Kids and meals
I know this isn't the first time I've written about my super picky eaters, but it just feels like it is getting worse instead of better in our house and I want to talk about.
I've seen several others on Facebook talk about how their kids just want to snack all the time or do not want to eat what is being served for supper, so I know we aren't the only ones in this boat. I also understand that we created this issue ourselves (probably mostly me).
PBJ, cheese taco, hot dog (only cooked int he microwave-- don't even think about grilling it), chicken nuggets. These are the only meals my kids will eat. Oh, and occasionally cheese pizza...if it's the right kind...you know...not spicy, no "green things" in it (seasonings) and the right color of cheese....and by the way, make sure the cheese doesn't have any brown on it (the heated spots from the oven).
We make a lot of meals that we know they won't like, and on those nights, I really don't mind making them something else. But, when we do make a meal that we feel they should be able to eat, and they won't even try a bite....it's so frustrating!!!
Yesterday for lunch I made Rylee a PBJ and Wyatt a cheese taco. Having already made them separate meals for lunch, I didn't really feel like doing so again for supper. I got to thinking about the meal I would be making. The ingredients were apple, ham, scrambled eggs and sweet potato (and a few spices, mostly cinnamon). Other than the sweet potato (which they have yet to give a good try), they like everything else. So, this was going to be one of those rare nights that I put on my "bad parent" hat and serve them what I made.
As I came into the house to start supper, Rylee hollered up to me to make her a PBJ (she eats this for every single meal, including breakfast, most days). I told her that tonight she would be eating the meal I was making for Daddy and myself. Silence.
A few minutes later while I was peeling the sweet potato, Wyatt came into the kitchen and said, "I don't like that....what is it?" I told him it was a sweet potato and he replied, "Yuck, I'm not going to eat that." I explained to him that I was making a meal with lots of other yummy stuff in it and he didn't have to eat the sweet potato part.
I then hear him go downstairs and say to Rylee, "I told Mom we don't like that stuff and she said we have to try it, but I'm not going to." All of a sudden I felt them plotting against me. I wasn't sure how I felt about this, but wanted to stick to my guns.
So once the scramble was ready, I placed it on the table along with a couple of sides I knew they would eat (cottage cheese and raspberries). I said to James, "okay, are you ready for this disaster?" We called the kids upstairs to come eat.
O.M.G. They came up the stairs with the most somber looks on their faces. You would have thought they just found out their cat died. I felt a little bad for them, but tried not to laugh all at the same time.
They sat in silence staring at their plates. They ate the sides right away and then moved food around a little with their fork. Rylee asked for more raspberries, which we said she could have after a few bites of the scramble. She decided to try one piece at a time...making a "my life sucks" face while doing so. Wyatt just got up and left the table without even trying a bite.
This was a very unpleasant dinner experience for all of us and honestly I felt bad for the kids. I mean, they are their own people and they know what they want to eat. However, I also know it is our job as their parent to guide them to try new things and make healthier choices. We made sure they understood there would be nothing else to eat for the rest of the night, and they didn't ask for anything. I know they didn't go to bed hungry, but they definitely did not enjoy that meal experience.
Many times I've been told, "Just stick with it and they will eventually start eating your meals. Let them go to bed hungry a few times." But I just can't do this. I can't. It feels too cruel. That being said though, I really do want them to eat what I make when I know it's something they should like.
There's so much talk about how important it is for families to have meals together, etc. I just don't want my kids to grow up with bad memories of supper time, because Mom and Dad made them eat "disgusting" food or go to bed hungry. I never make them sit with us and clean their plates, because they just get upset, which then makes me upset too. Plus, the sooner they leave the table, the sooner James and I get to have a quiet meal together. Is that bad??
So, what does your family do at meal time??
Okay, lets talk about the snacking. This one is 100% my fault and I know it. Our kids LOVE to snack....like every 30 minutes. We try to explain to them that if they would eat healthier foods they wouldn't be hungry all day long. But when we try to give them a healthy snack, they don't want it, of course. The worst for me is after school. I pick them up and they are talking about snacks the whole way home. Then they eat 3 or 4 snacks in 30-40 minutes and don't want supper. I wish I knew if they were actually this hungry or just eating because they can --- because I don't regulate it much and they are welcome to help themselves. When I cut off the snacking after the first snack, then I get to listen to them whine until supper time....and ultimately I give in.
For one week I tried making fun kid-friendly, but healthy, after-school snacks that would sustain them until supper time. Not only did they complain about what I made, but they didn't even eat it....though that was their only option those days. I gave up on that real fast....not going to waste my time or energy.
James and I stopped buying their favorite snacks, like goldfish, and stick to the lesser of the evils....unsweetened applesauce, cheese stick, low sugar granola bars, etc. But, the kids will eat multiple of each of those things every day. I think I need to try having a "snack bowl" where I set out the amount of snacks they can have in one day and once it's gone, it's gone. I hate to be such a stickler in their own house, but kids don't really know what's good and bad for them.
I'm pretty sure the snacking is due to boredom. They watch a lot of tv unfortunately, and aren't engaging their brains and bodies like they should be. On days when we are busy or play outside a lot, they never ask for snacks until they are legitimately hungry. I've been trying to send them outside or find other projects for them to work on when they ask for snacks 30 minutes after breakfast and lunch.
I feel like my grocery bill would be so much less if they didn't snack so dang much! Rylee gets especially excited when we bring groceries home -- she feels like she needs to eat everything right away. She will eat an entire days worth of snack in the first hour, just because she is excited about the food. She even does this with healthy items, like blueberries and raspberries -- eats a whole container in one sitting. She definitely has the wrong relationship with food-- eats for pleasure instead of nourishment. We need to figure out how to change this!
What are your struggles with kids and snacking??
I've seen several others on Facebook talk about how their kids just want to snack all the time or do not want to eat what is being served for supper, so I know we aren't the only ones in this boat. I also understand that we created this issue ourselves (probably mostly me).
PBJ, cheese taco, hot dog (only cooked int he microwave-- don't even think about grilling it), chicken nuggets. These are the only meals my kids will eat. Oh, and occasionally cheese pizza...if it's the right kind...you know...not spicy, no "green things" in it (seasonings) and the right color of cheese....and by the way, make sure the cheese doesn't have any brown on it (the heated spots from the oven).
We make a lot of meals that we know they won't like, and on those nights, I really don't mind making them something else. But, when we do make a meal that we feel they should be able to eat, and they won't even try a bite....it's so frustrating!!!
Yesterday for lunch I made Rylee a PBJ and Wyatt a cheese taco. Having already made them separate meals for lunch, I didn't really feel like doing so again for supper. I got to thinking about the meal I would be making. The ingredients were apple, ham, scrambled eggs and sweet potato (and a few spices, mostly cinnamon). Other than the sweet potato (which they have yet to give a good try), they like everything else. So, this was going to be one of those rare nights that I put on my "bad parent" hat and serve them what I made.
As I came into the house to start supper, Rylee hollered up to me to make her a PBJ (she eats this for every single meal, including breakfast, most days). I told her that tonight she would be eating the meal I was making for Daddy and myself. Silence.
A few minutes later while I was peeling the sweet potato, Wyatt came into the kitchen and said, "I don't like that....what is it?" I told him it was a sweet potato and he replied, "Yuck, I'm not going to eat that." I explained to him that I was making a meal with lots of other yummy stuff in it and he didn't have to eat the sweet potato part.
I then hear him go downstairs and say to Rylee, "I told Mom we don't like that stuff and she said we have to try it, but I'm not going to." All of a sudden I felt them plotting against me. I wasn't sure how I felt about this, but wanted to stick to my guns.
So once the scramble was ready, I placed it on the table along with a couple of sides I knew they would eat (cottage cheese and raspberries). I said to James, "okay, are you ready for this disaster?" We called the kids upstairs to come eat.
O.M.G. They came up the stairs with the most somber looks on their faces. You would have thought they just found out their cat died. I felt a little bad for them, but tried not to laugh all at the same time.
They sat in silence staring at their plates. They ate the sides right away and then moved food around a little with their fork. Rylee asked for more raspberries, which we said she could have after a few bites of the scramble. She decided to try one piece at a time...making a "my life sucks" face while doing so. Wyatt just got up and left the table without even trying a bite.
This was a very unpleasant dinner experience for all of us and honestly I felt bad for the kids. I mean, they are their own people and they know what they want to eat. However, I also know it is our job as their parent to guide them to try new things and make healthier choices. We made sure they understood there would be nothing else to eat for the rest of the night, and they didn't ask for anything. I know they didn't go to bed hungry, but they definitely did not enjoy that meal experience.
Many times I've been told, "Just stick with it and they will eventually start eating your meals. Let them go to bed hungry a few times." But I just can't do this. I can't. It feels too cruel. That being said though, I really do want them to eat what I make when I know it's something they should like.
There's so much talk about how important it is for families to have meals together, etc. I just don't want my kids to grow up with bad memories of supper time, because Mom and Dad made them eat "disgusting" food or go to bed hungry. I never make them sit with us and clean their plates, because they just get upset, which then makes me upset too. Plus, the sooner they leave the table, the sooner James and I get to have a quiet meal together. Is that bad??
So, what does your family do at meal time??
Okay, lets talk about the snacking. This one is 100% my fault and I know it. Our kids LOVE to snack....like every 30 minutes. We try to explain to them that if they would eat healthier foods they wouldn't be hungry all day long. But when we try to give them a healthy snack, they don't want it, of course. The worst for me is after school. I pick them up and they are talking about snacks the whole way home. Then they eat 3 or 4 snacks in 30-40 minutes and don't want supper. I wish I knew if they were actually this hungry or just eating because they can --- because I don't regulate it much and they are welcome to help themselves. When I cut off the snacking after the first snack, then I get to listen to them whine until supper time....and ultimately I give in.
For one week I tried making fun kid-friendly, but healthy, after-school snacks that would sustain them until supper time. Not only did they complain about what I made, but they didn't even eat it....though that was their only option those days. I gave up on that real fast....not going to waste my time or energy.
James and I stopped buying their favorite snacks, like goldfish, and stick to the lesser of the evils....unsweetened applesauce, cheese stick, low sugar granola bars, etc. But, the kids will eat multiple of each of those things every day. I think I need to try having a "snack bowl" where I set out the amount of snacks they can have in one day and once it's gone, it's gone. I hate to be such a stickler in their own house, but kids don't really know what's good and bad for them.
I'm pretty sure the snacking is due to boredom. They watch a lot of tv unfortunately, and aren't engaging their brains and bodies like they should be. On days when we are busy or play outside a lot, they never ask for snacks until they are legitimately hungry. I've been trying to send them outside or find other projects for them to work on when they ask for snacks 30 minutes after breakfast and lunch.
I feel like my grocery bill would be so much less if they didn't snack so dang much! Rylee gets especially excited when we bring groceries home -- she feels like she needs to eat everything right away. She will eat an entire days worth of snack in the first hour, just because she is excited about the food. She even does this with healthy items, like blueberries and raspberries -- eats a whole container in one sitting. She definitely has the wrong relationship with food-- eats for pleasure instead of nourishment. We need to figure out how to change this!
What are your struggles with kids and snacking??
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