Friday, October 10, 2008
Advice Please!
So I am looking for some help! We are having a difficult time with Jazlyn's eating habits. She wants to snack, snack, snack and doesn't want to eat meals! She is also kind of picky: she hardly likes any meat (unless it's hidden in spaghetti/lasagna), and doesn't like veggies. The problem is we eat chicken quite a bit and we MIGHT get her to try one bite of it, but then she'll hardly eat anything for dinner, so then she's hungry for a snack right after dinner. But I don't let her eat for a while after dinner and leave her food out and tell her she can go finish her dinner if she gets hungry. So she often goes to bed kind of hungry, which makes me feel like a bad parent, but I don't want to give in to her thinking she can snack all of the time. Plus I want her to learn to like new foods. Consequently, she is hungry quite often because she is SOOOO stubborn and strong willed. Has anyone else experienced this and found anything that works?????
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12 comments:
i have the exact same problem with Brian!!! we both have strong-willed kids. let me know if anyone else gives you good advice that works!
Garret likes breakfast and lunch but he doesn't eat much for dinner. I just tell him he doesn't have to eat dinner if he doesn't want to but if he doesn't eat he doesn't get anything later. I try not to give him much attention for it. if he doesn't eat and comes to me later saying he is hungry I just smile and say "I am so sorry, I wish I could give you a snack but you didn't eat dinner, you can have your dinner if you want it" sometimes he eats it sometimes he doesn't. He seems to eat better now that he knows what to expect. As far as snacks other times if we are at home and not out and about and he says he wants a snack I will just put a bowl of carrots on the table and if he says he wants a snack I just tell him there is a snack on the table. if he is really hungry he eats it. I don't want him getting used to filling up on the crackers and other snack foods. It's hard to no what to do but I remember two things from my child development classes. That one of the worst things you can do is to give kids junk foods if they aren't eating. they are usually just eating becuase they don't need to eat. and that when kids hit two or so they don't need as many calories. they triple in weight the first year and by two they have slowed down so just figure out the meals they like to eat and make sure that they are eating really well those meals. I don't know if that helps- it's so hard.
Sometimes I wonder how these little kids survive on such little food. Ella will go through times where I swear she took 1 bite all day long. I try not to let it stress me out though becuase I figure she'll eat if she's hungry, especially since we're providing her food & the opportunity to eat at each meal.
If Jazlyn likes peanut butter, that might be a good snack too since it's a good protein or maybe an egg for breakfast. Then if she doesn't eat the meat at dinner/lunch you don't worry so much about her lack of protein.
I don't know the answer especially since every child is soo different. Good luck with her!
Jane is a picky eater too. I think it's just the age. She will go days without eating any vegetables. Her daily vitamin is the only thing keeping her alive I swear. I do have a "no food out of the kitchen" rule, but I break this by handing her a cut up apple when she's watching TV or another healthy snack I try to sneak in. If Jazlyn will only eat snacks, then make them really healthy and make dinner more fun--let her go to the store with you to pick the food, or help you cook it. Jane likes to help me make muffins or bread or cornbread and she likes to add stuff to the soup. We always fill her plate with a little portion of everything and we don't ever force her to eat--unless she wants a treat afterwards. Otherwise we just put it out there and let her choose and usually she just eats bread and butter. It's a struggle.
We also don't allow juice except one glass at breakfast and no milk, except one glass at lunch. I found if I let her drink juice and milk she wouldn't eat.
Post about this more if you find the secret!! We could use the advice too.
Here are my two cents: read this book! "child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter. The basic premise is that you are in charge of the what, when, and where of feeding (meaning the kind of food, the time of day, and the place to eat), and the child is responsible for the whether and how much of feeding (meaning she'll eat if she wants to (or not) and decide what quantity is best). Follow those guidelines and after a while everything irons out. This book really helped me relax about food and my kids! I highly recommend it!
I goet this idea from Mandie but just leave dinner out and when she asks for a snack or says she is hungry, sit her down and have her eat her dinner. If she won't then she will go to bed hungry. She will probably only do this a few times and then learn to eat her dinner. Another thing I have tried with Tayson is to tell him he has to eat 5 more bites and then he can have a treat or snack. I usually feed him the bites so they are good bites and not just nibbles and we count down as we go. I don't know though! Hope this helps.
oh, i wish i could give advice in this area- but we have the SAME problem with Sydne. I've had to learn a lot about chilling out and letting her go hungry :-). If you find anything that works, please let me know because some days i just want to pull my hair out!
I have the SAME problem with the twins! And they are SO stubborn! Good Luck, and let me know if you find something that works!
Hey! I was looking at my sister's blog and stumbled upon yours. I can't believe how much your baby has changed! He is so cute! Good luck with the snacking, I have not idea how to help.
Cute Blog Kristy! This is Sharon by the way. Good luck with the eating thing. I agree with everyone else. Provide healthy stuff and when they are hungry enough, they'll eat. The other thing I found is that sometimes I offer something and they hate it. But I may offer that same thing another time, prepared another way, and it's their favorite. Weird!
That is a tough thing, I've struggled with that with my girls at some point or another. It seems to be a phase. She'll probably grow out of it. In the mean time make sure you keep offering her the other foods, otherwise it is just reinforcing the behavior. The nice thing is that they say kids won't starve themselves, so if she's hungry enough she'll eat. You could also try to add peanut butter, cheese, or cream cheese to the crackers to help her get more out of it. Sarah Anthony, email me for an invite to my blog srhanthony@yahoo.com.
Hey there! I can't say I'm an expert on this topic (Alex has decided to challenge us in other areas besides this one) but I've read a lot about kids' eating habits. Here's what I've learned:
Parents of kids this age WILL end up afraid their kids will starve. Most preschoolers go through a stage where they are only eating one or two things and it seems like they will die of malnutrition because of it. Best advice I've heard: offer, offer, offer, don't push, and make it Jazlyn's choice as to what and how much she's eating.
Use the "if you don't eat it, offer it later" tactic. She's old enough to understand consequences now so have her watch you wrap her plate with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge so she can eat whatever she didn't eat later.
Don't push or force anything (this is so hard!). Give her vitamins and maybe Pedialyte drinks or something if you're really worried. But Jazlyn is a healthy kid and as long as she doesn't show outward signs of malnutrition (breaking/cracking fingernails, losing weight, sluggishness, etc.) then what she's eating is more than enough. YOU just have to learn that it's okay to let her explore her independence this way, and that IT'S OKAY (you're not, by ANY stretch of the imagination, a bad parent for it).
Hope that helps - I know exactly the kind of frustration you're going through right now. :-) Hope it gets better!
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