Getting children to try new foods

Stone · 11-03-2004, 07:12 PM

My son is such a picky eater

HE refuses to eat anything else but crap ( hot dogs, chick nugets ect) I've tried not giving him anything at all except whats for dinner and he won't touch it, I don't think I have ever seen him take a bite of salad or anything.

Any suggestions?

Do you think children should be forced to eat what you make?

Duke · 11-03-2004, 07:19 PM

I think forcing a child to eat what you make is wrong. I do believe that you should force them to take a bite of your food though.

Generally speaking, children hate it by default unless it's bad for them or is sugary.

Stone · 11-03-2004, 07:21 PM

I am constantly cooking 2 seperate meals a night one for Adults and one for him, jeeze I feel like a servant LOL

Duke · 11-03-2004, 07:24 PM

Don't do it, it'll never end.

Boys will eat virtually anything with hamburger and cheese in it. Dress it up, start throwing small chunks of junk in the sauce, melt cheese over it, etc.

Duke · 11-03-2004, 08:24 PM

Now a news article on the front page, check it out ;-)

sn00py · 11-03-2004, 08:26 PM

well to get me to eat a salad it has to be a taco salad so what duke said is true put meat and cheese in it and we will most likely eat it

Merika · 11-03-2004, 09:06 PM

If I lose another post...I'm gonna SCREAM!

My parents always made me eat a little of everything on the table. I hated some foods so much until when we had them....I would pretend to be sick and just go to bed hungry. To this day I still hate some of those things.

Then there are other things which I ended up liking as I got older.

You can go to the grocery store and pick up those Michelena Kids meals for a buck. Keep some on hand if you cook something he really doesn't like and you can't fake him out with the cheese trick.

Duke · 11-03-2004, 10:01 PM

Are you experiencing a lot of errors or something?

I've only experienced 4 or 5 errors all night long.

Duke · 11-03-2004, 10:48 PM

I really hope you can find some answers in here Stoneheather.

Merika · 11-03-2004, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duke

Are you experiencing a lot of errors or something?

I've only experienced 4 or 5 errors all night long.

I just answered this and it happened AGAIN. It comes up a 'no post specified' thing or something to that effect. I don't mind the error message because I can refresh. I hate losing whole posts though! LOL!

Duke · 11-04-2004, 07:36 AM

I have yet to see that error message.

Wapwap · 11-04-2004, 07:53 AM

I don't think its a good thing to always drive his way. You're the boss and you make the rules.. if he likes it or not.

Let him eat whats served, if he doesn't like it, no food for him.

I'm not saying that you should force him to eat certain things, but its just too crazy for words that you have to cook a seperate meal for a kid of 4 years old, which only eats junkfood.

Duke · 11-04-2004, 08:20 AM

I'd agree to a certain point. My father knew I hated onions (which many of us do) yet he was an onion lover so you know what that meant? He'd over-onion virtually everything and have a son sitting at the table trying to eat this junk and having his gag reflex triggered at every mouthful.

It was pathetic and doesn't help much when I try to think fondly of my father. All I'm saying is, be careful, your child may end up resenting you for forcing things down his throat. Forcing is a negative memory, coaxing and helping a child to make the righ choices are rewarding experiences.

It's also important to remember that everyone likes different things. Some foods you cook for your son that seem allright to you and the masses like shepards pie, chicken chow mein, stews, etc., may seem repulsive to him. Try to understand why and maybe adjust the recipe slightly to help accomodate some of his tastes.

Star · 11-04-2004, 09:34 AM

My rule always was that the kids eat what's put in front of them on their plates. Sometimes they didn't like what was there, but they ate it because it's good food for them. They were this way even if they were at a friend's house. They grew up thinking it's inpolite to tell the person who cooked the meal that you don't like it.

Another thing I used to do is tell a little fib and tell them that they used to love this stuff when they were younger. I'd tell them to taste it (take a good bite, not a tiny one) and most of the time, they did like it.

hot dogs, hamburgers and stuff like that aren't healthy enough to be eating all the time. I have a nephew ( my favorite nephew