Comments on: Supper Squabbles

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:21:48 +0000

These are all great suggestions & I’ve tried everything in the book. I’ve learned there are two things you can’t force a child to do, eat or sleep. Hope one of the suggestions works for you!

By: Colleen - Mommy Always Wins

Colleen - Mommy Always Wins — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:45:19 +0000

Tell me its just a “4″ thing…cuz my 4yo is in the same boat. “I’m tired. I have to use the bathroom. Hey William (little brother)! Let’s be SILLY!!!”

I want to pull out my hair! Nothing works…I’m hoping that some day soon he’ll hit a growth spurt and need the extra fuel. Till then, I’ll just cover those grays…

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:44:39 +0000

This may sound mean but you should give it a try. If she does’nt eat a reasonable amount of the food you put on her plate for dinner you should cover it and put it in the fridge. Then when its time for breakfast heat it up and give it to her. If she does’nt eat it the do the same thing for lunch and dinner. Eventually you will have to throw it away if she is stubborn enough to go without food for a few days. Just start over. I have two boys and two girls. Both girls are super picky. Just let her know you are in charge. Hope it works for you!

By: GMom @ A Mom Is A Job

GMom @ A Mom Is A Job — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:48:16 +0000

Wow! I feel better now b/c I have the same issue with my 3 year old son. I have tried all of these ideas too. The hardest is sending him to bed w/o dinner b/c 9 times out of 10 he will be laying there and and never fall asleep b/c he says he is “hungry”. I try very hard not to give in and get him something to eat but sometimes I just can’t do it and cave.

When I told my pediatrician about sending him to bed hungry she said she doesn’t think that is a good idea…at this age anyway. She explained that at 3 years old, a child cannot think that far ahead. If he is not hungry at dinner time, he does not realize that he will be hungry later when he is supposed to be in bed sleeping. She said that older children certainly know they will get hungry but a child this age does not.

Her suggestion to me was to: Limit the drinks, especially juice. My son will take a drink over food any day so I have to really watch his liquid intake even though the juice I give him is 90% water. She said to keep the food on the plate a small portion. Give him time to eat it with you at dinner, and if he doesn’t eat it then, wrap it up and put it in the fridge. When he’s laying in bed and says he’s hungry give him the plate of food that he didn’t eat at dinner time and if he is REALLY hungry, he WILL eat it.

So that was my pediatrician’s idea but to be honest, I haven’t had to go that route since my husband has found another way to get our son to eat. What I’m about to describe is more of a visual but I’ll give you the general idea: Basically, make the food talk. My husband will pick up the food whether it’s on a spoon, fork, or his hand (if it’s a finger food like chicken nuggets) and pretend that it is talking and telling our son to “eat me”. Then when my son takes a bite my hubby will start screaming in the “Mr. Bill” type voice “oh noooo, you ate off my head. I have no eyes, I can’t see!” Then he will start laughing his head off and try to eat more of the talking food to see what else it will say after another bite.

Sometimes my husband reverses it and makes the food issue a challenge…”You can’t eat ME! I’m the king of the plate and I’ll live here forever!” Then my son takes it as a challenge to eat everything.

We had to do this last night with his four chicken nuggets (a food he never has trouble eating). He would not eat anything until my husband did his little skit with the talking food. Sure enough, he got him to eat all of them and the rest of us had a pretty good laugh too!

Yes it IS a lot of work so that may not be an option for you but it does work for us. You can also try arranging the food into some type of face (a big smiley face) on the plate to make it look fun or more interesting.

Geez…the things we have to go through to make a kid eat!!!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:15:41 +0000

What if she helps cook dinner? Have her take an active part now and then in choosing and preparing the food. Sometimes that helps with my picky eater.

And yeah, as terrible as it sounds, I did what Trisha does. When my husband was in Iraq, I found out that if my oldest was sitting in front of cartoons he was distracted enough and would eat. That lasted from 3.5-5 years old. Once he started Kindergarten, we were back to eating at the table as a family again, and it was much more pleasant.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:13:13 +0000

I have a five year old that is in the middle of this power game right now and it drives me crazy! I have always been a you will eat everything on your plate type of parent, but this new foster child is changing that rule.
What her counselor has suggested is to put 2 bites of each item on her plate. This way I am not wasting, and she is not overwhelmed with the amount of food on her plate. If she eats all of the food, she may ask for more, and she is given a 2nd helping of 2 bites of each food. If she doesn’t want more, then at least I got a little bit in her tummy and life goes on.
We also have cut out all snacking between meals and all drinking of anything besides water. You would be amazed at how she all of a sudden is hungry again and eating dinner.
Do this with your child at each meal. If your child is eating a lot at breakfast and lunch and snacking, then they may not be hungry for dinner. It is trial and error with kids a lot of the time..and I am willing to try anything if it might work.
Good Luck

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:07:34 +0000

My kids do the same thing! My favorite is when they say they’re full when they have barely eaten ALL day! Ugg.. I just dish out smaller amounts and tell them they don’t have much but they have to eat something! But one thing I’ve learned over the past 8 1/2 years is that they go through spurts when they’ll eat everything in sight and then won’t eat hardly anything for a couple of weeks! I know it’s frustrating but she will eat when she’s hungry and unless she is loosing weight or not gaining I wouldn’t worry about it.

By: Leanna

Leanna — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:21:28 +0000

My son is like that now and he is just about 6. He always seems to be starving right before he needs to go to bed. So I have been keeping his plate for him at night so when he does get hungry, i warm it up and he can have his dinner. I refuse to make him something else. It works for me. He might not be hungry for dinner at 530 so he’ll eat it at 730. He still has to sit with us a dinner though. Not just get up and play. But if it’s past 730 he lost it. Just stick to whatever you choose to do. Hope you find a solution. I know how frustrating it is.

By: A Frugal Friend

A Frugal Friend — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:08:06 +0000

I was like that around 4-5……I just wasn’t hungry. I still don’t eat all that much. They took me to the doctor and the doctor said….she’ll eat when she’s hungry. And he was right. They just assumed I needed more food. Even as an adult, my parents bugged me about never eating breakfast.

I have FOND memories (or nightmares) of being forced to eat cold peas. Oh such fun. I have a toddler now, so I feel for you.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Yuck, we are there too. Chandler has to sit there until his dinner is done. We don’t care about excuses or if he all of a sudden doesn’t like his food. Sometimes it takes an hour or longer, and he bawls and carries on. However, he’s beginning to realize that we won’t budge and it is getting better. Stick to your guns!