main course/pudding question.

[Sanguine]

Ok, DS, who is 8mo, is normally a good eater. He has finger foods and mashed stuff, and he usually has what we're having, minus salt. When he isn't very hungry or doesn't particularly like something, he'll take a few mouthfuls and then refuse and blow raspberries. My response to this is to offer a few more times and then take the food away and move on to pudding (youghurt or fruit normally). DS always has room for pudding, as he's not daft. I'm guessing that at some point I'm going to have to do the whole "no pudding unless you eat your main course" thing, but at 8 months this seems a little harsh as he's only just getting going on food. What point should I start insisting on him eating main course before he gets dessert? At 8 months, if he doesn't like something what should my approach be?

I wouldn't be giving pudding at all meself but that's just me. It's not needed and just gets them used to sugar. Fruit obv. ok though.

I didn't used to give pudding except that he was always so hungry and people used to say "and what does he have for pudding?" which made me feel I was depriving him of yogurt!

I dunno where this idea comres from that all babiesneed tiny tubs pf horridly expensive sweetened youghurt.

yoghurt = good, fruit= good
so as long as you don't add processed/refined sugars I don't see a reason why you should restrict it. At this stage they need calories, so maybe that's why they prefer sweet things over low calorie food.

If he doesn't like something, don't force them to eat it, but offer it again another day. Sometimes they just don't like what they are not familiar with.

by the way, by yoghurt I mean natural yoghurt, and I guess you also meant that.

If not much main course is going down I try plain cracker with peanut butter or squares of cheddar as a standard not too exciting fall back before resorting to apple sauce or plain yogurt. It at least gets some bulk in her for sleeping.

if ds doesn't eat his dinner i give him carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, squares of cheese, cherry tomatoes and maybe some bread/butter, cold meats and fruit. sometimes he doesn't want a hot meal but will eat that. if he won't eat that i offer plain yogurt.

Natural yoghurt sweetened with fruit puree (or indeed the sweeter veg purees such as carrot, squash etc) is and excellent weaning food. Calorie rich and lots of good vits and minerals. I often give ds2 this before or instead of his main course.

Agree though that theres no real need to offer a main and a pudding at every meal. With ds21 who wasn't a big eater he used to get fruity rice pudding at lunchtime and veggie stuff for tea (or vice versa).

err that should have been ds1 not ds21 ooo the thought

Riponite, I guess your DC is older, 8 mo shouldn't really eat peanut butter. mind you, that either has salt or sugar added.

you can give peanut butter at 8 months. as long as no family history of allergies they can have it after 6 months. i make my own in the food processor so no salt or sugar - it's just unsalted peanuts and peanut oil.

I would usually (still do) give DD a couple of spoonfulls of purreed/mashed fruit/chunks of banana after her main course, but usually left it hour or so. In the evenings, I would do tea at 5pm, the pudding at 6pm milk and bed 7:30-8pm.

We do the same - they sort of see it as a seperate meal then and don't get the "oh well, if i don't eat my dinner i will get yummy pudding instead" We do it naturally. I never want my pudding straight after my main meal - i'm always too full.

(well obviously she has a bit more than just a couple of spoonfuls of fruit! she has a bowl full at 2yo!)

I wouldn't make pudding, whether fruit or otherwise, a "reward" for eating the main course, tbh. I'd just do what you're doing, or sometimes just not offer another course. Depends how much he's eaten in the day, I guess.

FWIW dd gets fruit, or natural yoghurt with banana and whatever fruit is in the house mashed in. Really nice, but not terribly sweet. We leave her main course within reach, if she's not finished it, and sometimes she asks for it back. She has been known to eat pasta dipped in yoghurt. Blergh.

tweeni me too, like a gap. Also DD was small, and I worried about overstuffing her little body with too much food in one go, and if she did not want it, as she did not eat loads, that she would be hungry again in an hour, rather than eat it all at once, but less of it, and then want more milk at bed.

Even now she prefers to go do something for a bit before pudding.

Today ds had chocolate mousse and coleslaw

Today ds had chocolate mousse and coleslaw

I've been giving ds (15m) fruit or fruity yoghurt after meals, but if he can see it sometimes he wants it during - I'm happy for that as he will usually carry on eating the main as well. tonight for instance, he poured a bit of his plum yoghurt over his spaghetti and lentils, then carried on eating. was not interested in rest of his yoghurt, either.

No peanuts in our house - dh is allergic, and yes, by dessert I mean yogurt with fruit puree and no added sugar (although we have been known to get other types of yogurt/fromage frais when they are on special offer at the supermarket) or unsweetened fruit puree.

Thanks for all the thoughts. I'm determined that meals won't end up as a battle ground as they did in my house when I was little. I just want him to enjoy eating nice food with no stress. So far, he's doing really nicely, he's exploring and enjoying things, and occasionally rejecting things he doesn't like, as is his right. I couldn't ask for more, really. Yesterday, he made it perfectly clear that steamed carrot was the best thing ever, which made me very proud

i always give ds yogurt whether he has eaten his main meal or not. i don't want him to think dessert is special and the main course is just what you have to go through to get to the "treat" part. i give him plain yogurt though, not flavoured.

oops wrong thread

What do you all call plain yogurt, it is greek yogurt? I'm just wondering for future use. Thanks.

natural yoghurt or greek yoghurt.