Another thread about kids and eating :)

[PeacefulChaos]

The other threads got me thinking...

Pink doesn't eat much. She's 3, so I expect pickiness (though it would be nice if she wasn't picky :tongue_smilie: ... But, alas, I only got one of those. More on him in a minute.) and have been doing the standard 'keep offering food' thing.

She usually has a bowl of cereal for breakfast - anywhere between 8-10am (depending on when she wakes up). Occasionally I will have bought or made a 'treat' for breakfast and she'll have that. She eats breakfast well - no complaints, empties the bowl (only about half full of cereal) and drinks the milk (2% or whole).

At lunch she'll eat pretty much anything again. Lunchmeat and cheese on a tortilla (rolled up, though she eats it all separate, but I don't care how they eat it), homemade 'lunchables' (6-8 wheat thins, lunchmeat, and string cheese), pb&j (though she isn't a big fan of the pb), cheese quesadilla, or on rare occasions ramen. She eats all of whatever it is. For 'dessert' at lunch they get one of several things I keep on hand - yogurt, applesauce, string cheese, fruit, etc. She eats lunch at 12.

Then dinner rolls around. Sigh. She doesn't want dinner. Ever. She'll pick at her food occasionally but rarely eats it. She likes spaghetti and then just picks and chooses other things - like she'll eat the shell and cheese if we have tacos, etc. She'll eat all the unhealthy food - we have hot dogs maybe once every couple of months and she gobbles it up. :rolleyes: She loves pizza. At the same time, she does love salad, vegetables and fruit and stuff. We eat dinner around 6.

I'm guessing I just need to keep on keeping on... give her some of everything and eventually she'll eat it. I just hope she's getting the nutrients and stuff that she needs.

Any advice?

 

ETA: Oh! I forgot about Astro - he's my not picky eater. I wanted to ask about limiting food... he isn't overweight or anything like that (48" tall, 52-54 lbs, nothing concerning - there are pics of him on my blog if you want to see him) but I remember once when he was younger (3?) he asked for a third helping of something and I was like, 'Are you full?' and he said, 'It doesn't hurt yet.' :001_huh: So since then I've tried to make sure that he knows that full does NOT equal hurting. :tongue_smilie: Sometimes he'll get a second, smaller helping of spaghetti, and if he asks for another I'll say 'Ok, are you not full?' And sometimes he changes his mind.

I'm not trying to insult him or try to make him feel like he CAN'T eat if he is hungry! I just want to make sure that when he asks for more it's because he needs it, not just because something tastes good, kwim? Help!

Edited September 28, 2012 by PeacefulChaos

[regentrude]

cereal for breakfast ... drinks the milk (2% or whole).

Lunchmeat and cheese on a tortilla , homemade 'lunchables' , pb&j , cheese quesadilla, yogurt, applesauce, string cheese, fruit, etc.

spaghetti

loves pizza.

she does love salad, vegetables and fruit and stuff.

 

I see absolutely no problem with her diet - it is balanced, includes all food groups. She eats way more different foods than my (very healthy) son ever ate.

I do not understand what exactly you are concerned about.

That she does not want a cooked dinner, or only parts of it? Give her the parts she wants, and let her eat fruits and veggies to her heart's content.

[PeacefulChaos]

I see absolutely no problem with her diet - it is balanced, includes all food groups. She eats way more different foods than my (very healthy) son ever ate.

I do not understand what exactly you are concerned about.

That she does not want a cooked dinner, or only parts of it? Give her the parts she wants, and let her eat fruits and veggies to her heart's content.

 

The dinner thing, mostly. I guess there are just so many times that she just won't eat any of it for one reason or another, and I just want her to be getting all she needs, kwim?

[regentrude]

double

[regentrude]

The dinner thing, mostly. I guess there are just so many times that she just won't eat any of it for one reason or another, and I just want her to be getting all she needs, kwim?

 

but looking at what you wrote: she IS getting what she needs. My pediatrician always used to say: no child will starve in front of a full table.

We always had the policy that whoever does not want the cooked meal can have cereal or fruit.

 

Also: she is only three. She may need to eat less than you think. I would keep offering, she will eat when she is hungry. But I really do not see a reason to be concerned; she eats a variety of different foods.

 

ETA: Another thought: could it be 6pm dinner for a 3 y/o might be too late for her? Have you tried offering her food at 5? I am not hungry in the evening and often do not eat any dinner. At 6pm, my 3 year olds would have been so tired that they would not have wanted to eat either.

[CupOCoffee]

I see absolutely no problem with her diet - it is balanced, includes all food groups. She eats way more different foods than my (very healthy) son ever ate.

I do not understand what exactly you are concerned about.

That she does not want a cooked dinner, or only parts of it? Give her the parts she wants, and let her eat fruits and veggies to her heart's content.

 

:iagree: 100%. We went through something very similar when Dd was about that age, maybe a bit older. She ate totally fine during the day, dinner was a nightmare; until we just totally relaxed and said "if she eats, she eats, if she doesn't she doesn't".

 

but looking at what you wrote: she IS getting what she needs. My pediatrician always used to say: no child will starve in front of a full table.

We always had the policy that whoever does not want the cooked meal can have cereal or fruit.

 

Also: she is only three. She may need to eat less than you think. I would keep offering, she will eat when she is hungry. But I really do not see a reason to be concerned; she eats a variety of different foods.

 

ETA: Another thought: could it be 6pm dinner for a 3 y/o might be too late for her? Have you tried offering her food at 5? I am not hungry in the evening and often do not eat any dinner. At 6pm, my 3 year olds would have been so tired that they would not have wanted to eat either.

 

:iagree: again! It really looks like she is doing just fine! :grouphug: I know how hard it is to see them not eat dinner and go all panicky. Just keep doing what you are doing, and it will all work itself out. I refuse to turn food into a battle (not saying that you are, but just that the temptation is STRONG with us Mommas to push eating when we think they are not eating 'enough').

[PeacefulChaos]

but looking at what you wrote: she IS getting what she needs. My pediatrician always used to say: no child will starve in front of a full table.

We always had the policy that whoever does not want the cooked meal can have cereal or fruit.

 

Also: she is only three. She may need to eat less than you think. I would keep offering, she will eat when she is hungry. But I really do not see a reason to be concerned; she eats a variety of different foods.

 

ETA: Another thought: could it be 6pm dinner for a 3 y/o might be too late for her? Have you tried offering her food at 5? I am not hungry in the evening and often do not eat any dinner. At 6pm, my 3 year olds would have been so tired that they would not have wanted to eat either.

 

Hmm... I can't see her being tired at that time of night. She naps from 1-3/4 pm still and bedtime is at 9.

Most likely, I'm overthinking things :tongue_smilie: She is growing and healthy, and I remember reading long ago that if there's something they need, they'll eat it. :)

 

Anyone have any advice on Astro? I guess I just feel like I need someone's permission to do what I do with him... sometimes I feel like I'm inadvertently 'limiting' his food, but I really just want him to learn to listen to his body and stop eating when he's full (not overfill himself just because it tastes good!) :)

[Rosie_0801]

ETA: Another thought: could it be 6pm dinner for a 3 y/o might be too late for her?

 

:iagree: It's not unusual for my kids to eat all day, then refuse to eat dinner. And that's even in summer when they don't go to bed until ten. They will then get up and eat the saved dinner for breakfast and go through the cycle again. It seems to be the way they work...

 

Rosie

[ktgrok]

I wonder if by then she has low blood sugar, which can make you feel icky and not want to eat? Does she get a snack in the afternoon?

[ELITEANDLOVINGIT]

I agree, it sounds like she is certainly taking in enough calories.

 

My thought would be that you start offering some other things and make sure that dining is a family affair.

 

We struggle at times during dinner (which isn't fun), but my daughter is a CA survivor and its important to us that she learns to eat some healthy things. I make a point of always throwing out two vegetables (usually one raw offering because when all else fails I know she will eat carrots with ranch) at this point she is eating just about everything.

 

Most nights (save Fridays) I do require the kids to eat one vegetable (a tablespoon per year of age up to age five) and a protein (we are vegetarians so this is important and can be a struggle), starches, fats, and sugars I have never had to regulate they do that one their own :o) !

 

Once they have eaten they have to wait until seven for their next snack. If they don't eat dinner, they don't snack.

 

Its hard, I am sure to some it sounds horrible, but I am pretty committed that they get healthy food. My kids are mono eaters so I definitely do not mix their foods with anything else... casseroles are an absolute no...

 

I do think about what I am throwing out on the table a lot. There is truly always an option and most of our meals involve building either salads, pastas, sandwiches, or tortillas of some sort.

 

They always have choices...even if the choice is not to eat. :o)

[ELITEANDLOVINGIT]

I see absolutely no problem with her diet - it is balanced, includes all food groups. She eats way more different foods than my (very healthy) son ever ate.

I do not understand what exactly you are concerned about.

That she does not want a cooked dinner, or only parts of it? Give her the parts she wants, and let her eat fruits and veggies to her heart's content.

 

:iagree: I think she is eating fine...

[Shelsi]

My dd eats a good breakfast and lunch but rarely eats much for dinner as well. I figure she's just the backwards version of me. I'm ravenous in the evenings and get most of my calories during that time but middle of day I just don't have much appetite.

 

So anyways I just make sure her breakfast, snacks, and lunch are good nutritious foods and I don't really worry about dinner.

 

My kids LOVE having a snack tray every day. I just use a muffin tin and fill each cup with different things, usually: cheese cubes, strawberries, grapes, cucumber slices, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, hummus, apple slices, mixed nuts, chickpeas, and then something a little "carby" like crackers or pretzels.

[HomeschoolMamaOfTwo]

My son, 7, sounds just like Astro. He is 50 inches and 52 pounds, not overweight at all. He will eat and eat and eat and doesn't seem to have a full button until like way later, he will say his stomach hurts when he over eats. He would ask for 2nds and 3rds at dinner every night. Finally I've just started giving him a bigger portion (more than mine!) and when he asks for more, I tell him he can have a piece of fruit, applesauce, or some yogurt if he wants it. That works for him, but then DD wants the fruit or yogurt, too, and she doesn't eat as much as him, but I guess there are worse things she could eat. Anyway, this works for us, because I like to have leftovers for lunch the next day for DH & I. Would offering your DS something simple like that work so that he isn't getting a huge amount the second time but he gets a little something? I think part of why it works for DS is that he knows that is it, too, he doesn't ask for more dinner.

[2squared]

FWIW, none of my under 5yos would have been able to go without food for 6 hours - 12:00 until 6:00. They also don't eat when they are tired.

 

My current 1yo and 4yo eat a meal at 5:00 while I'm making dinner. They sit at the table with us at 6:00, but their bodies just can't wait that long for dinner.

[joannqn]

I give my 10 year old the same amount of food as DH and I and limit his seconds. When he was young, he went from the 95th percentile down to the 25th percentile. We figured out the problem (lactose intolerance) and I didn't limit his food because he was so small. Unfortunately, it became a habit, and he's now overweight. So, we limit his seconds since he only asks for them when we are having his favorites. We also recently changed our whole family's eating habits (about 75% of our diet is now produce with the rest being meat, bread, and starches), so he's lost about 5 pounds.

[stripe]

I see absolutely no problem with her diet - it is balanced, includes all food groups. She eats way more different foods than my (very healthy) son ever ate.

I do not understand what exactly you are concerned about.

That she does not want a cooked dinner, or only parts of it? Give her the parts she wants, and let her eat fruits and veggies to her heart's content.

 

When my husband is not at home for dinner, and therefore cannot offer his opinion ;), my kids often enjoy a sort of "random stuff on the plate" approach, of eating, say, various fruits and vegetables, some cheese or egg, crackers, etc etc. Not a cohesive meal, but nutritionally sound. As long as they eat, I don't really care that it's not a stew with rice or whatever. Same food, different format.

 

You might also try to feed her more at lunch; make it her main meal. My kids are somewhat unpredictable as to when they will eat a lot.

[LittleIzumi]

We have low blood sugar issues, so I can't even imagine boing 12-6 myself. I'd feel so sick by then I could barely eat but if she's scarfing veggies, grains, and protein, and is gaining well and happy, what's the problem?