What should i do if my child is demanding special foods at meal times?

Question

He is 4 yrs old

Answer 1

I have always refused to make more then one meal. And there is no way some 4 year old is going to DEMAND anything from me.

I make one meal and put it on the table. I'm not going to force anyone to eat it but I'm not making them anything special.

Answer 2

Say no. (Not only will this ruin your life as you become a short-order cook, but it will prevent him from eating a variety of foods over the course of a week).

Make sure there's one thing your child likes, or at least tolerates, in every meal. If you're really worried your child is going to starve, you can also consider a rule that after he's had a "polite bite" of everything everyone else is having, he can get himself fruit or cereal.

Answer 3

put the plate in front of the little rascall and tell him he will not be excused until he eats a decent amount (you judge) do not let him up until he at least tries a bite and then do not give him anything else....my three year old is now happy to eat at meals with me and she does not whine for PBnJ or cake or snacks she wants suddenly she has a better appitite and she has a more happy disposition. I was allowing her alternitives but she can eat what I cook and this seems to have been beneficial. I server her aprox one half to one cup of food per meal and if she wants more she can have it when that is gone.I dont force feed but she has to eat a little of it

Answer 4

You are not a waiter or personal chef. He eats whats on the table or nothing at all. Make sure there is at least one food he likes at every meal. If he says he doesn't like something tell him he has to try 2 bites of everything, if he still doesn't like it he doesn't have to eat it but he isn't getting anything else.

Answer 5

Don't give in. One of my friends did, and 6 years later she is still cooking two dinners -- one for her son and one for herself and the hubby. You are the parent, so you make the rules.

What you can do to make life easier for both of you is only insist that he eat a few bites of a food he doesn't want. That's what my aunt did with me, but I had to sit at the table by myself till I ate it. No TV, no talking to anyone, no nothing -- just me and the plate. It only took a couple of times of going to bed hungry and waking up to the same plate for breakfast before I learned that lesson! Good luck!

Answer 6

He would eat what I tell him to eat, unless it's something that he clearly doesn't like or he's allergic to. But otherwise, he would not be making up a special menu for me to follow. He's the child and you're the parent. If he refuses to eat what you cook then he'd go to bed hungry.

Answer 7

This is where you teach your child that you are the boss. You fix healthy food and put it in front of him. He can either eat it or leave the table, without a snack later on. He will not starve, but he will learn real quick that he had better eat what is on his plate. It might take a week of saying no, but you'll see who really is the boss.

Answer 8

Take him outside, tell him to look over the roof of your house. Ask him if he sees a pair of "golden arches" when he says "no" you tell him "That's right, you don't get to order what you WANT, you eat what you get or you don't eat". Then you set him down and if he doesn't eat he goes to bed hungry. He won't starve if he misses a meal

Answer 9

I tell my child that I'm not a restaurant... I make a specific food that night, and that's what she has to eat... if she doesn't...she goes to bed hungry... once or twice.. and it was over with.

Answer 10

he eats what you make. if he doesnt hes not very hungry,,,,that was my moms philosophy