As a make some progress on the hand quilting party of the Japanese Baby Quilt for my little darling niece (feverishly trying to finish it before her Baptism later this month), I wanted to share a photo of it in my quilt hoop.Most of you either have or at some point had a picky little eater in your house...and I want to put some feelers out there for ideas of what to do.
I've tried covering things with ketchup, cutting things into cute shapes, bribes, games, and frankly I'm a bit out of ideas.
How does one get a 3 year old to eat something else besides mac and cheese?
If you have any brilliant nuggets or idea gems for me please do pass them along. Also, if you know of some good books that helped you, I'm not beyond a trip to my local library to get some help here.
Thanks in advance and best wishes for veggie and meat eating from noodle central.
Repeated exposure (something like 14 times!) is important according to the research, and don't make a huge issue of it or meals will be battlegrounds for all sorts of control issues. You might want to look at some of Ellyn Satter's books. She's widely respected. Google her name and her website will be the first hit. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteYep, one tablespoon of the food for each year of his age. Offer the mac and cheese along with several fruits and veggies. Repeated exposure is key, as is not making it look like a lot to eat which is overwhelming. You might want to start a little veggie garden when the weather gets better as well. Bottom line: he won't starve and probably won't get scurvy, either!
ReplyDeleteOh, eventually he'll branch into chicken nuggets and hot dogs...maybe even pizza! All healthful alternatives :P
ReplyDeletelove the quilting your doing on the baby quilt
ReplyDelete, can't wait to see a whole picture of this quilt!
well the eating, my youngest was such a problem
the dr said as long as she is eating...
but keep putting other things on the plate
let her chose they always feel good when they have control
so I would ask do you want apple slices or grapes to go with the mac and cheese?
or the PB sandwich she would eat as well...do you want carrot slices or banana slices and i gave her a butter knife so she could cut it herself
this worked for me for a while...the phase passes!
we went about 4 months of getting a Wendy hamburder plain at least 4 times a week for her to eat any kind of meat...
she she was about 8 she would no longer eat any kind of fast food and still doesn't
Kathie
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ReplyDeletelove the quilt! it's so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteas far as food goes, I have no idea. no kids yet to experiment with. I can get Nick to eat anything though just by pouring beer on it. have you tried that?
; )
I did love it when my mom made me a PB&J with a heart drawn in to the PB. I watched her as she did it. awwww.
I read the comments hoping for a gem that I could use too... My four year old has such strange (read: typical for a 4 yr old) eating habits. The more that food gets pushed at him, the more he digs in his heels and refuses to eat. Since he is tall and strong, I try not to worry about the days that he eats only rice crackers. I find that having food on the table and encouraging him to taste it has worked. With foods that we know he has eaten before (bean/cheese tacos being his favorite), he does have to eat four bites of those before he can be excused. But with new foods, I say something like, "I think you'll like this" or I'll be frank and say, "I don't know if you'll like this or not, but go ahead and try it." And then I just leave it at that. When we stopped _trying_ to get him to eat, he started eating.
ReplyDeleteI also have a 4 month old :) and I think we'll use the food mill with him, so that he gets used to our foods at an earlier age. I'm hoping he won't be so picky and that will spur our older son to eat better! We'll see! :)
Beautiful quilt, the pink is just gorgeous. My picky little eater is now 18 and hasn't changed a bit so I can't help you on that one.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt, the pink is just gorgeous. My picky little eater is now 18 and hasn't changed a bit so I can't help you on that one.
ReplyDeleteOh, your quilt is coming along so beautifully! I am so impressed!
ReplyDeleteWith my children I have had to be very strict. They have been gluten and milk free for years. What we did was give them the meal we wanted to, present it and when they complain we just said calmly and matter of factly, something like: this is the food to eat now. When they protested, etc we made it clear that eating it was thier choice but that that is what is being served and no other options were available.
We have served some veggies in unconventional ways: frozen peas are a favorite snack for example.
My kids also loved "french fried" green beans: douse with olive oil on baking sheet, put in warm ovn for 25 min until crispy. Salt. Mmm.
Wishing you great luck!
~Emily
That quilt is going to be gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying reading the tips. She is a good eater, but I am sure things change when they get older. I am just glad she is willing to try everything right now.
As long as they are growing and not suffering from their diet don't sweat it. Food is a battle that is just not important in the broader scheme of things. My solution was to give my son things he would eat with things he was unfamiliar with and lo and behold he is now a strapping 30 year old who loves large salads and doesn't care for pizza or peanut butter... staples of his kid diet.
ReplyDeleteHow to get a child to eat: http://homeschoolinginthekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/01/great-apple-challenge.html
ReplyDelete