Children and Eating

Children and Eating

Did anyone watch that documentary called My Child Won't Eat last night? I only watched a bit of it because there was something on the other side I wanted to watch but I couldn't believe that some kids are so extreme. I'm sorry if this offends anyyone and I suppose it's "alright for me" because my 3 are mostly good eaters but I like to think that's because I've always given them a varied diet. I don't understand how any parent can let their child eat just chocolate and wotsits or drink just milk or eat just MacDonalds. Surely if the child is not given any other options, they will eventually be hungry enough to eat? I know the tantrums the children had are hard to cope with, but isn't that our job as parents to cope with it?

Would love to hear from parents of "extreme" fussy eaters like this. My 3 have their moments - my 9 year old can't abide mushrooms and my 4 year old won't touch any kind of salad but that's about it. They will eat anything else I give them. In fact, they will very rarely eat takeaways! I'm not perfect, I do use frozen veg and fish fingers etc, My brother in law who lives in Germany says his 16 year old daughter is so thin because she is a fussy eater but when she comes to visit, she eats everything I put in front of her - and asks for more! I'm trying not to preach here, I'm just trying to understand.

On the other end of the scale, on Living or something last night there was a documentary about obese children. There was an 8 year old on there who weighed 8.5 stone. I think parents of these children should get nutrition classes because they obviously just don't have the knowledge of what healthy eating and exercise means.

I hope I haven't offended anyone but this subject really interests me because I love my food and so do my children! Would love to hear anyone's thoughts, even if you disagree.

Don't sweat the small stuff. It will make you stinky.

Edited about 1 year ago

Re: Children and Eating

While we're all talking about our daily diets, I found this old post of mine that didn't get any replies - any takers?

What does everyone feed their kids? I'm always nosey about this kind of thing because I love talking about food! A typical week's diet for them would be:

Mon-Fri - the girls all go to school full time so they have packed lunches which usually consist of sandwich on wholemeal bread, piece of fruit, yoghurt and a juice drink
In the evenings they have an Indian meal - curry with a chapatti each

Sat - we usually eat leftovers for lunch because we have ballet in the mornings and I squeeze the food shop in too and it's easier. Then in the evening, I try to cook what they want, sometimes lasagne, or pasta, or maybe fajitas. Very occasionally we get a takeaway but they don't enjoy them as much as home cooking. I also try to sneak some veggies in somewhere or just dumped on the side - fajitas with a serving of brocolli if I'm desperate!

Sunday, we have lunch at the temple and then sandwiches for tea because we end up eating too much lunch *lol*

We also vary our breakfasts like cereal, toast, bacon and eggs etc. I try to squeeze in a serving of fruit into my girls before they get to school, they're quite happy munching on the way or in front of the TV. When they're not at school, I get them to have a piece of fruit mid-morning with a glass of juice, if I remember.

I'd like to vary their lunchboxes more but they like to have the same kind of things as their friends - it's tough being a kid, isn't it? Sometimes I put in sausage rolls but my youngest doesn't like me to vary her lunchbox too much but we make allowances as she's only in Reception.

I always think mine eat too much - especially my eldest, I'm sure that girl has hollow legs! They like snacking in front of the TV in the evening but we only let them if they finished their dinner. They snack on allsorts, like grapes, yoghurt, chocolate, biscuits or crisps, but not in the quantities I usually have!

What about everyone else? I like to think our girls eat well, but I sometimes worry I'm giving them too much salt in their diets?

Don't sweat the small stuff. It will make you stinky.

Re: Children and Eating

Unfortunately I have no kids, but I'm often called on to babysit for friends and family. One family friend is 15, thin and beautiful, and says she hates fruit. We've got round that - whenever I see her she eats a portion of blueberries. She likes the antioxidants which I promise will keep her figure trim and her skin good and help with the acne. Weirdly, she also likes that they're so small and round they don't seem like a big deal to eat.

When I'm looking after various 3 and 5 year olds, they're ridiculously easy to feed. Rice cakes with mushed avocado or hummous make a really healthy and filling snack that seems almost like junk food - I've never met a kid that didn't like it.

If the kids are veggie I'll do them veggie beanburgers with mash potato and a bit of veg on the side, and sneak the salad on top of the veggie burger. Or else they'll get pasta or farmhouse soup with crusty bread and butter, them seem fine with that. You can sneak all sorts of vegetables into pasta when they're not looking.

If the kids are meat-eaters I'll do them the above, or a mild chili because it's cheap and fun with all the bits on the side, or chicken and mash.

Fajitas sounds like a great one for kids because it's playful food you can eat with your hands, and fun.

WEIRD TIP: An ex-boyfriend from a loooooong time ago said him and his sis were fussy eaters. Their mum got round it by putting food colouring in their food - so they'd get blue mashed potatos!!!!

Re: Children and Eating

Food colouring in food sounds like a good idea, I might try that on my littlest. She decides from one look at food whether she will like it or not and I have to admit that sometimes I bribe her to try it because more often than not she decides she likes it!

One of my oldest friends grew up to be a fussy eater because her dad is a fussy eater. She's a lot better and will try new foods now, but her dad is still a nightmare! Her poor mum used to have to cook 3 different meals every day, one for her and their son, one for my friend and one for her husband! Mind you, she shouldn't have given in but she said it's a lot harder to get kids to eat when their dad isn't eating properly either!

Why do you say "unfortunately" you don't have kids, Mooksy? It's not a legal requirement, y'know! You sound like you have lots of pearls of wisdom for us on the subject anyway!

Don't sweat the small stuff. It will make you stinky.

Re: Children and Eating

Hah! Well, it's more that my boyfriend isn't able to have children, but on the plus side he did survive cancer when he was a kid, one that was so nasty he had to live in hospital for two years, so I call that a win result

And yes, I've got enough rugrats and teenagers in my life to keep me busy... so any occasional regrets aren't really huge regrets at all.

In a way, what I'll miss most is the chance to experiment on my kids and feed them blue mash potato...

Re: Children and Eating

I'm sorry to hear that - I do tend to dive in both feet first with my questions without thinking! And yes, I agree, your boyf surviving cancer is definitely a win-win situation

You will have to keep sharing your tips with us. Everything has to be pink for my girls because they're very girly, so I'm going to try pink mashed potato this weekend Also, I tried that garlic toast last night - delicious! Well, the couple of bites I had were very nice, the rest went into the girls' tummies!

Don't sweat the small stuff. It will make you stinky.

Re: Children and Eating

No worries at all Nina, I don't get offended easily and I wouldn't mention it if I wasn't happy with it.

Ooh,  good luck with the Princess Barbie mash potato if you get the chance to give it a go. I'd almost eat it myself