He wont pick anything out, or its random things like mayo... So then we start going down a list of foods... Apple, banana, peanut butter and jelly, mac'n'cheese, soup, crackers and cheese, etc. and we'll get "no, not that" for everything. So then I give up and make something, of which he might take 2 bites and then decides that he's done eating or that he doesn't like it.
My only saving grace is that when he does decide to eat it is usually fairly healthy... But like today, he's had 2 and 1/2 containers of yogurt (4 oz each) 2 pieces of string cheese, and half an apple with me. I scrambled him eggs (after he asked for them) and made a piece of toast with jelly and he took 2 bites of the eggs and told me he was full...
The amount of food that we've thrown away this past week bugs me to no end. But at the same time I don't want to make eating a chore, or a bad experience so I'm trying very hard to not fight him on this...
If any parents (moms and dads) have advice on this I'd welcome it... Thanks guys!
My favorite anecdote about picky children comes from my buddy, Suzanne.
ReplyDeleteHer mom, Dale, was pulling this very same kind of thing during the depression. Dale's family wasn't hit overly hard by the depression, but it was still not a Done Thing to be picky.
They tried letting her chose, they tried just putting food in front of her until she ate it, they tried telling her she wasn't getting up from the table until she cleaned her plate. Nothing worked. She would sleep at the table if she had to.
Eventually they went to the family doctor in utter desperation, because they didn't want her to become malnourished.
"This is what you do," the doctor told them, "You give her a bowl of plain rice and a glass of milk. She won't eat it. Put it in the ice box. Next time she says she's hungry, take out the same bowl of rice and the same glass of milk. she might take a few bites, but she won't finish it. Put it back in the ice box. Continue doing this until the rice and the milk are gone, and after that she'll eat whatever you put in front of her."
Apparently this took a couple days, but it worked. Not that you should do this with Steven, or that it'll particularly work on him, but it's what worked for Dale.