I have a picky eater on my hands. He'll eat, but he's often particular about what he eats and how he'll eat it. This is how lunch went today (and every other typical meal time):
Owen is hungry and I know this because he grabs my hand, leads me into the kitchen and points to the fridge and food cupboard. I hand him a little piece of turkey meat to occupy him while I get out more food for him. He eats it. Yay! Today might be a good meal day.
I put him in his high chair and give him more lunch meat since he seems to be happy with it. While he's working on that, I get out cooked green beans- usually a favorite. I give him one, he tests it out, he spits it out. Ok, maybe it's too cold. I warm the rest up and give them to him. He has no interest. He has also stopped eating his meat. Ok, on to the next thing.
Bread with peanut butter. So far Owen hasn't liked peanut butter but I believe in the concept of repitition and hope that over time he might get used to it, because PB is a staple food in our home! I give him a few pieces with the peanut butter showing. He just stares at it. Ok then, honey! He hasn't been too fond of jelly in the past so I'll try honey. I put a drop of honey on each piece. He eats it, and seems to like it! Yay! Another new food he'll eat. He really likes the honey and is asking for more. I give him a few more pieces, then decide to take the rest of the bread and stack it like a sandwich. He watches me put the honey on and place the next piece of bread on top, so he knows the honey is there. I hand it to him. He stares at it and refuses to put it in his mouth. I give him smaller pieces again. This time he refuses it all. Darn.
Now what will he eat?? He must be hungry still. Black beans are a a favorite. I put a few on his tray, and he just mashes them. I try to give him a few bites of yogurt which he usually loves, but he's not loving it right now. Ok, I'll just leave him be for a while because he often eats better when he's by himself with no distractions. At this time he has turkey, green beans, PB and honey sandwich, and black beans on his tray. Plenty of food for a 1 year old.
A few minutes later when I look up at him, he's thrown his food onto the floor, smashed it on his try, on his face, and in his seat. He did manage to drink most his milk, before dumping the rest on his tray. This is my sign that he's done and the big clean up begins. The cleanup seems to take almost as long as the preparation! And while I clean I wonder why I bother when I know the same scene and mess will play out at dinner.
He did manage to eat some string cheese, crackers, applesauce, and noodles during the remainder of the day without too much struggle, though he did refuse several other things. There are a few foods he could eat all day long (cheese, crackers, cereal) but I would like him to have more of a variety. I just wish he'd eat what I give him! Meal times take so long because I usually have to try food after food and prepare a number of things, then so much food is wasted that he doesn't eat. It would be so nice if he would just eat what I make for our dinner so I didn't have to plan separate meals. Maybe someday.
9 comments:
I'm with you on the repetition thing. Thomas isn't a picky eater now (hallelujah!) because we kept giving him the same food over and over when he was Owen's age---he never learned that refusing food meant he didn't have to eat it ever again. Hang in there! Its a tough stage but if he's really hungry he'll eat it...eventually :)
Oh my goodness! You just described my day with Maddie! I can't tell you how many food items I've picked off the floor because she decides mid bite that she doesn't want to eat it any more. I feel like Cinderella on my hands and knees! But I will keep on trying with her until it kills me! I, too, believe in offering it over and over and over again.
Thankfully, Warren isn't a picky eater-- never has been. I take solace in that.
Good luck!
This probably isn't much comfort, but this gave me a lot of comfort with Garrett. I'm exactly the same way, mostly with lunch. With breakfast and dinner, I don't have too much trouble, but that's probably cause were still introducing a LOT. But lunch is where we seem to have problems of him eating things. I don't know what to do when he refuses what I eat, but at the same time, I don't want him to only eat the same thing. What I've found that works, is to give him the stuff he doesn't prefer first, so he will eat the variety first, and then have the stuff he really likes after.
Just keep at it. We tried the 10-day repetition thing with peanut butter with Madeleine, and she refused to eat it the full 10 days, so we stopped, but when I tried again about a week later, she loved it, and she eats it every day now. You'll get there.
There are some days when it seems like Connor is not interested in eating anything at all, and some days that he will try anything. I think it depends on his mood. Just imagine, someday he will go on a Mission and come back eating everything. That is what Steven did.
Ditto to everything everyone has said... my kids ate eggs for the first time this week after trying at least 50 times! But it kills me how often I find something they like, buy it in bulk only to find that it was a fluke and they refuse to eat it ever again. Luckily, Kate's my pickier eater, and, well, she could use to skip a meal or two, so if she doesn't eat, she doesn't eat. She'll learn. Or, just live on milk for the rest of her life.
Picky Eaters are the worst!! Reading your day is exactly how my life as been for the last few years. I used to think that "someday" Allen would be a better eater, but now he is going on 5 years and he only eats a handful of things. Abby is coping her brother and acting the same way... it's so draining for a mother. Hopefully Owen snaps out of it sooner.
I guess I was a mean mother (or lazy). If the kids didn't eat something I put before them, that was too bad - they went hungry. I don't think I ever went through what you do. I figured that they would eat when they got hungry enough and would eventually learn to eat what was put before them if they didn't want to be hungry until the next meal.
I know exactly what you mean.
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