Morning,
I have one fussy eater. What do other parents use as a bribery tool (no judging) to try and get their child to eat dinner or anything for that matter other than sweets? We are booked in to see a dietician in two weeks.
Morning,
I have one fussy eater. What do other parents use as a bribery tool (no judging) to try and get their child to eat dinner or anything for that matter other than sweets? We are booked in to see a dietician in two weeks.
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12 Replies
How old is your child, and what sort of stuff do they eat?
There are so many different ways to get nutrition into a child's diet.
I don't use 'bribery' exactly, but I've been known to say things such as "I know this food is new, but how about we give it a shot and see if we like it? Then we can share some hot chips together!"
He happily ate the whole meal just to share the chips with me.
I normally 'trick' my son into eating healthy.
I've put food on my plate, pretended it was mine, and offered him a few bites. Even though he had the exact same thing on his plate - that he refused to even touch - he happily ate my food.
I've also found that if I chopped up vegetables and make a coleslaw like salad, he's eat them but a veggie platter was a bit intimidating for him.
I also found he'll eat a vegetable if he doesn't realize it is a vegetable. He ate mushrooms the other day because it wasn't a vegetable he recognized. I didn't tell him it was a vegetable, it wasn't look green, so he ate it without a complaint.
Juices and smoothies are a great option as well. Just look up kid friendly, healthy recipes and see which ones your child will have. Mine is currently drinking a juice that is loaded with veggies and he thinks it is such a treat!
I also limit sweets in the house. My son is a lot less likely to tantrum and refuse to eat if he knows that all of the food in the house is healthy.
I have also become master and hiding vegetables into practically every meal I cook. Some of my sons favourite meals are loaded with veggie and he has absolutely no clue!
(Although, I do type this as my son literally runs away screaming because I offered him a bite of my salad, haha)
My son is 2.6 months old. He has been fussy since 18 months. He won't eat any meat or vegetable. Would love to use the hot chips tool but he won't even eat potatoes. Can't hide the vegetables or even make smoothies or juices he won't go near them. Doesn't eat bolognaise sauce, rice. Real frustrating. Tried sauces, cheese sauces, home made gravy. Nope...! Not interested. Seeing a dietician which may be able to help. This is my last resort :-(
Make sure any underlying reasons for him not eating is ruled out, and try giving him those gummy multivitamins in the mean time.
Other than sweets, what does he eat?
Give him a small serving of any food he does eat that isn't "junk", and continue to offer him whatever food you're having for dinner. It'll go to waste, but its important for him to see it and watch others eat it so he can get use to the idea.
Don't allow him any junk if he refuses to eat, either. Leave treats for only if he does well with his dinner.
And try not to stress too much. Easier said than done, I know, but there's not much you can do to get a stubborn toddler to eat when they just don't want to.
The dietician should help you with everything, though.
Good luck with it all x
Just to add -
My son is more likely to eat something if I don't make a fuss. If I ignore the fact that he's not eating, he'll take a few bites.
Thank you for your comments. He eats dry breakfast cereal, plain crackers, apples and pears. He would live on yoghurt if he could but the sugar content is too high for my liking. I have tried using rice malt surup and purée fruit to sweeten the taste but had no success. He will just eat the rice malt surup. He asks for chocolate every probably half an hour. If it's something he doesn't like he has to also clean his hands straight away. Might be some other issues going on.
Oh, that sounds so tough! It's a difficult age as well, which doesn't help. I have 2 boys aged 2.5 and 4.5 that I've been through varying degrees of this with, and the things I've tried are as follows:
- Remove everything from the house that you don't want them to eat. If it's not there, they won't see it and be reminded of it. They may ask for it, but if it's not there, they are forced to realise that they can't have it in that moment! Tears will ensue, but offer an alternative (I always offer fruit). If they are really hungry, they will give it a try!
- I have a 'try first' rule. The kids are allowed not to like what is served to them - they're only human - but I tell them that they have to at least try it first. If they genuinely don't like it, I'll offer a cheese toastie. If they refuse to try it, they go hungry. It's not easy taking the tough love approach, but it works!
- If they haven't really eaten much but don't want to finish their meal, I make a deal with them to eat X amount of mouthfuls, and then we'll say they're finished. It's usually 4 max, and we count each mouthful so that it feels achievable to them.
- if it's dinner time and they're tired and we're having an uphill battle, sometimes I offer a treat dessert to them in reward for finishing their dinner. This is only a last resort when they're being obstinate and I really need them to eat!
- I have a meal routine for them every day and put their meals out at the same time, and we always eat at the same table. They know that breakfast/lunch/dinner is served and that if they don't eat it when it's there, it will get taken away and they'll be hungry.
- sometimes I bribe them with their favourite movie or a special treat in the afternoon like a kinder surprise!
These are all the things I've found have worked for us over the years... It has taken time for me to reach the point we're at now, where both boys generally eat well, but damn it's been a long road to get here!!!
Good luck!
Oh wait, I forgot to add:
- get fun shaped cookie cutters and try cutting sandwiches and fruit into fun shapes! Sometimes the novelty factor works :-)
Thank you so much these are great tips for us to try. Sometimes you just need those few ideas and reassurance.
Also, what happens if they just graze throughout the day. Do you only offer the three meals. What time do you stop them from eating so they eat their dinner. Thanks
I offer them snacks between meals, but my rule is no snacking an hour before a meal :-)
It's so hard when you're facing a wall like this, because sometimes you're just so desperate for a solution that you lose the ability to troubleshoot anymore! I've been there so many times. My oldest was just like your son from around 18 months old, but we've somehow tried everything and made it through the other side with him eating pretty well. It's hard, but don't give up hope! Sometimes temperament plays a part too, if they're particularly stubborn, and it almost can't be helped. You'll get there - I promise!
Sorry can I ask another question. How do you know if they generally don't like it or are just being stubborn. Thanks again!
This is a great idea. We also used to let the kids put their meal together - helped cook and helped serve their own helping. I found they were more likely to eat what they served themselves. If we had spaghetti bolognaise I would serve the pasta and put the sauce in a little cute serving bowl and they put on the "Gentlemen Sauce" to suit - one of mine still prefers pasta just plain with salt and he's 19yo! I also came up with fun names for meals - in their 20's now and they still call Shepherd's Pie - Postman Pat Pie :) One of the other things was finding out what they didn't like about the food - they hated onion, but I discovered it was the texture, not the taste, so I would grate it into the recipe and they were happy to eat it. Don't give up. They do get better but as I said, I still have one who's fussy at 19 :)