Can I take time out from RL to briefly torment myself by asking - how much, and what, does your 7 year old dd eat?

[Enid]

as mine eats...very little and she loves crap. Eg we all eat porridge (oaty) and she refuses - eats coco pops. We all eat a roast dinner and she refuses to eat the meat. We all eat proper cheese and she will only eat cheesestrings. It is as if she is so scared of texture in food she just wants the most processed, bland shite instead.

And I know I know I shouldnt buy it...but she is very thin so I do give in, but am about to gather strength and crack down.

Am really interested to hear about other 7 eyar olds daily diets.

Oh and how do I make mumsnet look how it did before?

My Dd is 7 and very petit and skinny. She does eat a fairly good balance of food and will try things other children wouldn't contemplate however she eats excruciatingly slowly and sometimes meals can be a battleground. She would also eat crap if she has the choice.

I think she is unusual in eating quite well though. We've had enough of her friends round for tea to know that most have long lists of things that they won't touch (eg. one friend only eats pasta with grated cheese on top, nothing else...ever).

Would she be interested in planning or cooking some food of her choice?

Use a star chart aiming towards a reward?

yes she does try 'odd' food - mussels, sushi etc she likes for example

she doesnt much like dairy although will eat macaroni cheese oddly

what kind of meals does your dd like betty?

My DDs will be 7 in March and one of them eats almost anything, in very large quantities. She is very tall and very skinny. The other is fussy - we have a problem getting much protein into her as she doesn't particularly enjoy meat. Like your DD she'll eat a roast dinner and leave the meat. She'll eat toast or porridge for breakfast but would choose cocoa pops, frosties if given the choice. She has a very sweet tooth and would rather fill up on crap than proper food so I'm trying hard not to let her snack between meals as I find she eats much better if she is starving. Despite eating a lot less than her sister she's more heavily built these days.

Well mine is 6 (but nearly 7) and a boy. And he eats quite a lot. He would eat a lot of rubbish if given the choice but is reasonably pliable. He is allowed for breakfast a choice of weetabix, branflakes, porridge or starting right (Asda cheapo version of Just Right which is bought for me). At weekends he is allowed to have oatibix bite size for a treat. So this morning he had porridge and raisins and a glass of orange juice.

Yesterday he had two weetabix with raisins and a glass of juice for breakfast. A small piece of cheddar (2 cm square by 1 cm) mid morning. The Dinner Lady's fish crumble (haddock, peas, hard boiled eggs in white sauce with breadcrumb topping (only I used crumbled weetabix and grated cheese), four small roast potatoes, 5 small brocolli florets. He then refused fruit. Then for tea he had a Wimpi cheeseburger and chips meal and ate all of it (we went bowling with friends). When he got home he had a portion of stewed apples. So not much in the way of snacks, one good meal and one crap meal.

TBH I am surprised that you are feeding her the crap. Not in a judgmental way, but in a it-doesn't-fit-in-with-my-image-of-you way.

Meant to add, the fussy one will eat meat in a 'disguised' form, such as shepherds pie or bolognaise, as long as it isn't too lumpy, it's big bits of meat she seems to have a problem with. I wonder if its laziness, having to chew a bit more.

Go to customize talk board at the top.

My dd is nearly 7 and will eat most everything really, I wouldnt be too bothered about not eating the meat with a roast, if she eats the potatoes and veg.

However, I think its great you want to crack down, try making things with her, she will be more likely to eat them if she sees what i going in, or feels she has made it.

At her age it should be fairly straight forawrd by just putting her meal in front of her and telling her that or nothing.

Explain, why she needs to et more things and how her body works etc

FWIW, my DD hates porridge, but she will eat lots of other breakfast cereals.

Do you want an example of what she eats in an average day?

DS has started recently another phase of trying out being fussy because he has seen other children being fussy. He is off corn on the cob but I think that is wobbly tooth related and has suddenly gone off mushrooms recently. I think that is a texture thing and he will sometimes still eat them in casseroles etc. DD OTOH will have a pile of them on the side of her plate as a veg.

Enid could you offer her something in between porridge and coco pops eg grape nuts, weetabix - something that isn't so crap?

dd1 is only 5 but quite fussy in how she likes her food

no sauces, dry cereal, only raw carrots etc etc

we have just started Laying Down The Law this week, to dismal results

but I am not to be swayed

star chart on wall, with the promise of Ratatouille (the film!) this weekend if she tries new things

she tried bolognese the other day, one mouthful, but got a star

refused sausage casserole last night and cried

I am being stern though and am determined

Enid, she eats and enjoys stuff like:

roast dinners especially the meat (despite being veggie for the first 3 yrs of her life )
any pasta dish (usual spag bol, lasagne etc plus pasta with creme fraiche/pesto sauces, olive and tomato sauces)
lentil shepherds pie (nicer than it sounds honest )
homemade burgers with potato wedges
mild curry
sausage, mash and onion gravy
most vegetables

For breakfast she has toast or cereal (Cheerios, Shreddies etc so no high sugar ones) or sometimes porridge

I dont usually have coco pops, to be fair we only had them as a half term treat, she actually really likes all bran so I should stop moaning about breakfast i guess.

It is annoying having one picky eater out of three

My dd is a bit younger (6½) and is also very thin. A typical day's food would be

Breakfast

Bowl of cereal (Cheerios or Ready Break and chopped banana), probably about 4 tablespoons, or one piece of toast with peanut butter or jam plus a very small drink of milk

Lunch

Sandwich (2 pieces of bread)
Juice
Muesli bar or fruit flakes or whatever
Fruit or small yoghurt

Dinner

Spag bol, about 4 tablespoons
Fruit or yoghurt

But will constantly ask for snacks after school. She will eat a reasonable variety of food tbh - it's my ds who is the fussy eater but he's younger and not remotely thin even though he doesn't eat much.

So if she is refusing to eat the meat out of a roast does that mean she is OK on the veg side of things, but it is more the protein that you are bothered about with her refusal to eat dairy and meat?

I think I might do tea straight after school at 3.45 when she is most starving

then perhaps do a supper type thing at 6

Does she drink loads Enid? Could she be filling herself up with liquid so not feeling hungry?

My DD does not drink anything unless you stand over her and make her drink -drives me insane as she gets really arsey when she hasn't touched her water during the school day

yes bozza that is it

she doesnt like meat or dairy - would eat dry cereal if allowed, is very evangelical about being a vegetarian but likes bacon anyway I won't let her be veggy yet she has to be 12 [arbitrary]

she drinks lots of water - no squash here except a dusty bottle of ribena for guests

Yes, that's what I started doing. Make sure it's calorie packed food - peanut butter sandwich, banana, avocado (if she'll eat it), milkshakes etc

I would do dinner at the normal time and not give her snacks inbetween.
If you just dish things up and tell her that she either eats it or goes hungry it wont take long before she starts eating things.
However, don't make an issue about how much she eats, just that she eats some of it.

eg dd2 and dd3 love 'lid potatoes' - mashed potato put back in the skin of a baked potato (a la milly molly mandy dd2's passion) and sausages and veg - dd1 will eat the skin of the potato and the veg - no mash, no sausages

very healthy I suppose but not very filling or nourishing?

Does she like lentils, beans etc then? Is she one of these who likes her food to be in neat little piles or will she eat casseroles etc? Mine both like kidney beans actually.

My DD is like that with drinking Betty, she'll quite happily go all day without a drink unless someone forces her, then she'll drink loads and loads at about 6.00pm and wet the bed .

She may be a vegetarian in the making -I used to detest meat as a child and ate less and less of it until i left home and then never ate it a again.

It wasn't so bad if it was in a dish (eg.lasagne) but I hated it if it was on its own on the plate (eg. a roast, chops etc).

Is she more likely to eat it if its "disguised" rather than a lump of meat

I have also banned snacks between meals this week for both of them

even fruit as dd2 would live on it but then picks at her meals

mealtime is a feckin battleground in this house

Enid, if she likes fish then maybe do more meals based on fish?
Would she try soya milk - make it into a milkshake?