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CTC Readers' Poll:
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"What strategies have you used in getting your kids to eat foods that are good for them? What has worked well in your family?" |
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"I
learned early on that my two boys were picky eaters.
It has to do more with texture than the item they are
actually eating. Their gag reflex is very active.
After having them almost throw up at the table while
trying to swallow a green bean, I gave up.
That's too much for my weak stomach, too! They
take a multi-vitamin each morning and I try to
make sure they are eating other healthy choices.
We drink the V-8 fruit drinks, yogurt smoothies,
and unsweetened cranberry juice. My five year
old won't eat a green bean but loves dried apricots!
Go figure! Moms have to remember to look at the
entire choice of foods and not stress over each and
every meal. One
day in the future I know that I won't have to have
chicken nuggets at every meal!"
~ Cassie
"All of my children
have been picky at one time or another. When they have a
case of 'I'm not eating that,' I always say fine. Then
their other choice is given. The
kids (all five) know that the only substitution choice
they can have is peanut butter and jelly. NO EXCEPTIONS!
EVER! If they have a
friend over the same is true for them as well. This
rule has worked so well that when my mother -in-law
declined the entree at dinner one evening, my 11-year-old
told her where the PB&J was located. She ate
peanut butter for dinner. None of the kids has ever
gone hungry and they are all good eaters who rarely have
a picky day." ~ Linda
B.
"Like every toddler, my 2 year old is very suspicious of new things that we want him to eat. I like to play it off like it's no big deal, never saying 'You have to eat this,' and always eat some of the food myself and talk about how delicious it is. Probably the best story though is about his reluctance to try broccoli. At the store one day, I was buying broccoli and decided to get him involved in the process. I said, 'We need broccoli… Can you help me find it?' We found it, I gave it to him, and had him chuck it into the cart. Then at home I let him help me prepare it. I cut it up, and he threw the pieces into the pot. The whole time, I talked about how great and delicious broccoli was. For the first time ever he ate broccoli, right there as we were preparing it! I didn't make a big deal about it, and tried to avert my eyes so he wouldn't see my glee. He's LOVED it ever since, and will now eat a whole bowl of steamed and salted broccoli with dinner!" ~ Laura
"I hear people saying
that they have so much trouble getting their kids to eat.
When did it start? As far as I can remember, my kids
always loved to eat. Giving them a food group and
then trying another food group is how I started. As
they got older, we all ate the same meals at each meal.
When someone expressed that he really didn't like a
certain food, then we all had that food and he had a
serving of something else that was simple but nutritious.
I don't like porridge. But it is a good food group
and keeps the bellies full and happy. So, I made
porridge and the kids never knew I didn't like it.
They loved it because I would give them choices to go with
it to make it yummy. So having picky eaters is an
adult thing and the children learned it from them to be
that way. My kids are grown now and they like to
experiment with different foods. They cook for themselves
and their friends. Children need to learn balance in
their life and food is a major player in keeping yourself
healthy and balanced." ~ Margot
"I myself was the
most picky little eater ever, so I know something
about picky kids. When my own children 'tried'
to be picky, I wouldn't cater to them, or make them
sit there. It was very simple. We gave them the choice
to eat and be happy to have it, or go to bed with
nothing. nvariably they chose to eat, and
amazing what they actually ended up liking. Now my
kids love the weirdest foods and are willing to try it
all. Each of them only chose to go hungry once."
~ SC
"We've found
that for our two girls (now ages 6 and 4) that
vegetables were a battle in the early years. We
taught them to eat the vegetables first, then move onto
the other parts of their meal. The veggies go down
much easier in the beginning when they are hungry and
looking forward to the main course. When we serve
a main course they don't like, they must eat it the
first time around, then when it is leftover night, we
let them choose from among the leftovers. Even
when choosing between 2 or 3 meals that might not be all-time
favorites, the meal goes much easier because they had a
choice in the matter. These are just some things
that have helped us. ~ Jen
"The rule at our
house is that the kids have to eat as many
bites of each food as years they are old.
My four year old has to eat at least 4 green beans, 4
bites of chicken, etc. When she doesn't eat her
bites, she gets no dessert. Sometimes dessert is so
tempting, she actually eats. Other times she passes on
dessert. It is really their choice because you can't
force them to eat -- just try to make it tempting!
I also try to offer at least one food each child will
like at meals." ~ Kathy
Z
"Our oldest daughter had cancer when she
was 3 and couldn't leave the hospital because
she didn't weigh enough. We finally opted
to have an NG tube put in because we hated
trying to get her to eat when she had no
appetite. This really affected our outlook on
food and how we relate to it. If a child is
truly hungry, she will eat unless there is
something serious going on. After being blessed
with five children who would eat anything (I
have a photo of Jamie at 2 with a mouthful of
raw broccoli), number six turned out to be a
very picky eater and more work than the other
five put together! We later discovered by
deduction that many foods gave him diaper
rash and that he was carbohydrate sensitive. He
pretty much lived on nuts, raisins and
mozzarella cheese when he was little. We chose
not to make a big deal about it since it was a healthy
meal and helped keep his blood sugar balanced.
This improved his whole manner. He is almost 5
now and a lot of fun to be around
(People often ask about his nickname, Pickle,
and are surprised when we tell them how sour he
was as a baby and toddler.). Because of his
blood sugar, we make sure that he eats regularly
even if it's not what everyone else is eating.
We avoid power struggles by thinking ahead. If
we are going out to eat I will pack something
healthy for him in case he doesn't like what's
served. This way he doesn't have a meltdown
because of low blood sugar. One night at a
fundraising dinner of breaded chicken, salty
potatoes, and salad swimming in dressing I was really
envious of his fruit and nut platter! He
has a good attitude about food because we don't
force him to eat and give him options when
possible." ~ Prajna in CA
"The rule in our house as our boys were growing up was they had to take some of everything on the table. They could choose to not eat everything on their plate, but if they didn’t, they didn’t get seconds of anything else. We told them that since there was still food left on their plate, they were obviously not very hungry and they didn’t need any more food. They would clean their plate of even the 'horrible green stuff' so they could have more of the food they liked. We didn’t give them a lot on their plate at once and if there was something we knew they absolutely disliked they were given grace for that item, for instance one son never liked and still does not like tomatoes. They are now almost grown and enjoy eating a wide variety of foods, rarely complaining about what is being served.
"This
one worked for our family, but I won't guarantee it
for anyone else. You need to
know that I was in a really bad mood that day. One
of my children made rude comments and noises about
some food item on his plate. Without
much of a thought, I picked up the serving spoon and
plopped another big spoon of the offending item on
his plate. I told him since he had been rude, he
could simply have a larger serving. He responded
with a gagging noise. I plopped another spoon of the
food on his plate and told him that since he had
made more rude noises, he could have another
serving. He looked at me (I guess he thought I had
lost my mind at that point) and quietly began eating
his food. Several days later he said something about
a yucky food. I asked him if he wanted a bigger
serving. He quickly replied, 'NO!' and started
eating. I never again had to repeat that question."
~ Anonymous
"My oldest, just turned 8,
is pickier than her sister, who is 6 1/2. We
just give them a little bit of each food. then
if they like it, they can have more. we do not
believe in making kids clean their plates, or
the 'there are kids starving in some far-off
place' lectures. we want our kids to listen to
their bodies and stop eating when they are
satisfied.
Here is a
funny story. One time I gave fresh spinach salad
to my husband and myself. When our oldest
daughter saw that she didn't have any on her
plate, she wanted what we had. She waited until
she thought we weren't looking and ate some of
his fresh spinach salad. They both love fresh
salads now.
Another trick is to look at what
they eat overall, not just in one meal. Overall,
my kids eat a well-balanced diet, although at a
particular meal they might not have all the food
groups.
Another thing is to make dinner
pleasant. We eat together, no TV on. We ask each
other conversation starters, talk about our day,
tell jokes, etc. At lunch time, I read to
them from a book while they are eating. (I eat
faster than they do.)" ~ Diana
"At our house we have the policy that
what I make for dinner is the only
food served at dinner. For everything that is
served, everyone must take
at least one 'polite bite.' We explain that this
is so we can all try new
(or not so new) things and learn to do it with courtesy. We also tell our
children, 'You never know when your tastes are going to change.' Once firsts
helpings are gone, the child is welcome,
but not required, to eat seconds of anything. When my kids were younger, I
always had bread and milk on the table and
served a variety of foods over the week so I
knew my children would not
starve or be malnourished. (Be aware, that if
you offer not-so-healthy choices at other times
of the day, they may fill up on these
and not be hungry enough to brave seconds of
that new food.) My
children are now between nine and fourteen and
we still follow this same
procedure, though in a much more casual way. We
indeed have seen their
tastes change and broaden and we don't need to
rely on the bread and milk
so much to round out the meals!" ~ Danielle "We have a 'one bite' rule. Every new food or even unpopular old foods must be tried. This even applies to new dishes in restaurants. We now have a 7-year-old who ate bruschetta and broccoli at 2 and will eat frog legs and sushi at the Chinese Buffet!" ~ Donna "We use several strategies: We stopped asking our daughter what she wanted to eat for meals (why did I ever do that?), and if she does not finish her plate, we wrap it for later. We require her to eat a bite of some food that she does not like or is unfamiliar with at almost every meal. The rod may be used here. I try to build on the things my daughter likes (from ketchup on chicken nuggets to chicken with tomato sauce and tomato soup. I also try to limit sweets for the whole family! I wish I had tackled this issue sooner, but we are making progress now." ~ Ellen "My
six year old daughter loves her carbs, just like
her mom. If we are having any kind of potato,
rice, stuffing or bread with dinner she will go
right for that item and then she usually doesn't
have enough room left for her meat and vegetables.
We finally had to start a new rule that the meat
and vegetables (or at least a big portion of them)
had to be eaten first and the carbs can be eaten
after. We never force her to clean her plate but
the meat and veggies come first." ~ Kristie "I have four grown sons. When they were young my husband and I came up with a technique that worked quite well for us. Each of us had only one food item that they didn't have to eat. I have always detested peas and my husband squash. My twins had corn-not-on-the-cob, and cooked spinach. My middle son had green beans, and my youngest had chili beans. Those were the only food items that I didn't make them eat. Everything else they had to eat. This technique took all the moaning and groaning away. Plus, it made for an easier time in planning the weekly menu." ~ Laura "We treat our vegetables with respect in cooking them so that they retain flavor and texture. We make our kids eat a little bit of everything, if not, they don't get seconds on foods they like better. After three times they manage most everything. They also help me in the kitchen or garden by being 'tasters.' These things have gotten them to enjoy almost everything. The few things they flat out don't like (mushrooms) they plow through, taking the favorites with the not so favorites as part of life." ~ Anonymous
"When (and if)
dinner was going to be late, I would serve new
foods/veggies. Only on rare occasions was I
asked, 'what's this?' 'It is your
veggies,' I'd say, 'Justeat it,' and they did.
Starving children will eat just about
anything." ~ Gale
"Our kids don't eat eggs or any protein in the morning. I have budding vegetarians who are now grossed out by the thought of eggs or meat. Instead I offered to make sure they had hot oatmeal ready to go for them in the morning and they can add any fruit they want. I do the work. I sneak in protein powder. I don't tell them. It has gotten to be a deliberate part of their morning, I know the years are going fast. And they get some proteins to help the neurons fire better. They eat the oatmeal. That oatmeal is almost patriotic." ~ Becky "My daughter is almost two years old. She is beginning to leave foods on her plate she does not like. So I have started allowing her to watch a video while I prepare her meal and then stop it in the middle for her to come and eat. If she does not try at least one bite of everything on her plate, she is not allowed to finish watching the video. We do not watch tons of TV/videos at home, so this is a big motivator right now. And some mornings it's nice to clean up breakfast to some nice music instead." ~ Garlande
Editor's Note: Thanks to all these readers who took time to write! |
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