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Kids and Food
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neilnevillFree Member
My two girls do ok. The eldest, 4, is a bit picky but we try to ask her what veg to buy and to cook, get her peeling, chopping and cracking eggs to be involved, put a little of a variety of veg on her plate and accept that some meals go badly, some middling and some well. So overall she eats a variety and hopefully with time will be happier eating more. Sweet veg like beetroot, carrot, sweet potato go best, but peas, broccoli go fairly well. Potato, parsnips and sprouts…. She eats a bit from time to time. The youngest, 2, is a really good eater, but even she had her moments. Sometimes the tin of speghetti hoops is used and we have to accept losing that battle.
jwhFree MemberMy 2 (11 and 8 ) eat what i give them ( helpful, not!) – but i know to mix some stuff in so they can’t quite tell.
One thing I’ve done a few times is to do it quite scientifically . So when they say they don’t want to eat for example chicken – I’ll come back with reasons that they need protein and explain why they need it for muscle development etc..
And so forth for other food groups. Helps were all quite geeky.
We’re trying to cut down the amount of meat in meals – so have the discussion of what your replacing it with and why.
We often revisit food they have disliked every couple of months as their taste buds change.
johndohFree MemberI’ll come back with reasons that they need protein and explain why they need it for muscle development etc..
I am not sure an 11 year old cares about (or would really understand) protein and muscle development. Perhaps if it was packaged more like ‘you like [insert sport or activity] don’t you? Well, by eating foods like chicken, eggs and vegetables you will get stronger/faster/better’…
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...jwhFree MemberPerhaps not – but i see no need to shy away from topics which allow them to learn at the same time.
solely depends on the child – Mine take a logical answer, sometime we describe it differently but it gets topics discussed and discussion is never a bad thing.
There is no magic answer – sometimes they just change.
Like one of the other examples – my son did not scrambled egg – but after having it a friends house now likes it. We’ve not changed how we made it either!johndohFree Memberi see no need to shy away from topics which allow them to learn
Agreed, but the best time to teach children about muscle protein synthesis probably isn’t when they are stressing about eating their Chicken Tonight. 😉
epicycloFull MemberTomD
The first “modern” documented account of anoerxia nervosa was in the 18th Century. I think what you meant was:I said “If an active kid goes 3 days without eating then it has a different problem” and anoerxia nervosa is certainly a big difference from picky.
One thing I didn’t take into consideration was the difference in meals in my lifetime, much plainer when I was raising kids.
trailwaggerFree MemberDay number two.
Youngest was away last night at Nans, so just the eldest (pickiest) eater at home.
I made Chicken Enchiladas. I knew it was going to be a tough one. She asked what was for tea as soon as I walked through the door. I told her and the immediate response was “I’m not eating that!”.
I made it anyway, and the wife and I sat down to eat (it was delicious). After ten minutes eldest walked into the kitchen and said she would try the chicken as she was so hungry. She sat and picked all the peppers out, scraped off as much sauce as possible and then ate the rest.
I`ll put that one down as a success. I think deep down she liked it, but is too stubborn to admit that to us.
steve_b77Free MemberI’ve got 3 little monsters, one is nearly 8, one is nearly 6 and the youngest is 3 1/2.
The eldest is pretty good, will eat a proper roast dinner and most adult type meals most of the time, sometimes he only wants kid type food.
The middle one can happily live off chocolate, dairylee drinkers and apples chicken in various forms and tuna napilonata or pasta carbonara, and I’ve never seen anyone of his size demolish a whole pack of jaffa cakes so quickly.
The youngest goes through phases, sometimes has the ability to eat small adult type meals, sometimes milk and biscuits.
They’re all healthy, sleep well and do ok at school academically and pretty damn well at sporty type things. But they all love fruit and veg and will snack on peppers, apples, grapes and carrots along with the usual mountain of crisps and biscuits.
As for how we deal with it, most of the time they get separate tea time from us due to timing so often get kiddie type food, but we make an effort at weekends to have family tea time and then we cook something that all will eat. I’m quite partial to chicken goujons, golden veg rice and carrot sticks 😂
neilnevillFree MemberOne thing we are struggling with at the moment is sandwich ideas. Eldest only wants ham, has started rejecting avacado, cheese and won’t try tuna. Will eat peanut butter but nursery don’t allow it. Sandwich ideas welcome!
johndohFree MemberTry other meats to start with?
And I would reject avocado sandwiches. That’s just weird.
jwhFree MemberCream cheese and marmite – daughter loves it. I can’t stand marmite.
BBQ / flavored chicken stuff in a wrap with salad ( if they’ll eat that bit )What about satay chicken as an extra to sandwiches – most of the stuff we get has never seen a nut so would be allowed ( our school is peanut free as well )
neilnevillFree MemberLol yes, will, she used to love avacado.
Key meats yes she will do the thin slices of chicken and beef. Cream cheese marmite…’that sounds good’ is her reaction! Thanks. The sauced chicken stuff can be hit or miss, we shall keep trying it though. I’d assumed satay would be peanut, how foolish!
outofbreathFree MemberPerhaps if it was packaged more like ‘you like [insert sport or activity] don’t you? Well, by eating foods like chicken, eggs and vegetables you will get stronger/faster/better’
I’m nicking this idea. Thanks.
steve-gFree MemberSimilar issues in our house, Eldest 10 is a nightmare for being picky. Was fine when she was younger, but as soon as she was old enough to have a say in it took a dislike to most things. She also has a weird one-in, one-out mentality with what she likes, she used to like Ketchup, then she discovered bbq sauce, as they are both sauces and she likes bbq she now doesn’t like ketchup. Same thing with baked beans and spaghetti hoops. if we have spaghetti Bolognese she will moan about the sauce but will happily eat a massive bowl of plain dry pasta that will have gone cold after an argument about trying some sauce.
The middle one, opposite issue, doesn’t like pizza, sausages, burgers, chips, all the lazy kid food. Offer him free choice of dinner and you’re making a shepherds pie…while the nuggets cook for the eldest at the same time.
The one thing that they share a like for is curry, and as others above have mentioned I think it was related to the no pressure of it all, we went to the curry place as we wanted one, thinking they would try a bit of rice and sauce maybe and it seemed to be that having an empty plate in front of them with a load of bread, rice, meat, sauce to choose from on their own terms got them to try, then from there who doesn’t like curry?
Youngest is on milk, must do better with this one
trailwaggerFree MemberShe also has a weird one-in, one-out mentality with what she likes
This has just reminded of something that others may find relevant. Eldest (pickiest one) is the fussiest eater I have ever come across. I realised one day that a lot of the time when she says “I don’t like that” what she actually means is “I would rather have X” She knows that is a dead end conversation though as the response is always “Well we are having Y”, so she changes it to I don’t like that”
BillMCFull MemberMy grandson (14 months) will happily reject packet baby food, dunk a breadstick into hummous and scoff away followed by a piece of lemon. Remarkable, but he’s got there through experimentation and empirical data.
My kids ate the same as the grown ups and we sat down together every night, no telly or radio, just talk. They were encouraged to try things once and were allowed a cake when in France if they asked for it in French. I used to be appalled when they had friends round who’d been allowed to not eat/like this, that and the other and had the cheek to tell you.
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