What's your fallback food when your child won't eat the prepared meal?
Sat down to dinner this evening with my son. The fare was curry chicken that has potatoes and carrots in it (all which he likes) and rice. He'd even shown enthusiasm when I said I was making rice. Once at the table, he ate one bite of potato and two bites of carrots; the rice was no longer of interest. I asked if he wanted a bowl of cereal and that was consumed. In my mind, if a bowl of cereal makes for a good breakfast plus some fruit, it can be a good dinner too (and I didn't have to cook him something special).
What do you give your children when they don't want to eat the prepared meal?
[My aunt and uncle used to offer a make-your-own peanut butter and jelly sandwich if you didn't want what was being served.]
4 Answers
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We don't provide any alternatives to the prepared meal. We spend quite a bit of time trying to make sure that he has balanced, nutritious meals, and if he won't eat it, then that's his choice. A few months ago, he was getting pickier about what he wanted to eat, so there were a few dinners where he ate only a few bites and refused to have any more. So we let him go, and he went to bed as usual. He ate bigger breakfasts in the morning.....
Recently, he's been eating anything we give him (well, almost). We'd like to think that's because of our approach to encourage him to eat what we provide, but who knows. Maybe he's just hungrier these days?
I grew up with the same approach as well. The "kitchen was closed" after dinner and if I was hungry, the plate of uneaten supper was still sitting on the table available to me.
I got lucky on the peas - my mom hated them so she never served them! I didn't get so lucky on canned green beans. Blech. I still refuse to eat green beans out of a can.
- Erin, Nov 2, 2010
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We have a rule, that has worked so far - the children have to at least try a bite of everything. If worse comes to worse, yogurt with granola is usually the fallback.
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Alana, our family has the policy your aunt and uncle had. Try the prepared meal and if you don't like it you can make yourself a sandwich. That way I don't have to be a short order cook. and the kid doesn't have to go hungry if he doesn't like the food I cooked. They end up eating a sandwich about twice a month. I think that seems quite reasonable.
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My boys either eat what's for dinner, or eat nothing. I encourage them to try new foods, and don't let them eat back-up food.
I agree with your approach and did the same. There were only one or two things my sons didn't care for, for example peas, so I gave them a pass on those. Now, as adults, they like/eat almost anything.
- redkathy, Nov 2, 2010