I have just made a nice leek & potato soup, but I know that my 9 year old will refuse to eat it!?

Question

I just wanted to make it.....I don't know why. I'm so sick of catering to his tastes!

What shall I do with my son when he comes in from school later on and starts yelling at me for making this stuff?

I'm a good mother who always tries to cook decent food, but my kids won't eat it!

I do discipline him, but he has a poor character and is a loud-mouthed bully - just like his father!

If I smack him on the bottom he tells me that it's against the law (we live in the UK) and that Social Services will come and get me. I have a three year old to think about so I can't afford to have SS sniffing around just because I smacked my eldest. I'm sick of him, but there's nothing I can do. I am a pretty strict mother and have NO problems with my younger son!

Answer 1

Tell him that he has to try at least try one spoonful. Otherwise, bread and water, no spread/butter. He won't die of starvation for just one evening.

Answer 2

If you're just now realizing that nine year olds are picky eaters, then shame on you.

Making meal time into a battle is a losing proposition for the grown-up.

Many experts recommend providing a variety of foods/tastes to the child, and allowing the child to select what he/she likes. If you don't make it a power issue, the child will be more likely to consent to trying something new.

Make him a plain sandwich, maybe some cut up carrots, apple slices, AND a bowl of the soup. If he complains he is still hungry after eating the sandwich, then tell him all you have left is the soup. Don't argue and don't cave.

He won't die if he goes to bed a little hungry a few times, and he might just be uncomfortable enough to decide to try new things.

Answer 3

I would serve it with bread and just eat it ,if he doesn't eat it he will be hungry later so serve it again .
My daughter has only one meal she won't eat when I make it and thats curry(but at 8 i know to her that can be hot and hard for her to like) other than that any meal i serve she has to eat .
It can be tough going but I found just by not buying the foods that aren't good for them helped coz its not in the house for them to say they want.
I have catering to my husbands taste more of a problem he can be fussy so I suppose i just dont let the kids get away with it - foods like veg i will serve a selection with ones i know the kids will eat and add new ones every so often they eat more than my husband will eat (he only eats peas and carrots)
if the food you serve is the only food there is he will soon start eating if he eats the soup later make it next week and he soon will realise that he will have to eat and enjoy it .
If he really refuses and you worry about him being hungry give him a sandwich later on but definately not sweets or crisps .

Answer 4

In our family, we've had success with the "polite bite" rule. Everybody tries a little bit of everything, whether they like it or not, and they have to be polite about it (no "eww, gross", but they can say "thanks for the soup, but it's not my favorite."). After they've tried a polite bite, they can move on to what else is on the table. I make sure there's always something that's palatable ... if I were serving a soup that I wasn't sure they'd like I'd also have grilled cheese sandwiches and tomatoes, for example, or corn muffins and an antipasto salad with some veggies they liked and also some cheese and ham in it....).

I also talk to my kids a lot about how it takes a lot of tries to get to like a new food (I think the research is that it can take up to 15 tries! -- and I explain that's why we have the polite bite rule, since even though they might not like it this time, if they try a little now they'll probably like it another time). Even my four year old tried something she didn't like the other day and said she didn't really care for it but that maybe she'd like it the next time. :-)

And if anybody yelled at me about the food, I'd definitely be disciplining them for that.....

Answer 5

Not swallowing anything that tastes different from something you have eaten before has great survival value for children.

See the Aqua Dots story in the papers if you doubt this.

Picky eaters are a blessing in disguise think how much happier all those mothers who sat in emergency rooms with their children who swallow things they shouldn't would be if their children were "picky".

An important part of a young child's development is training this instinct. You need to reinforce it with respect to items that you don't put on the table and suppress it for things that you do intentionally give the child to eat. Properly done this can lead to a life long habit of being intentional about what we put in our bodies.

Answer 6

Stop catering to his tastes. Tell your kids that one day a week, they will get to pick the menu but the other days, since you are doing the cooking, you will pick. They can eat what you serve or they can go hungry. Any lip from them and they can go to their rooms until they are ready to be polite. Yelling at a parent is not allowed in my house. No normal child will starve to death voluntarily and I really believe that picky eaters are made, not born.

Answer 7

We have 2 sons....one is a fussy eater and one will eat just about anything. We made an agreement that each could choose 2 meals each per week and we would choose the other three, but we made it clear to the fussy eater that in order to choose his 2 meals he must eat all other meals provided on the other nights without whinging. This has worked for us, it may be a useful idea for you.

Answer 8

You dont need to be at the beck and call of your son. You also shouldnt let him yell at you, you are the mother and you should discipline him properly!
Unless he really genuinely doesnt like the food then he should eat what he is given. If he doesnt eat his tea the he goes to bed hungry and without dessert.
You could compromise so one night you make what you want to eat then the next night he chooses what he would like (within reason obviously).

Answer 9

WHY are you allowing a 9 year old to yell at you???? You are the adult so stand up to him and tell him if he does not eat the soup he can go to bed Hungary. You obviously have spoilt him and now he thinks he can do what he likes and say what he likes. if he was my son he would a clip round the ear if he yelled at me....Come on woman get a back bone.

Answer 10

Hahaha. I also mostly cater to my son's tastes and preferences. But when I want to make something my husband and I like, but my son doesn't, I let him eat something else. Ravioli or chicken noodle soup are good then. I also make him at least try different foods, and he has actually acquired a sophisticated taste. He likes couscous, shrimp salad, escargot (!), quiche. . .

Answer 11

Maybe it's the texture, will he eat it if it's pureed? My kids both loathe mushrooms but like "brown soup"...I have to make it when they're out of the house so they don't see what's in it :)

If your son yells at you when he comes in, send him to his room for being so rude. You're his mum, not room service. If he won't eat what you cook, I'm sure you have bread and butter available with an apple for pudding.