Children and their food

[Ravenfire]

Another thread made me think of this one. In our house I have never cooked different meals, we all have the same and I put everything on the girls plates even if they say they dont like something - I dont expect them to eat everything but I do encourage them to try and I never make them finish what they say they dont want. Over the years their tastes have changed and gradually the foods they didnt like they now do.

So my questions are:-

1. Are our children fussy with food because we allow them to be?

and

2. Do you cook different meals for your household to accomodate your children or insist they have the same?

[Easties]

its hard here as i do have to cook different meals sometimes because of jack
alex is a fussy one but its weird because he used to eat everything i gave him but one day when he was about 2 he was violently sick and since then has been dead fussy its like he has a fear of certain foods (the day he was sick it was sausages) but he is now getting better slowly but surely he is eating different things (being at nursery helps) its hard as he is 4 tomorrow and i think he should be eating a bit better but he will get there he is a strong healthy boy so he must be getting what he needs

as for do we allow them to be i think that this is part of the problem as with alex after he was sick that time i thought for a couple of days oh i wont make him eat it because of where he was so badly sick BIG MISTAKE as im sure if i persevered (sp) more he would have been ok so in some repects i do think i have made a rod for my own back so i have to deal with it and get him back on track
just didnt think it would take him this long lol

[Jen]

I like you Toni cook only one meal, and yes I put the same on each plate, the children leave what they dont like, but I am fortunate I do not have fussy eaters.

[sal1]

I do pretty much the same as you Toni.... The only time i will cook a different meal if im cooking a meal thats to spicy and hot for the kids....

[weaselgirl]

Occasionally i will cook two different meals but most of the time they have to eat what i put infront of them.DS will eat anything but dd is fussy. One day she likes something, the next she doesn't, but she gets it all the same.:yes:

[wkdfraggle]

Arron was a really good eater untill he was 2 (same as eea really) and he ended up in hospital with viral gastro-enteritis. Ever since then he has been really fussy - even now and he is 9.
I have started getting him involved in cooking more over the last year and he is SLOWLY getting better. He ate and enjoyed spag bol the other night for the 1st time.
Tims DD refuses to eat cheese. Her mum doesnt like it and as far as we are aware she has never tried it but says she doesnt like it. So sometimes we have to make something different to her if we are having something like pizza or a cheese based meal.
There are also times when Tim and ambur like something such as steak or minted lamb and me and arron dont so we have something different to them.
Neither me or Arron are fans of red meat really whereas tim would eat nothing but steak if he could!
If Arron refuses to eat something or even try it i refuse to give him something else.

Simone
xxx

[Trinity]

Like Sal, I will only cook a different meal for the kids if I decide that I want to cook something a bit spicier for dh or I, that said they usually end up eating a bit of what we are having.

There are times they don't eat what is put down to them but I don't go and cook them something else, if they want anything else to eat they can have some toast or piece of fruit. They won't starve but they will not be given crisps and biscuits to replace their uneaten dinner.........it seems harsh but it works!

[Easties]

Like Sal, I will only cook a different meal for the kids if I decide that I want to cook something a bit spicier for dh or I, that said they usually end up eating a bit of what we are having.

There are times they don't eat what is put down to them but I don't go and cook them something else, if they want anything else to eat they can have some toast or piece of fruit. They won't starve but they will not be given crisps and biscuits to replace their uneaten dinner.........it seems harsh but it works!no i agree with you hun i have neverand never will go and cook them something else
and like you they get fruit or something not junk food :yes:

[Sluff]

I do pretty much the same as you Toni.... The only time i will cook a different meal if im cooking a meal thats to spicy and hot for the kids....

Yep am totally the same, I think we can make them fussy by trying to please them too much food-wise sometimes.

[Trinity]

Yep am totally the same, I think we can make them fussy by trying to please them too much food-wise sometimes.

That is true Sluff, I remember when my neice came to visit and her diet consists of chips and beans but imagine my horror when my sister asked me to put them on seperate plates as my neice didn't like her beans touching her chips!! See, if you start pandering to silly needs like this is it any wonder they end up as fussy eaters?

That said, when I was a child I was incredibly fussy but that because my mum allowed me to........or now when I come to think of it, my mum never was a great cook and still to this day eats frozen ready-made meals!

[Easties]

my dp brothers little boy went through a phase of only eating round things so his mum used to spend ages cutting all his rood so it was round and if she cooked him something and he didnt want it she would throw it away and cook him something else which was nearly every day lol
hes really good now and eats really well

[Sarah]

Yes I firmly believe they are fussy because we allow them to be - I started down that road with mine but then put my foot down and unless they ate what I made they didn't eat. We all have different likes and dislikes and that's fine - you'll soon know what they genuinely don't like because they'll consistently refuse it - but they have to try it first to find out!
I rarely cook different meals unless we are having say a curry and I know that Isobel probably won't like that kind of food yet so I'll make her something more suitable.

[wkdfraggle]

When we were younger you were not allowed to be fussy - we had to sit and eat what was given to us whether we liked it or not. I remember many times when one of us would be sat there for a good couple of hours untill we ate it all. Chewy brazing steak was the one thing i hated!

If you make food an issue children soon learn that they can create stress and get some sort of hold over you very early on.

The best thing to do is show the child you are not bothered simply take the plate away and tell them they can not have anything else for the rest of the night as they havent eaten it.

I find that arron normally ends up eating his if i do that - even if he does moan about it!

Simone
xxx

[smirnoff]

we do seperate meals!!

i am veggie so i have something separate!!
fern has a dairy allergy

[duck_egg]

i too cook only one meal, the girls sometimes protest but i am adamant i will not give in to fads. they too have learned to like things that they have previously not eaten. i think children are pandered too an awful lot these days, *puts on mothers voice* what did we do before wipes and pull ups?? and before chicken nuggets and fromage frais?? i do get quite uppity over some things, apologies if i upset anyone but i think lots of children (not all) are fed what they like because it is easy, but this doesn't help them in later life. my brother in law was bought up on frozen meals and now won't eat anything but, my sister is a great cook but he won't eat anything fresh, this stems from his parents, therefore some of it will rub off on his kids (my nephews) my girls eat what we do, even a curry although not a hot one.

[Easties]

suzi hun what do you give to fern to keep her calcium up as jack isnt allergic allergic but is very very sensative to dairy and cant have most of it ?

[pattacake]

Ella has a thing about potatoes she will only eat chips ,but last night i put a roast potato on her plate(she will normally say dont like tatoes!) so i normally dont put them on her plate,however she asked to try one last night and ended up eating 5!:yes: Rees is going through a" it has fat on it and thats not healthy mummy", stage at the moment I will only cook one meal for us all but tend to avoid things they wouldn`t touch with a barge poll and if they dont eat then they go hungry! I haven`t the time or the money to cook 2/3 different meals a night!
Rees surprised us at christmas he hates brussels and I mean hate! but he ate loads of them `cause "grandad grew them and they are nice" so i now buy them and tell him grandad dropped them round earlier and he is non the wiser!:laugh:

[Sluff]

And we try and eat at the table as a family as much as possible too as I find that helps their eating habits. It is hard though as dh doesn't get back from work till about 6.45-7pm.

And when ds wants to get down he says "excuse me from the table, thankyou for my dinner" EVERY TIME! Bless him..

[essexgirl]

i think im a bit soft on dd eating as she was tube fed for the first nine months and shes never been a big eater but i dont cook two meals but i do try cook meals that i know she'll eat as sometime she'll only have a few mouthfuls and then two minuites later she hungry i only let her have fruit or i leave her meal in the microwave and reheat it but i only do that once .
she worries me coz she hardly drinks either but when i mentioned it to her drs they gave her a cup of water and she drank it they said no theres not a problem but my arguement is i dont think she get thursty sorry going off the subject

[MagsMum]

I cook one meal for whoever is in and its just the size of portion that changes. Think because I have always done that DD has never been fussy. We all choose our favourites and I do try to fit them into the week, but you all know how it is - if its on special then its on the plate!!

[smirnoff]

suzi hun what do you give to fern to keep her calcium up as jack isnt allergic allergic but is very very sensative to dairy and cant have most of it ?

soya milk hun!
soya yoghurty things
seseme seeds
fruit juice and
fresh veg and fruit!!

hth xxx

[Easties]

soya milk hun!
soya yoghurty things
seseme seeds
fruit juice and
fresh veg and fruit!!

hth xxxi heard that soya milk was high in salt so never really thought of it tbh but its worth a go
what do you do with the sesame seeds hun (sorry for sounding dumb but ive never used them before lol)

[smirnoff]

you can put the sesame seeds in anything, or on anything (or buy/make sesame seed snap things with hunny and stuff)...

[Easties]

you can put the sesame seeds in anything, or on anything (or buy/make sesame seed snap things with hunny and stuff)...brilliant thanks for that hun he likes them when you get them on rolls so i bet he would love them made like that
thanks hun you are a star :clapping:

[angel1980]

I cook (well I can't cook to save my life!) different meals, only because ds will eat at about 4.30 or 5 and I eat with dp later on if he's here anytime between 8 and 11, and me and dp eat different things mostly, as I'm veggie and he strongly isn't!

Ds isn't fussy at all which is good.

[Patti odoors]

yes and yes to the original question because I am a bad mummy.

Emily used to eat just about anything but it all changed when she had school dinners at her first school {pre jamie days} and now she has very particular likes and dislikes so probably 3 - 4 out of 7 days she will have a different meal to us, its not that much extra hassle really and at least I know she is fed and happy. We do continually encourage her to try different things and have had a lot of sucess in that respect. She has a balanced diet though, eats more than her fair share of fruit and veg and is healthy so I am happy.

[Apri]

Usually we all eat the same although occasionally if I have a bought a pizza and it was too spicy - I have made something else for the kids to eat instead rather than nothing to eat.

[Seren]

I cook and place food on the table, I try to please all but can't if it doesn't get eaten it goes in the bin and no other meal is prepared

today it was leftovers night, which happen to be morocan chicken which has chickpeas and apricots which are not popular also served with couscous which isn't popular despite jamie oliver. So most of it went in the bin.

I can't win here

Dh don't eat veg and is fussy with meat
Ds#1 is is starting to get picky
Ds#2 will hardly ever sit and eat food at the table and won't eat most of the meals I prepare
Dd is lovely but she is only 13 months
Me a confused ex vegetarain


"violin"1

[ruthie]

I think the difference is that years ago there wasn't so much choice of food so kids ate what there was also not many women worked so they cook more meals that took time for the whole family, I think we have got lazy regarding cooking, nor was there rubbish food like Chicken nuggets etc. Though I can remember living on Banana sandwiches for about a year so obviously mum gave me what I would eat. When mine were small they would usually have the same as me and their dad but sometimes I would do different for one of them if they didn't like what the rest of us were having. I cook different things even now for dh me and dd!!

[storm]

Josh has school dinners so he tends to have a snack at t time, but fri, sat sun we all eat together, normally the same but dp cooks and he likes to use lots of chillies etc so josh might have something different. Josh is also starting to help dp cook and he really enjoys that which is also helping him to try the things he wouldnt normally try, he used to be so fussy but the older he's getting the more he will try and the more he likes.

[wokkies]

well little ds has decided he doesent like anything apart from marmite sandwiches and sausages and any meat as long as its not got sauce on, doesent like sweet and sour, he used to love it, doesent like bolognaise, used to, but he still get given the same as us unless its curry we have no learnt if we put loads of veggies specially broccoli and cauliflower he will eat that, last night was chicken in a white wine sauce, refused to eat the chicken even though he loves chicken but had more broccoli instead because the chicken had sauce on, now his only option is fruit which he doesent like or marmite sandwich if he leaves his tea, and its no good saying to him well you wont get any pudding because he doesent really like any puddings, doesent like ice cream cos its too cold, lol. I remember when i was younger mum used to make a meal and everyone had the same, i once decided i was going to be a vegetarian and she said well i'll still put meat on your plate i'm not making anything special seperatly so gave that one up, lol. One of big ds's ex gf's was a vegetarian but luckily she mostly used to say she wasnt hungry if i offered her food,unless i was in a good mood with them and made salad with veggie cheese and onion burgers, then the week before she and big ds split up she ate spag bolonaise with mince here, and informed me, oh i do eat meat sometimes, grr sorry i waffled on a bit there, lol
yes to the original question toni, it is probably our own fault why kids are fussey eaters, saying that yes I'll shut up in a minute, big ds will eat almost anything and always has done