more breakfast.

stand firm, but don't make him sit there for an hour just the length of time the meal takes IYSWIM. ALso try giving him small portions of what he doesn't usually eat and a reward for trying new stuff? Good luck!

My dd (3 1/2) has been faffing about rather then eating for the last 4 to 6 weeks, so for the last 2 weeks i have given her dinner telling her i have set the minute timer on the cooker for 30 mins and she know anything she hasn't eatern in the time then it taken away from her.

My reason for doing this was 2 weeks ago she took 1 1/2 hours to eat 1 slice of bread, a piece of cheese and a slice of ham.

I have had enough so now we do the timer, and she eats in time and her pudding and everyone is happy. I have to say for the first week i sat and cried when she went to bed because i was so with dh telling me i was being silly.

NatalieJane, try not to feel guilty. Sometimes you have to do this. I sent DS (4 yo)to bed on an empty stomach a couple of months back. He had a problem about coming to the dinner table when he was called rather than 15 mins later.We have not had the same problem since.
It can't hurt them if it's very occasional.

i'm sure he'll wolf his breakfast down in the morning

You are right you have to put food infront of someone 17-22 times before they might try it. I know its hard going but please stay strong.
L

DS has finally started eating broccoli after more than 50 exposures. I had given up hope!