At dinner last night, all Charlie had to do was eat one bean OR one bite of mashed potatoes--not too big of a deal, right? WRONG! He refused to eat anything. From 5:45-6:30 we went back and forth with him from time out to the table with no luck. Finally, we cleaned up dinner and made him sit at the table alone with his plate. We told him that as soon as he ate one bite he could have other food, then we bribed him with ice cream, eventually we said he could at least get out of his chair as long as he took that one bite. He still refused, so we walked away and ignored him. He sat in his chair by the table until 8pm when I unbuckled him and laid him down in his crib and put him to bed. He didn't eat anything for supper.
I felt horrible for sending him to bed without supper. I imagined him crying and tossing and turning with hunger pains; I thought I might have to make him eat mashed potatoes at 3am when he got too hungry to sleep. But, going to bed without eating didn't seem to phase him. He slept through the night, woke up at his normal time and ate a waffle for breakfast. I am scarred from last night but I think he forgot about the whole thing :)
Tonight, my stubborn little man might get peanut butter and jelly for dinner. I have to rest up for a few days before we tackle the food issue again :)
11 comments:
It's so hard and you may feel like a horrible mama, but you're really setting the groundwork for a healthy relationship with food. I think you should stick with it and you'll find he'll come around.
You have lots of battles. Not sure food is a big one, but once you set the bar, I am glad you carried it through. :-) He will grow just fine, don't worry too much about what he eats or when. I fought some of those battles and learned that it really wasn't always worth it. Our kids all grew and did just fine and they were not always crazy about their veggies, either. I know I sound like 'grandma', but really, being a picky eater is not a big deal. There still are foods I don't like!! (Believe it or not!) Love you all lots....Mom
Oh Kelli, you're doing a great job. I can see myself doing the same thing. And as much as I tell myself that I wouldn't lose sleep over my child missing a meal, I KNOW I will. He'll get the hang of it. So will you. :)
We went through this too with our oldest (now age 5) and she still is really picky. We had to do all the same things you are doing...and I think you are doing fine! We do have zero tolerance for complaining about the food. If they ask, "What's for supper?" and I respond and their response of "Yuk" or "I don't like that" is unacceptable. I have had to do time outs for that, but not in a very, very long time. I also try and have a few variety of things to eat because I really cannot blame them for not wanting to eat casserole. Sometimes I try to separate out the casserole or else require they eat one or two bites. It's hard...you just have to experiment and find out what works.
Yummy! Just to set the record straight with your last commenter, stromboli IS NOT a casserole. She wasnt' asking for much! Keep up the good work Kelli!
Our kids have both gone to bed several times without having eaten dinner. We are to the point where we send them to their room if they are refusing to eat and just take the choice away from them. "You don't want to eat. Fine. Go to your room so the rest of us can enjoy our meal" and that is the end of it! I have no patience at meal time, so I leave a lot of the discipline at that time up to Darin : )
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One of my friends adopted a two year old who would only eat junk. Finally at dinner they would give her a super small portion of the junk she liked...like two bites worth...on her plate with the rest of her meal. As long as she had a little of her preferred food she was good. She started with that and then moved on to the rest of the plate without too much fuss. Good luck.
You did fine Kellie!! He will not be traumatized. It is harder for us than them. Read Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical skills from birth to six years. A great book that has a section on what you are going through.
When did I say stromboli was casserole? Just a little confused. I was referring to the fact my own kids don't eat the casseroles I make. I was not saying anything negative about Kelly.
I knew what you were talking about with the casserole...no big deal; just sounds like a misunderstanding :)
isn't being consistant and following through the HaRdEsT part?! been there, and so glad I'm not alone. Good for you. Charlie sounds like he's far from scarred, little stinker. :)
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