Hellobee Boards

Umm always? But I don’t care at all if my kids don’t eat ala ellyn satter. So I put out what I’m putting out and that’s that. They can eat or not but I’m not cooking something else or making food later. Idk my kids seem fine lol

Probably starting around a year? Maybe a little earlier? But I tried to always include one or two sides I knew she would eat in addition to the actual meal - cut up fruit or veggies, half a slice of bread, a roll, some cheese, a few pieces of pasta, a yogurt, etc. but it was never brought out after she refused to eat, it was always presented with the meal. We mostly followed Ellen Satter but I did feel better when she ate at least one small thing at each meal when she was super little.

Pretty much the same as @catgirl: for DS1. DS2 is 9 months and he gets offered what I make whether it is what we are having or something else. If he doesn’t eat it we just move on. He can eat one bite or everything but no way will Instart offering other food.

If he’s hungry he will eat. I feel they all go through this stage of not eating much at least once. With DS1 I’ve never made a big deal about it. But if you don’t eat dinner you don’t get anything else until you eat it.

We are in the exact same situation! And seems like the same foods-pb and fruit she’ll eat no matter what. My LO is 15 mos and. I have been offering her something I know she likes after she refuses the other things partly because I’m worried if she doesn’t eat dinner she won’t sleep and because she just seems little. But the sleep thing is my main worry! Any thoughts on that?

She’s becoming pickier and pickier the past few weeks though. After reading these maybe I’ll stop offering something else and just give fruit or avocado along with whatever I want her to try. We don’t eat with her during the week because she eats before we get home from work so she gets whatever she wants then anyway.

@JJ2626: E has totally had nights where she plays with dinner more then eats it, maybe takes a bite or two, and still generally sleeps fine.

We’ve pretty much always done it, starting with BLW. DS is 3.5 and has never once woken up hungry over night, even if he barely eats dinner. He usually eats a big lunch and dinner is hit or miss. He is an adventurous eater for the most part.

It depends what we’re having. If it’s something new or something mixed up, the rule is you have to try it (taste it for the 3 year old, 3 bites for the 5 year old) and then you can have toast with some kind of protein on it. If it’s something I know they like and they’re just being difficult than they’re out of luck.

I serve my kids everything we eat and always have. I make sure some of the items they like (often add fruit and raw veg as a side on their plate). At picky stages I would offer a filling sure fire option like yogurt at the same time as the rest of the meal so they don’t see it as their prize for not eating their dinner. We don’t offer anything else after. UNLESS it’s a meal I know they don’t like. My one son really hates eggs so I don’t serve him eggs and expect he will eat them.

@SweetiePie: We don’t do this at hole bc I am too lazy but they do it at daycare. They started as soon as the babies could eat solids!

Um ... 6 months we did BLW and you can pretty much make anything BLW friendly so I never offered alternative food. We also stopped “bedtime snacks” because my oldest would skip dinner to save room for his snack. If they don’t eat what I serve they can be hungry.

@JJ2626: sometimes E gets kid food bc its easy and quick and I need that. I also try to have leftovers from our dinners on hand to quickly heat up so she gets different flavors and stuff that isn't kid food. I also try some nights to have food in our crockpot so that I can eat with her and eat exactly the same thing. We have also worked to push back dinner time until closer to 6 so that it makes my life a little easier.

@snarkybiochemist: She would probably eat it, but we cook it rare and I don't want to give her anything that isn't well done.

Always. The only exception is when one of them is sick (like, sick stomach) and then I may let them eat something different if the family meal isn’t going over well. They are 3 and 5 and they are perfectly healthy in spite of the occasional refusal to eat what is put in front of them. Last year we started requiring that they at least try everything on their plates, though, and we ask that they eat the same number of bites as their age before saying they’re done. So my 5 year old has to have 5 bites and try everything on her plate, but after that she doesn’t have to eat anymore if she doesn’t want to.