Dinner Time!
I really really dislike dinner time in my house, dinner time for the children that is. I really don’t know what else to do.
Here is the story, dinner time comes, I have all these plans for what I am going to make the children. I always said that I would not make two meals, one for them, and one for us, but they eat to early and my husband is not home yet, so I wait and eat with him.
I will always sit with the children while they are eating, or should I say not eating their dinner. I ask the Little Man what he would like for his dinner, big mistake really, he usually says “nothing”. Ok good start. Little Miss is usually ok, she will eat most of what I put in front of her, even if she spits it out all over the table every now and then, saying that it is too hot, when it is bearly even warm. But you can usually put it back in and she will eat it up.
However she is now little miss copy cat, so she has started to take notice of what the Little Man is up to and sometimes follows. Not very often fortunately but sometimes it does happen.
The Little Man has now not eaten his dinner for 3 nights in a row, so he gets half a cup of milk before going to bed, instead of his full cup and off to bed with nothing in his little tummy. I hate doing this, but a lot of books say a hungry child will eat. He will eat if I was to dish him up ice-cream or cookies or all the other bad things there are, but he won’t eat his main meal. So I have been trying the going to bed hungry and then the next night he will eat everything because he doesn’t want to do that again. BUT he doesn’t seem to care one little bit.
I am lost!. It is not like I am a dreadful cook, I cook them nice things. He will say “that smells really yummy mummy, I am going to eat all my dinner tonight” but when you put it in front of him he will say that he isn’t hungry anymore, or he will only eat a few mouthfuls and that is it. arrrrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!
He is not that fussy at other meal times, it just seems to be dinner time, I have no idea. I hope that it is just a faze that he is going through.
Stressed out dinner time Mum!
February 24th, 2010 at 2:11 am
I have one that eats everything, and one that eats nothing. I truly believe it is a personality thing and a control thing. Kids have very little in their lives that they can control, what they put in their mouths is one of those things.
It helps if you can take the emotion out of it. For instance, we try really hard to serve dinner, and it’s up to them if they want to eat it or not. If they don’t eat, no dessert. We try not to nag them to eat, because if they know what they are doing is getting a reaction out of you, they will keep doing it.
Also - I find mine eat a lot at the beginning of the day and less at the end of the day. As long as they are getting healthy food throughout the day, I don’t mind if they don’t eat much dinner.
Hang in there. And it’s true, if they are hungry, they will eat.
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Kim Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Great comments thanks, it is always nice to hear that other people have the same problems as you. I will try to take the emotion out of it, I do think that will help. I also find that they will eat more during the day, and it is like they are over it by dinner time.
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February 24th, 2010 at 2:52 am
That is frustrating, but you are right in saying that a hungry child will eventually eat. One of these days, he’ll hit a growth spurt and your once picky child will eat you out of house and home. It happens like that. Then he’ll stop eating again, or at least eat less until his next growth spurt. Don’t worry too much, you are doing a great job!
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Kim Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Thanks Colleen, I hope that you are right, I am not sure my sanity will last too much longer. You just get to the stage you really don’t know what to do next. I will wait for that growth spurt. Again thanks for your thoughts.
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February 24th, 2010 at 3:33 am
Sounds like my dinner table… my kids are still little 2 yr & 11mos the food ended up every where but in their mouth. My mom would take the food and blend it into some kinda puree and they will eat it out of a bottle or straw (I think its disgusting) but at least the get something in their tummy. I guess its just too much work to chew. maybe if you could invite some other kids over for dinner (who actually ate) that could help. when my kids are around others kids who eat they’ll eat too, too bad I can’t just go borrow other people kids every night. lol
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Kim Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 10:56 am
I have tried the puree too, it lasted a little while with the little man, but he worked out there were veges in there and didn’t want anything to do with it after that. I can still get away with it with Little Miss but I am just waiting for her to work it out. Thanks for your comments
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