
Parenting Big Kids (5-8) Support Group
This community is focused on the joys, challenges and concerns faced by parents of big kids (5 to 8 year olds). The major areas of child development include: physical development, perception and sensory development, communication and language development, cognitive development, emotional development and social development. Join to share your stories and get advice.
so, here 's what's worked for me:
my son will eat just about anything, even the heads off those small squids on the Chinese buffets haha.
try to introduce lots of different colors, textures, maybe one at a time.
I always insist on at least one or two THANK YOU bites, even if he says he hates it. *usually* he'll take the thank you bites and keep right on going. yea!
also, putting sauce or a dip with stuff is a big winner. like making ranch dip pink, calling it "princess dip" or making it green for boys, calling it monster dip, helps get them to dip veggies.
also, a big winner: making a face on a plate with healthy stuff. my kid will eat *anything* if it's shaped like a monkey's face.
here's one: wheat bread, spread with pnut butter or hummus, to make monkey's face and light color for mouth, a banana for the mouth, prunes, raisins, olives, carrots to round out the rest of the face and hair.
I'm sure you get the idea. = )
also, I let my kid quit when he's full as long as he's taken the thank you bites but if he leave a lot of stuff, there will be no snacks. this is a big trick for kids, they say they're full, they walk off, come back 10 minutes later, say they are hungry and lots parents let them eat junk for the snacks. hell-o? LOL
also, I agree with sb116, letting them pick out the lettuce or healthy stuff, put it in the cart, chop it up (with a butter or dullish knife) is very helpful.
I hope it helps. just remember, you are the one in charge, the one responsible and if you tell her she has to eat ____ b/c it will help her grow shiny princess hair and b/c you LOVE her, in the long run and maybe even the short run, she'll admire you for it.
good luck!
The rule around our house is, you don't have to like it, but you do have to try it. And that means I will serve it 10 times, and you have to try it every one of those ten times, because studies show that that is how long it takes to get used to something.
The study is right - lots of times they go ahead and eat the rest of it, or start eating it after the umpteenth time.
You can make healthy versions of fast food at home. We make Sweet potato fries - just peel the sweet potato, slice it (in circles is easiest) and saute (not deep fry) in extra virgin organic single pressing olive oil. Or any decent oil.
Chicken nuggets can be made by cutting a chicken breast into bites, shake it in a bag with corn meal or flour, and saute in extra virgin, etc. Pizza can be made at home too!
Try to keep her from watching TV commercials with fast food. And if you have to go to the fast food restaurant, only drive through so she can't see all the food or see what other kids are getting.
Raw veggies are great. My kids eat carrots, green beans, sliced turnips, cukes, baby tomatoes raw, with or without dip.
Do not take her to the grocery store with you. It is good to take her to the Farmer's Market where everything is safe to buy.
You may have to eat healthier yourself. I find that it is hard to sneak or hide junk for me. Not worth the trouble.
You have a great opportunity to introduce her to the rules of her new house. It's much harder to change the rules later. Try to start out the way you plan to go. Our house rules are, no candy, no fast food, no soda, practically no juice, no ice cream off trucks, no junk food period.
My kids eat nearly everything they are not allergic to.
The key thing with little kids, is be very consistent. If you do it once, you will be negotiating it forever.
Good luck!
One good thing about her is that she doesnt really like the junk junk... like Pop or frosting on cakes and what not... so thats good.
Thank you all for your ideas I will definitly put them to use!!
Here's my response from a discussion back in July (from the preschool community)... I'm going to cut and paste:
" They say that you may have to offer new foods up to 15-20 times before the kids will try it or actually swallow it.
Also, I recently created "New Food" reward charts for my little ones and they worked like a charm! It worked like this: For each new food that they tried (and actually swallowed) they would receive a sticker. When they have 5 stickers, they would receive a reward. It took a few weeks (there aren't too many new foods they haven't tried) but they ended up trying Mushrooms, lamb chops, sushi, cauliflower (all of which they loved) and squash (which they didn't love). But they each got their 5 stickers and their reward. They can't wait to try it again!
I don't think it's a good idea to bribe your kids to eat... but to reward them for trying NEW foods, could be a good way for them to open their minds to a variety of menus.
Additionally, if you have the time and energy, I recommend taking a look at Jessica Seinfeld's new book: Deceptively Delicious. It's fabulous if you have the time!