The Adventures of Motherhood with Twin Boys

The Adventures of Motherhood with Twin Boys
Love, Hugs, and a few Tears
About mom2twinboys


Member Since:
February 01, 2008
Last Signed In:
November 19, 2008
Blog Views:
3833
Send a Message Send To A Friend Sign Guestbook Add as a Friend

mom2twinboys - > The Adventures of Motherhood with Twin Boys -> Do you have a picky eater in the family?
Do you have a picky eater in the family?
For Brodie, it's a texture issue.

So what are your tricks to get your kid(s) to eat?
Topics: mom2twinboys
posted by mom2twinboys on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 08:22 AM
Report a Violation
5 comments from 5 users

1

posted by ThatTripletMom on Sep 17, 2008 at 10:02 AM
I have one with a texture issue.  I have done a lot of experimenting over the years.

Try putting put one type of food on the plate at a time. At the beginning of the meal, try putting two bites of something new, or something he has tried before but rejected.  This is when he is at his most hungry and might be open to one or two bites.  As soon as he has swallowed them, put a couple bites of something he likes on the plate, then feed him the rest of the meal.  Next time, try alternating more.

Another idea is to combine the 'iffy' food with something compatible that you know he likes, but in the same bite.

Another thing I did sounds  a little like brainwashing (LOL).  Every meal I would keep up a constant prattle of "Mmm, yummy, this is so good, oooo tasty" and I would take a bite of their food every so often - pretending to be sneaky because the food was so good I couldn't resist stealing a bite.

Later, around 3 years old, I struck a breakthough with the book Green Eggs and Ham.  I know it seems cliche, but I am sure I am not the only mommy to use this book as a tool.  It really did get my kids to try at least one bite of something new before commenting.  The rule at our house is you can't say if you like or don't like something until you at least try it.

Now that they are older and I have 'helper of the day', the helper gets to sneak tastes of dinner while it's still being prepared and during table setting.  This is a way I have gotten one to try new foods.  It's funny that he might be resistant when it's presented at the table on a plate, but when it seems like a special privilege, he asks to try it.  I often get him to try it by enlisting his help as a cook, "please taste this and  tell me if it needs more cooking, or more salt' or whatever I can think of as an excuse to get him to try.  He loves to be in charge and have an opinion, so I take advantage of that trait.

One thing you shouldn't do is get into any kind of habit of offering the picky child a different meal choice than what you are preparing for the family.  Have the attitude of, "This is what is for dinner." Period. I soften that by talking about how I make the food with the needs of their body in mind and I only make foods for them that I would like to eat too. We talk a lot about what different foods provide to the growing body. They really like making that connection.

Anyway, I still struggle with one child.  But it's more of a slowness and low volume struggle.  This child likes most everything, but just does not eat very much.

Good luck!  I will look to see what ideas other moms have.
posted by MamaSeaShell on Sep 17, 2008 at 05:12 PM

My 3rd son is soooo picky.  His peanut butter and jelly has to be presented a certain way or he will have a meltdown.  It still persists.  He wins... generally.  I have to walk away most of the time. 

We had a break through, though.  We didn't have a magic technique or anything. We just let him be when deciding to eat.  Sometimes we would make something he likes and then sometimes he would have to be hungry for one night.  Would tell him that he should have ate something when everyone else ate.  We all have been encouraging him to eat something new. 

Yesterday he "decided" to "practice" eating.  I was in tears and trying not to seem apparent that I was crying.  He finally at a piece of grilled chicken.  We were all elated and relieved.  This has been a pain in my neck for a long time. 

posted by wifemotherdaughtersister on Sep 17, 2008 at 08:22 PM
juice it.  i've re-discovered naked juice, which went over very well ( nevermind the ewwww diapers that come along with it)  then i've been playing around with juicing every produce that she won't try.  which is all of them.  mixed with a little apple juice and it all goes pretty well!
posted by mom2twinboys on Sep 17, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!  I'll take all the help I can get.  :) 
posted by mommybean on Sep 18, 2008 at 06:40 AM
I had my 4 year old pick the vegtable for dinner. She continued to say she did not like green beans or corn and did not want to eat it. I asked her 3 times to pick one re-wording the question to 'what do you want to make us for dinner?' I made her season our meat and cook the corn (can). I would comment and taste it and say that it will be the best corn I have tasted. I put it on her plate like usual and she tasted a few and ended up eating all be a few. I did not make a huge deal about her eating it which also helped. 

MommyBean
1

Leave a Comment
Ground Rules for posting comments:
  • No profanity or personal attacks.
  • Please comment on the subject of the blog post itself.
If you do not follow these rules we will remove your comment. Please keep it civil.

To protect users from spam, we need you to prove that you're a human being.
Please enter the text from the image at left.
Make my comment anonymous Show my user name with my comment