S/O: Do you "cut off"?

[sunnydays]

I have some kids like this too. I always give them more, but again, within reason. If it is snacktime, I do cut them off at a certain point because it is meant to be a snack to tide them over, not an entire meal...but even then, I do give them more than oe serving. As some others have said, I will say no to more bread or crackers etc, but not usually to more soup or more broccoli etc (most of my group love broccoli!). If I am serving a bread type item, I serve the other parts of the meal first and they earn their bread by eating the other parts (this even works well for my picky almost 4 year old), but I do have a problem with one of my little ones...he's 14 months and some days he doesn't even want to touch anything I serve and sits their crying like I am hurting him by not serving something more appetizing. He holds out and I end up giving him bread and milk because I don't want him to go to bed with an empty stomach...but then it is a vicious cycle...I'm not sure what to do with this one!

[Inspired by Reggio]

.... He holds out and I end up giving him bread and milk because I don't want him to go to bed with an empty stomach...but then it is a vicious cycle...I'm not sure what to do with this one!

IMO it will not hurt him to go without 'food' for a meal ... as long as he is hydrated the human being can go DAYS without food just think of anytime you've had a really bad tummy flu

I do not cave with children in my care ... I provide a wide variety of options at regular intervals their job is to choose if and how much they consumer .... seriously do you think in Ethiopia a 14 month old takes one look at the ROTTEN RICE they are being served because that is the only option they have and says 'nope I am holding out for a nice soft piece of bread and a glass of milk' :roll:

North American children are PICKY because we ALLOW them the option to be PICKY .... there is research that shows that SUGAR aka what bread / pasta / rice / potato breaks down into in the body in much larger concentrations than 'fruit/veggie' does actually reacts in the brain the same as COCAINE ... it can be addictive for sure and the more we have in our diet the more we WANT in our diet to fill that' void ... however what we WANT is not always what is BEST for us and adults it is our job to help children learn the difference between a NEED and a WANT.... we NEED a balanced diet of protein, fruits, veggies and so forth and high carbs foods in moderation ... in reality we do not even NEED rice, pasta, breads, sugary foods in our diet they are FILLER created to make us feel full in times of 'famine' because they are CHEAP SHELF STABLE ITEMS - nutritionally they offer very little that cannot be gotten in fruits, veggies, legumes or other 'better choices' specially when you take into account their 'calories per serving' in comparison and the fact that we now have access to fruits / veggies and other better choices YEAR ROUND verses back centuries ago when if you did not hunt or gather it - you went hungry for days