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  1. #1
    k8who
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    Picky child, parents don't seem to mind?

    advice!

    One of my daycare kiddos seems to be a real "snacker" i.e: only eats "snack" type foods and doesn't like to eat the main item at lunch (normally its hot foods like pastas, casseroles, chicken and rice, quiche.. plain simple wholesome foods) anyways it wouldn't be a big deal since I always serve little things on the side except that she is quite boisterous about her dislike, which then makes all the other littles "not like" lunch either... lol. I've talked to her mom and my honest hope was that mom would say I'll just pack a few things for her for lunch, but mom just brushed it off. Do I change my meals to suit her?

  2. #2
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    NEVER change your menu plans to better suit a child's taste. If she doesn't eat what you serve then she doesn't eat at all. You are serving healthy wholesome foods, so you have nothing to worry about on your end. You can't force feed her either, so it's up to her to decide to either eat or go hungry. If she is giving you attitude about it, remove her from the table, send her in a timeout or have an appropriate consequence. I know it can be hard to see a child go hungry and feel guilty but you shouldn't feel guilty at all!

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  4. #3
    k8who
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    alright thanks Fun&care, She eats all of her "sides" and wants more of that (fruit, veggies, yogurt) and I have to say no to her.. because if i give her seconds of the "good stuff" everybody wants the same.. I do feel bad for her since she hardly eats anything at lunch but I stick to my guns and don't allow her to eat again until snack time. Its tough but I hope she will come around. She's been with me for 1 month PT.

    Odd to me that she doesn't eat the same things as the parents at dinner time, sounds like she is served snack type foods all day long at home. DKM seemed a bit embarrassed when I asked her what DCG eats at home. Strange she didn't mention this when I told her what kinds of foods I serve for lunch :| frustrating!

  5. #4
    Euphoric !
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    Well personally I would not give the "extras" on the plate with the main meal .... They would get it after they finished all the main part then I would serve the "extras" fruit yoghurt and such afterwards then when she sees the other children getting the good stuff maybe she will eat but if not oh well too bad ..... So for instance if Shepards pie was on the menu today that's all they would get on the plate and when finished they would get dessert (fruit yoghurt ect) ...... That would fix her wagon !

  6. #5
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    Agree crayola...another way to go about it is, for example today we are having pizza with fresh cut veggies. I am serving the veggies first, while we wait for the pizza to cool down and they have to have a certain amount of bites of the veggies before they get any pizza at all. Doing this right now as we speak!

  7. #6
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    I put everything on their plate and find my dcks pretty much eat everything , if they don't I just pick everything up and toss . All my parents were quite specific they did not want their child forced to eat anything . I do get frustrated but in my situation all my kids are part time with the average days being 3 , so it is up to the parents to make sure their kids eat .
    That said , I serve very nutritious meals and make sure I present veggies and fruit that everyone will eat !! I did add dips which I never served my own dd but my dayhome kids are used to dips .

  8. #7
    Euphoric !
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    I give no attention to what is and isn't eaten. If a picky child choses to be picky so be it. I don't push, pressure or even encourage them to eat as it just leads to battles. Even comments to a picky eater such as "yeaa you ate your carrot today" just gives the message they did something special...when they haven't done anything special at all. This can feed their mentality that certain foods are better than others. The only comment I do make are at the end of the meal when clearing the plates "wow you were really hungry today" to the kids that ate a lot and "you are going to have a very hungry tummy later" to the kids that ate nothing. It's just a factual statement that gives them some feedback about their body.

    How old is this child? Is she old enough that when she makes a comment about not liking a food you can stop her by having a 'no negative' comments rule or something? Really hard with a young child I know, but if they are 3-4 they may learn to stop making comments about what they don't like. Can be as simple as saying "oh, at the lunch table we only talk about what we do like, not what we don't like. I spent a lot of time preparing this meal and it isn't polite to be negative".

    If that won't work then try simply responding with... this is what we are eating today you can choose to eat it or be hungry until snack time. Then only respond to her when she has something nice to say. Eventually she (and the other kids) will figure out that the meal doesn't change based on what they say.

    Our job as adults is to prepare healthy, well balanced meals. Their job as children is to chose what and how much they will eat from what is served. I don't believe kids need special meals. I make meals that an adult would enjoy and add a 'safe' side dish just in case. Children form eating habits and taste preferences very, very young. If they only eat purees and then move onto a few 'child' meals they don't have the exposure to real tastes until it is way to late.

    We go full flavor here...my 20month old loves hot sauces. She's had them since she was about 8months of age. At meals now she requests more "spiccceeeee" when we have spicy meals with extra hot sauces on the side. Odds are she will grow up to love spicy and flavorful food, much more so than a child that doesn't have spicy food until they are school-age because it is in her repertoire of familiar tastes.

  9. #8
    Euphoric !
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    ha ha, food is always a funny thing. In my daycare I feed pretty standard foods, things all the kids like. I have the odd thing that the kids eat but not very often. I do serve prepackaged and/or quick things - frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, fries, KD, hot dogs, perogies, pasta/ham/peas, grilled cheese sandwiches, ham or peanut butter sandwiches, pasta/cheese or tomato sauce, pancakes, French toast, waffles or sausages/hashbrowns, wraps or taco's. We eat a lot of raw vegies instead of cooked. We eat fruit daily. I stay far away from rice and soup just because of the mess factor.

    Every household will eat different things. It isn't that the child is necessarily picky but they have never been exposed to certain foods. For myself I never feed my kids quiche, shepards pie or casserole's. It is because these are just foods that our family doesn't eat on a regular basis (at all actually LOL).

    Maybe just try and incorporate more of the things that she does eat into your menu. Just because they don't eat like you at home doesn't mean it is wrong (although mom feeding the child different meals at home should be a no no! LOL).

  10. #9
    k8who
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    Thanks for everyone's comments. Lee-Bee.. I am totally on the same page as you. I'm just going to start not making it a big deal after all she is only 2-3 days a week with me. I serve everyone the same thing and it always includes a healthy home made balanced meal with fruit and veggies on the side.. she will come around but for now if all she is eating is the fruit there really isn't a lot I can do about it without help from her parents. She is 22 months old so still quite young to be negotiating with.

    thank you all for your help.

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