lollardfish

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My son's eating hygiene has collapsed. He now only willingly eats edamame, green beans, plain noodles, yoghurt, fruit, cottage cheese. He used to eat many more things. Like, over the last weekend. It's very frustrating.

Edit - Sweet potatoes back on the menu. Fish sticks and chicken nuggets, spaghetti-os (indistinguishable from the food he ate from jars) still off, fruit-and-nut bread still on.

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From:

mizzlaurajean.livejournal.com

Feed him one thing with each meal that he will typically eat and then try feeding him whatever you want or better yet what you are having. And start eating with him. He needs to see how you do it. What manners etc are expected. If it's not really your dinner make it a snack for you. This is what I do. I just have a very little bit of each thing I am serving kids when trying to work on such issues, and take very small bites. Get everything together first before starting him on anything so he doesn't have the chance to toss it all. At least this was my prevention method.

Use positive re-directive language whenever possible. You want to minimize his opportunity's for ditching his undesired foods. And you want to give as little attention as possible to any behaviors you do not wish to see repeated. Encourage him to try a bit but then if he is still uninterested let it go. If he tosses it say something like "If you don't want that lets just set it over here instead of throwing it." Ask him to hand it to you and then praise and thank him when he does. Try to remember you want meal time to be fun, relaxing and nurturing not just the food part of it but the entire mealtime.

If he rejects everything then maybe he just isn't really very hungry. Assuming his thyroxine levels are adequate which presumably if they weren't the dr. would up it so you don't need to worry about how much he's eating.

His tastes will change and I do believe he will be more inclined towards foods that have something in them his body needs. Taste buds change around 2yrs and when their hormones change which starts when they are little.

I know I kept wanting to feed him something with more fat or protein.

Edited Date: 2008-11-22 07:00 am (UTC)

From:

lollardfish.livejournal.com

"Know he will eat" is a non operative statement alas when what he eats is non-predictable from day to day.

This is all good advice and agrees with what we read. I haven't noticed any of them working so far, alas. It's not so bad - I read about a family whose daughter had to throw food on the floor and would eat it off the floor ... unless her parents were watching or even close to the kitchen. Awful!

He's also becoming different around his parents, or at least me. Shannon said he was perfect over the weekend, so it may just be my fault.

On the other hand, he had a great dinner last night, inhaling raviolini to the extent he even pushed edamame to the side.

From: (Anonymous)

My point is even if he doesn't eat it that's okay. You don't have to find something he will eat. I mean you can but until he has words or you find a sign he can use for refusal or he can clearly chose between two choices which he may be able to do now I don't know you will have some of that attitude and tossing of things he doesn't want.

It really is a matter of do you cater or not and either one is ultimately fine. It's a matter of how you want to handle it. And I know it's not easy to just have him not eat I also wanted to find something he would eat. It's very ingrained in us I think to nurture by providing food they like and I think sharing the food we like with them and wanting them to enjoy that with us.

Just you wait we are likely to struggle with food issues as well. Plus we have to start by feeding them candy. Which feels so wrong I can't even tell you.

Probably if he has one good meal a day he's fine.

eating off floor.....see it could be worse.

What is it you want to see happen at mealtime?
How does this differ from the reality of mealtime?
Why does this stress you out? (me assuming from reading this this is stressful to you)
What do you do at mealtime that works?
What makes a mealtime great?

From:

lollardfish.livejournal.com

Those are good questions non-logged-in-MizzLJ.

I don't want to cater - it's antithetical to my parenting strategy. But it feels like the options are to cater or to see Nico not eat. And that's what stresses me out.