Meal time sucks!

[Heather]

It is a struggle almost every single night to get Cohen to eat dinner. It's not that he's not hungry or even that he doesn't like what I'm serving. It's that he just wants to express his ability to tell me no! It is so frustrating. Seriously, last night I started crying. I had made a pizza (that he's eaten before and LOVED), and he wouldn't touch it. I finally had to make him a PB&J, and he ate that. The night before that, I couldn't get him to eat some stuff. He cried like I was abusing him. He finally tried a bite of the brocolli and the apples, and he gobbled them both up. I give up!! I try to get Dh to do the feeding on nights when he's home (which is VERY rare), and he ends up getting mad and yelling at him, and I end up getting mad at DH and feeding him myself! :eyeroll:

[PinkPaisley]

how old is he?

[Salvigirl]

Oh Heather I feel your pain girl!

I am going through some "food" issues with Gabriel too. Do you know why he doesn't want to eat? There are nights that Gabe is just "too busy" to stop and take time to eat. He screams the entire time! I know it is not the most wise thing to do, but I will usually give up and chase him around stuffing food in his mouth while he is playing! It is sometimes the ONLY way I can get food in him. Lately I have been tricking him....he loves mashed potatoes so whatever we are eating I put in the grinder and then mix it up in the mashed potatoes! Meat, veggies and all! Guess it doesn't matter "how" they get it....:hehe:

Is there anything that Cohen really likes? You can just save yourself some frustration and try hiding "good" stuff in the food he likes already. Just a thought. I know it is not really "teaching" them that they need to eat but I just feel that my sanity is worth more now and we can always deal with the eating issues later if he doesn't grow out of them....maybe when he understands a little bit more! :lol:

[Mama Sandy]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it probably won't ever completely go away :eyeroll:

Of the 5 kids there is ALWAYS something that someone just *hates* or refuses to eat. If they do eat it they complain about how terrible it was, or under cooked, or how green the green beans were or how yellow the corn was....you get the hint!

Basically yes, he's pushing his boundaries and to an extent that's fine. Yes, it's frustrating as all get out (I totally feel your pain!). I am a mean mommy and this is how I handle it:

Make dinner with everyone's likes/dislikes in mind. I can't please all the people all the time, plain and simple. So, I serve an amount they can definitely eat even if they dislike it. They do have to eat a little of everything on their plates because I take the time to prepare a well-rounded and nutrisious meal therefore they are obligated to eat at least some of it. I am not a short order cook, I do not cater by making special meals (granted, my kids are all much older than Cohen). It may be mean or "tough love" but they have to learn. Also, kids are kids and one time they will absolutely love an item I make and the next time I make it I MUST be trying to poison them because it's the most terrible thing they've ever tasted and their taste buds are completely ruined to any and all other food...forever. (Hmm, can you tell this is a sore spot for me?)

Basically it's the same advice I offered to Elaine about bathtime that I am offering here. Stick to your guns and don't give in. He'll eventually learn to eat his dinner. :support:

[Jojo]

I'm sorry Heather! I used to deal with this with the kids and I am not looking forward to it. I had some breakdowns myself--slaving over the stove only for the older one to say "oh yucky!" and the little one to follow :eyeroll:

I started sneaking food into their foods. Like Zucchini pancakes (which they thought were regular ol' pancakes) and would laugh a little inside that I tricked them :blush:

Good luck! :support:

[Farah]

It is a struggle almost every single night to get Cohen to eat dinner. It's not that he's not hungry or even that he doesn't like what I'm serving. It's that he just wants to express his ability to tell me no! It is so frustrating. Seriously, last night I started crying. I had made a pizza (that he's eaten before and LOVED), and he wouldn't touch it. I finally had to make him a PB&J, and he ate that. The night before that, I couldn't get him to eat some stuff. He cried like I was abusing him. He finally tried a bite of the brocolli and the apples, and he gobbled them both up. I give up!! I try to get Dh to do the feeding on nights when he's home (which is VERY rare), and he ends up getting mad and yelling at him, and I end up getting mad at DH and feeding him myself! :eyeroll:
:support:

WELCOME TO MY WORLD! We've been dealing with this for months. It's hit and miss here, but I think it's more that he wants control over what he's eating.

[Ashley]

We went through that with Tyler, although now he eats like a horse! I hope you find something that works, or the phase doesn't last long! :support:

[Meshell]

I think it's something that almost all kids go through unfortunately. I have some friends with kids around Cohen's age that are complaining of this as well. I know it doesn't solve any problems or make you feel better, but you're not alone! :support:

Our problem is with Will throwing his food on the floor.

[Heather]

Great ideas girls! The sneaking thing would work if I actually had time (and energy) to prepare meals, but lately, I don't. And if I do have time, I'm preparing something quick and easy. Cohen likes mashed potatoes, but I don't feel like cutting them up, waiting on them to cook, then mashing, seasoning, etc. If I didn't work, I could have awesome meals all the time!! Another good reason for me to quit my job after the baby comes. :D

[Jojo]

Great ideas girls! The sneaking thing would work if I actually had time (and energy) to prepare meals, but lately, I don't. And if I do have time, I'm preparing something quick and easy. Cohen likes mashed potatoes, but I don't feel like cutting them up, waiting on them to cook, then mashing, seasoning, etc. If I didn't work, I could have awesome meals all the time!! Another good reason for me to quit my job after the baby comes. :D


You can just buy the potato flakes :p (those things are so good!)

[Meshell]

I don't know how crazy your schedule is, but on a weekend you could make a few things and freeze them to just pull out and heat up. You could make mashed potato cakes with potatoes and cauliflower mixed together. Or macaroni with acorn squash put into ice cubes trays.

[Leah]

I'm sorry girl. :hug: Talon is going through this and it's a nightmare! He won't eat anything anymore. Things he would eat like potatos, bread, chicken, he won't touch now. He stopped liking chicken so I put bbq sauce on it and he ate it like that for a while until he decided he didn't like that anymore. Then we tried fish with ketschup and he ate that for a week or so and was over it. He wouldn't eat vegtables, so I put bbq sauce on them and he ate them for a couple weeks and then was over it. :eyeroll: It's so frustrating. The only thing I can get him to eat is fruit and snack crackers, cherrios and things like that. He does like smoothies, so sometimes I throw things in there. You might try whatever sauce he likes on things to see if he'll eat it. Ranch on brocoli, or whatever works. Talon ate green beans with bbq sauce. :p I started giving him a multi-vitamin too, so hopefully that will help some with his lack of well rounded eating.

[Heather]

Leah, he's loving the ketchup right now and will dip his edamames in it. :hehe: I have been meaning to get him a muti-vitamin. Really need to do that. And he won't eat chicken anymore either! Oh, and he doesn't like cheese. I mean what child doesn't like cheese?