What To Do About a Picky Eater?
My husband walks out of the kitchen in a huff, “I’m done,” he says running his fingers through his hair, “I don’t know what else to do. You try.”
We cannot get our four-year-old daughter, Leia, to eat.
We’ve tried not giving her any snacks so she’s hungry for mealtime and negotiating bribes of desserts/outings/toys/gold/diamonds at the end of a meal. These tactics seem to work at first, but after the novelty wears off, she flexes her stubborn-muscle and squarely refuses to eat. She then uses that muscle to play a game of tug of war with us where she drags our asses through a mud pit and leaves us with bruised cheeks, low morale, and a fair amount of post-traumatic stress.
Leia’s entire diet consists of:
1. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
2. Tyson’s Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets or McNuggets (and heaven forbid you try to feed her any other kind of chicken nugget or chicken in any other form!).
3. Pizza Hut, Little Caesar’s, Papa John’s, or certain local pizzeria pizza.
(Sorry Domino’s, you didn’t make the cut.)
4. Potato bread buns or dinner rolls (usually served with number 5).
5. String cheese. (Only white! And not Polly-O!)
6. Zone Perfect Nutrition Bars Kidz. (They’re packed with vitamins, minerals, and protein and they’re total life savers when she’s being extra difficult).
7. Potato chips (cheese and sour-cream-and-onion flavored only).
8. Fruit snacks.
And occasionally:
9. Grilled cheese.
10. Macaroni and cheese.
11. Watermelon.
12. Cake.
13. Ice cream.
Sometimes my husband and I feel so alone in our struggle to keep our picky eater fed and alive, but we’re not the only ones struggling with this, right?
12. Cake.
13. Ice cream.
Sometimes my husband and I feel so alone in our struggle to keep our picky eater fed and alive, but we’re not the only ones struggling with this, right?
I read a post once in a moms’ Facebook group where a mom perfectly described Leia’s current diet.
She wrote something along the lines of, “My child survives on rainbows and unicorn farts.”
I often find myself recalling that Facebook post after exceptionally rough mealtimes and I find some solace in the fact that other parents are currently grappling with their own picky eaters.
And so the spirit of solidarity, I decided to appeal to my social media support network to ask if anyone else has a picky eater; and if so, how do they get their kids to eat?
Wow! Great read. I can imagine how difficult dealing with a picky is because dealing with a small human is difficult in general. Isabella isn’t very picky but I found myself dealing with the same behaviors. With her it’s more of a playtime interruption and she’s not feeling that. Recently I purchased a “Dinner Winner” plate. It’s been helping tremendously keep her motivated during eating times. Worth the try in addition to everything you’re already implementing.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbie! Sorry it took me so long to write back. I was having an issue with responding to my comments, but I figured it out. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment! I’ll be looking into getting that plate; maybe making mealtime into a sort of game can make eating more fun. Thanks again! ~E. L.
ReplyDeleteLove the reward chart idea. My grind does that as well with vegetables. I’ve been trying to use some of these tips lately: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/10-things-you-should-never-say-to-your-child-about-food_b_4038562
ReplyDeleteIt’s not easy!
Penny ususally says she’s hungry right before bed time so during dinner time I remind her she should eat enough so she won’t be hungry before bed time. I let her know she should eat until she’s full and should have enough in her tummy to sleep through the night. It’s been working for the most part. I also have to be better with vegetable options she will eat. She likes brocolli with cheese and edemame but I need to give it to her more often. I’m trying to be better to always have fruit options for her as well. Cooking for oneself is already hard but adding a little human that has opinions is also tough lol. Hang in there
mama!
Hi Vanessa!
ReplyDeleteI read that article a while ago, but I just read it again. It's a great read.
I've been doing the whole "listen to your tummy" thing and "this is the last meal of the day" thing.
The "listen to your tummy" advice kind of backfired because she said her tummy was telling her that it wanted cookies instead of her meal, and that's when we had to get tough with her and tell her that if her tummy has room for cookies, it should have room for her meal.
And we definitely motivate her to eat her food by reminding her that she won't get dessert if she doesn't eat her meal. Sometimes it's the only way we get her to eat real food at all!
My conclusion is that you have to do what works for your kid, but, for sure, pushing them to eat and stressing about whether or not they eat a particular meal, just doesn't help anyone.
Keep fighting the good fight, Vanessa!
Our picky eaters will one day turn into regular eaters, and then we'll sit at the dinner table readjusting our dentures and feel so proud.
~E. L.
nice blog
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