I should have known. I nursed her exclusively for 6 months. Then switched to bottles. Then in all my wisdom got her going on baby cereal. Think it was rice first then oatmeal. She fought me every step of the way. Wasn't working. Added fruit. Sppplllltttt. It all came out. She'd clamp her toothless mouth. The Chairman said don't make a fight of it. So I didn't and she drank bottles and ate the tiniest bits of table foods. The Ped. thought she was gaining nicely and said not to worry. She grows and gets older. Eating terribly I might add. If it was something she liked, she'd eat a LOT of it. And if it wasn't, she'd refuse. And now she's seven. I could practically list on a short piece of paper what she likes to eat. And. It. Drives. Me. Nuts. Today we came home from meeting and I made the following: tilapia with a cornmeal crust with a lemon/butter sauce, potato patties made from leftover m. potatoes with added egg/flour, green beans, fruit salad, and blueberry muffins. Yuck she said. To all of it except the fruit. I put tiny amounts on the plate. Told her she needed to eat her lunch before she could leave. She put on a royal 'show'. In all actuality it was hilarious. On gagging sounds. On holding her breath to chew. On plugging her nose to not taste. And she drank four glasses of water to wash down the terrible meal (which I might add was quite wonderful). It was irritating. And funny. And maddening. And so I ask you other more experienced and wise moms... how in the tarnation do I get a now 7-year old to try new foods? To eat like a normal person? I refuse to cook a different meal for her. But then an hour or so later she's begging me for bread (homemade of course!). So she gets a slice, but I feel like I'm enabling some bad behavior.
On a side note... the older two (non-breast-fed kids) are good eaters all around. They love to try new things. Eat like champs and so I say kudos to R&T!!!
Help!!!
Sending you Sympathy!! Unfortunately it don't seem like there's any rhyme or reason to it... I have a some VERY picky eaters both bottle & breast feed. I make them eat a tiny bit of whatever at each meal, & also refuse to make more than one meal. One of my "picky's" is now in the work...hehe...she hasn't starved yet :D (and I don't think she's very picky anymore either!)
ReplyDeleteI think my sis had one like that also, but I'm not sure how she was fed when she was little. The only thing I didn't like when I was young was beets and now I can eat them also. (We have lots of them here so its a good thing I can manage them). Maybe she'll grow out of this and like everything eventually.
ReplyDeleteI always tell my kids "I don't make yucky food". I've always followed this with the dc kids: a small portion of everything is provided. You may eat it or not eat it, but no complaining. If you do not eat all your food, you do not get any more of the part you like. (because if you're really hungry, you'll eat the food you already have) And nothing before the next meal or snack. Then make sure the snack isn't their choice -maybe their favorite or at least super healthy. You decide what they eat & they decide how much. We do breakfast, am snack, lunch, pm snack, dinner & then maybe a small snack or dessert at set times. No junk or drinks in between unless it's water. I'd tell her what your expectations are & then follow through - no fighting or it may be worse. Probably she will outgrow it. Praise the other two for trying/eating their meals.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll get lots of different advise on this. I had one child that would eat anything and one who couldn't stand veggies..just like his Mother as a child. From what I've read this really is associated with taste bud developement(unless you just start them from an early age eating only sweet junk). I'd try that cookbook (can't remember name right now but it was written by Jerry Seinfied's wife)about how to use pureed veggies in food. Have you seen the green bean you tube video? It's hilarious. It's on my April 13,08 blog post.
ReplyDeleteArgh...one of the jobs of being a mother. I still haven't figured it out. With my first I fought with her until we were both about ready to cry(over meat), to this day she still doesn't do much meat. My MIL claims that it all has to do with their blood type and that is why they like and dislike food, because their body rejects it, BUT...I think it is more being picky. If you find out something that works...let me know too.
ReplyDeleteI have no practical advice of my own, but a guy at work says it takes 15 times of eating something to acquire a taste for it. Maybe you could start a tally sheet for every single thing she doesn't like. Or, make here keep her own tally. ;-)
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