I have a 5 year old , and when it comes to dinner time...she will not eat what we give her...?

Question

She has no problem with breakfast or lunch...she'll eat anything i put down in front of her, but when it comes to dinner...she will not eat it.
I try being nice..i try being mad, sad, yell, whisper...everything to get her to eat.
It's not that we give her gross things...( i am not a restaurant and making 400 different things) and i make sure her vegies are not cooked ( she won't eat them if they are) and serve her on a small plate, so it doesn't look like there is lots of food ( which there isn't) give her a choice if dipping sauces..but she just plane out refuses to eat...then complains a couple of hours later that she is hungry. What do I do??? SHe needs to eat!!!!

oh we've tried the ..you don't eat now...you get nothing until tomorrow...reheating what she had for dinner later...everything...she's gone to bed hungry a few times...and then in the morrning is so hungry she feels sick and won't eat at all...this is all so fustrating...we fight every time over this..

i do get her to help make it...and even then..she is like..daddy look what i made...but won't eat it herself..she puts on a big show, tears and whatnot...moans and groans..saying her tummy hurst...blah blah blah..

Answer 1

My pediatrician said the same thing. Only let them eat what you eat, they will eat when they are hungry. My boy is the picky one too. He does not get special accommodations and then he is hungry later. I say; "I told you that you had to eat your dinner or you would be hungry, now you are." I do not save plates for him. Dinner time is at 6 pm, not whenever he decides he is hungry. Yes, in the morning his tummy feels hungry. I feed him his cereal and then when lunch time comes if he does not eat at school he will be super hungry. He will whine and complain how hungry he is. I give him a snack and juice and make him wait till dinner time. There is usually at least one thing he can find that he likes on his plate. At least now he tries things. And he has found new things he likes. It is a slow grumbling process but you must stay firm. Pretty soon you will be rewarded when she tries something and discovers she likes it! Then you must say, "Good girl!."
I would suggest a book called "Bread and Jam For Francis."
I call him Francis when he does not eat and it makes him grin through his anger. LOL
Lisa

Answer 2

Just ignore the show she's putting on. Don't fight, don't rehash the discussion. Simply say, "oh, I'll put your dinner in the fridge for when you are hungry", do it, and start talking about something else.

Don't try everything to get her to eat. Don't try _anything_. Sit down and eat with her (Daddy too, if possible), don't refer to whether she's eaten or not, talk about things other than food. Your doctor is right - if she's eating breakfast and lunch it doesn't matter in the slightest whether she eats dinner. Just stop playing her power games and she will soon get bored of making herself hungry.

Answer 3

My daughter goes through this. I tell her she has to eat everything on her plate or she does not get anything at all. She knows that if she eats everything she can have more and if I giver her too much the second time she can still have a treat since she finished what I gave her originally.

I talked to her doctor at first because I said the same thing, She needs to eat, but he told me that she is eating at breakfast and lunch she will be fine.

Just don't give in and let her eat later and soon she should come around

Answer 4

She will eat when she is hungry. At 5 she understands most of what you say. So tell her that she can eat now, but not later. So when she asks to eat later and hasnt ate dinner refuse to feed her. Then after a couple of days she will rethink skipping dinner. I know it sounds harsh but it works. And you really have to show them that you wont give in. But make sure that dinner isnt too spicy for her, or has a tendacy to be things she doesnt like. Maybe say if you eat dinner all week, I will make breakfast for dinner on ......day.....

Answer 5

She is 5. She's playing mind games. Do not give in and do not make her a separate meal. My little one did this at age 3. She will not starve, but when she is hungry she will eat. Let her know that this is her dinner and if she does not eat it then she will not be getting anything else later. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 6

Keep offering it to her. If she's hungry enough, she'll eat it. If she refuses, fine, but save the food so that if she's hungry later she can eat that. Once she learns that you won't make her anything else, she will start to eat what you put in front of her.

Answer 7

My sister used to be picky until we started ignoring her. My mom would say ONE time. If you don't eat what I cooked, you'll just go hungry. And she would sit there and cry and scream and throw a fit. And we'd act like she wasn't in the room. And then when we'd leave the table she'd sit there and eat her food when we weren't looking. It's all for attention.

Answer 8

talk to your peditrican. she could be having some stomach trouble - the GI tract can be very complicated. My niece was like this. They did a few tests and found a problem in her GI tract. Put her on some meds and all seems fine now. And she doesn't have to take the meds all the time either.

Answer 9

If she's eating breakfast and lunch fine, maybe she's getting full on an afternoon snack? Maybe she's sneaking food in the afternoon?

Imo, if she's eating two meals a day, she's not going to starve to death. Keep doing what you are doing and wait her out.

Answer 10

My mom use to set the dinner out and if we didnt eat and said we were hungry later she uncovered the same food and gave it to us.So,we had to eat the dinner no matter what.
I use to hate cooked brussell sprouts and swore my kids would never have to eat anything they didnt like.Now boy oh boy...do i have three kids who are picky eaters..they all ened different meals.
one only eats pizza,hot dogs,no veggies.
one eats anything...except pickles...the next one just nit picks all day long...i noticed she asks for something like pnacakes at lunch then doesnt touch them.That makes me mad ...so i agree you need to stick to your guns only provide the one dinner and its given to you later if you are hungry if its not eaten then.