How do you get your seven year old to eat his meals every night?

Question

I make a variety of different meals and the only time he will eat is if I make chicken and macaroni.

Answer 1

lay the law down!! who is the adult here??? make him stay at the table until he eats whatever you have cooked. otherwise he goes hungry... ban the eating after school until he learns to eat his dinner at night. he will soon learn.

Answer 2

Make him what he eats, but introduce a new food with the meal. Tell him he never ate it before so he doesn`t know what it tastes like and must try at least one bite before he can leave the table.
If he takes a bite and doesn`t like it or want it, that is fine. As long as he tried it.
This way, he will try different foods and know for sure what he likes.
My friends son only ate bread for 5 or six months. She would make him take a bite of something while eating his bread.
Now he is 9 and eats a variety of things. But not together.
For Easter, he ate only the potatoes. Then when he was hungry again, he ate only hard boiled eggs.
She gives him a multi vitamin and he is healthy. I guess not putting alot of emphasis on eating is the best thing to do.
This way, food is not a focal point in the child`s life. Unless you want him to grow up to be a chef.

Answer 3

Just Take a Bite-Lori Ernsperger, Ph.D. and Tania-Stegen-Hanson, OTR/L.

This is a great book for helping parents with children who are challenging feeders.

General advice:

-Mealtimes should not be longer than 30-45 minutes. Research shows that most children eat within 20-30 minutes.
-Meals should be at table with tv, other forms of distraction off. The food should be the focus of the meal, not the distractions.
-All family members should eat at table with the child.
-Praise eating/feeding behaviors; Ignore refusal behaviors.
-Be specific-Thank you for taking a bite of your bread.
-Use foods the child likes as a reinforcer for trying new foods. So, you can use the chicken and macaroni as a reinforcer for trying other things. For example, you can have a piece of chicken after you have taken a bite of your corn.
-Do not give child water, juice, milk about an hour before meals. Otherwise, they will fill up on liquids.
-It takes most children at least 10 presentations of the food to tell if they will like it. So, just because they don't like it on the first try, don't give up. Try it again another time.

Answer 4

Sometimes children have allergies to certain foods. Sometimes they have genuine distastes for certain foods. Sometimes they are truly not hungry. Most of the time, though, they're just being picky.

Communicate to your child that "in our house, we are not picky eaters." Next, decide what you're going to have for dinner, prepare one healthy, delicious menu, and serve it to your child. If your child refuses to eat, that is his choice, and he will learn quickly that picky eaters start to get hungry pretty fast.

You are, of course, not on a mission to "starve" your child. In fact, you're doing just the opposite - you are showing him that there are so many delicious things to eat, that even though he may see his friends being picky, he sees that they are the ones that are missing out because they're choosing not to eat something that really is good.

In our house, we make our children at least try everything. If they don't like one thing, that's fine. If they don't like everything, they're being picky. For example, we might be having baked chiken, green beans, and salad. If the child can't find even one of those things that he likes, and if "all he'll eat" is macaroni and cheese, then I believe he's being picky and he doesn't get another choice.

It might be that your kid will skip a meal if presented with just one choice. This will not hurt any kid, and he's probably just testing you to see if you'll cave in and get him something different. If this happens, serve a different menu at the next meal (but do *not* offer the food he's asking for - force him to try something new).

If he still won't eat, check to see what the child is snacking on between meals - if he's eating constantly throughout the day, he may be full already and not really be interested in eating anything else. Control what snacks he's eating and communicate to him that he is not going to have the macaroni until he eats one meal of something different, and you'll see that he'll quickly change his tune.

Once he tries something new, encourage him, and feel free to reward him with some of his favorite foods.

Answer 5

My 5 year old cleans his plate. Every kid is different though. Hold back on sweets and dairies because those are filling without all the vitamins. Don't offer big snacks. Just a 1/2 apple, a small yogurt or applesauce. That way they are good and hungry by dinner time. He won't always clear the plate, if ever, but it's getting some nutritious foods in him at least.

Answer 6

Does the child snack during the afternoon? If so, reduce or stop the snacking. Serve the food, if your child chooses not to eat it, no problem, just don't serve or make replacement meals. If they miss a meal or two, they will get hungry and they will start eating. The toughest part is consistently following through and working through their complaining, whining and maybe even crying. Stay strong and they wil change their behavior when they see you mean business. After all who knows what is better for them to eat, probably the parent(s). It is all part of the teaching and training process. Best wishes for your success.

Answer 7

Picky eaters are going to be picky no matter what you do.

My daughter is 17 and is still a picky eater.

I think she got it from my husband. He is a very picky eater. His mother was an excellent cook, (that's how she made her living) and it has been hell trying to get these two to eat.

When my daughter was little, she wouldn't eat anything unless my husband ate it. I made him eat things he didn't like just so she would eat it.

As hard as it is, sometimes the only thing you can do is fix a nutritious meal and if they don't eat it, they just do without.

I know that sound harsh, but when my daughter was little, she wouldn't eat bread, meat, or vegetables.

She only wanted sweet stuff. she would eat mac&cheese and it is still her favorite food, but other foods have to be introduced.

Try to be as creative as you can. My daughter would'nt eat fruit, but she would eat sliced apples dipped in caramel.

If you have to discuise the veggies and fruit then do it. Exam: she would eat raw carrots, but not cooked ones. I had to add a touch of sugar to the cooked carrots to get her to eat them.

Get a good book on nutrition. If your child won't eat meat, try peanut butter, beans, etc. All are good sources of protein.

I can feel for you, I've been there and done that.

I even resorted to chocholate chip pancakes to get my daughter to eat breakfast.

Good luck

Answer 8

I agree with offering him a plate of what everyone else is eating,don't contribute to his likes/pickyness and make a special plate for only him.Make him stay at the table until everyone else is finished eating.If he doesn't eat he goes hungry until breakfast,lunch,or dinner.NO snacks or sugary drinks including juice throughout the day,this will only curb his appetite. Kids will eat when they get hungry even if it isn't their favorite.Continue to offer new things on his plate. I did this with my daughter and it worked,she still doesn't get a snack if she decides she doesn't like her meal. I am doing this with my son now,it's hard sometimes b/c he whines "I'm hungry,or my belly hurts" about an hour after supper but I simply say "if you had eat your dinner like everyone else,you wouldn't be hungry,you can eat breakfast in the morning,maybe you'll eat dinner tomorrow so this won't happen again" he usually wakes up and happily eats his breakfast with no whining and complaining of wanting something else,then no sugary snack between lunch and he eats,again no sugary snacks before dinner,at dinner I remind him of the night before and how he felt when he didn't eat and that he will not get anything until breakfast if he doesn't eat at least half of his food.When he does eat,he gets rewarded with a snack like icecream,pie,pudding,a peice of candy or cake (which he usually doesn't eat all of it b/c he is full of the good stuff!) Patience and consistency is the key to getting your child to eat their meals,any snacks should always consist of healthy foods,save sugary snacks for rewards and special occasions,that way they don't assume sugary snacks are apart of their diet.

Answer 9

Don't make macaroni. Make chicken and two veggies, then give him the choice between what veggie he wants. He'll think he's in control by being able to decide which one he eats.
Make a reward system. My mother had charts in our rooms and when we ate a veggie, clean our room, etc...we go to put a star sticker on the chart. I can still remember picking what color sticker I wanted to put on my chart!!! Then at the end of the week, maybe he can be rewarded with macaroni if he ate a veggie everyday.

Answer 10

Make him a dinner that the others are eating also.
Sit it on the table in front of him and everyone sit together to eat.
If he don't want to eat it make him stay there until everyone is done.
Then he can get up and if he don't eat it put plastic wrap on it and put it in the refrigerator.
Heat it up for his next meal and don't let him have anything else to eat till he finishes what is put out for him.
I have done it and it works.
That's how they learn to eat what they are given.
It is important that he not eat and drink stuff between meals, also.

Answer 11

I was the same way at that age. So my parents would make me sit there until I ate whatever my Mom made . Trust me it worked. After a few nights of sitting there for hours while everyone else was playing, I then ate whatever my Mom made. It really works!! . After a few nights of that, sitting there for hours, then I would eat whatever my Mom made. I have 2 little cousins, and they will refuse to eat everything but fast food because they know Mom or Dad will go get it for them.
When I was younger you ate whatever your Mom made, or you didnt eat at all. Nobody starved. Its the only way. If he knows he cant get up until he's done, then after a few days, I guarantee he will start eatting. Yea, its going to be hard for you for a couple of days, he's going to do nothing but whine, but it works.