"Start as you mean to go," said my wise Mommy. Well I certainly didn't when it came to eating habits for the toddler. Mealtimes have traditionally been an argument with tears (on both sides), some failed attempts at force feeding and utensil hurling.
Who's to blame? Well me naturally. The little man is typically a wonderful, all-around pleasant little fella, except when it comes to mealtimes. Then we both turn into pro Wrestlers. He holds the title and I have yet to out manoever him.
His diet consists of meatballs (can you tell we live in Sweden?), pasta, cookies, juice, chocolate and well, anything but healthy stuff. Except of course when he's at dagis, where juice is non-existant and the only sweets come in the form of apples, bananas and the like. But he has been known to skip mealtimes there too when he's not fussy about what's on the daily menu.
So what to do? I've tried to make fruit fun, have resorted to covering said fruit in chocolate sauce and have even tried holding off on anything BUT the healthy choices. It's a losing battle. He digs his heels in and I eventually relent for fear he'll starve (even though everyone assures me he won't). In a country where you can find wee ones snacking on everything from oranges to avocadoes and potatoes, I have had my fair share of dirty looks and "friendly advice" on my bad parenting.
I can trace back to the early mistakes and rap myself on the knuckles but this can't go on. I need help fellow mommy bloggers. I want my kid to be like those adorable little babes in the MyCharmingKids.net blog...the ones who eat hummus and nuts and homemade yogurt. All suggestions welcome as I try to convert my junk food junkie into a health food nut.
4 comments:
i'm known to be not good at giving advice . but a little advice won't kill anyone,anyway!
my suggestion is give him a shout on the mealtime then have your own food, let him choose whether he wanna eat or not, it's gonna be hard at first since your a mom and this makes it hard ! later on though you 'll find how excellently it would improve his eating habit(hopefully)
I started when the toddler was only six months offering only healthy foods, so forgive me if my advice does not help your specific situation.
Perhaps you could offer him choices. "Would you like a banana for a snack or raisins?" Sometimes just merely having the choice makes toddlers and preschoolers happy.
Also, you could try doing things like banana pancakes where you grind the fruit of choice into the pancake mix. I do this with eggs in the morning (spinach, tomatoes, whatever I can find!) and I also will make dipping sauces out of fruits and veggies.
And does he like smoothies? A cup of yogurt, some milk and fruit blended with ice might be a big hit. Good luck!
Thanks folks. HFW, appreciate your advice. I've tried these things before. Thanks for the reminder as I'll be trying them again. Part of the bad start for us was the culture he started in. Denying children sweets and treats was frowned upon and when you have a child who's finicky to begin with, you just want him to EAT and don't care WHAT. Well now, I do and I have a long road ahead...:-)
"I eventually relent"
Sorry, but that's where I see the problem (along with the stress involved). No child will starve his/herself. If there is only bananas to eat, they'll eat them, eventually. But if you don't believe that....
Virgos are typically fussy. I don't believe in forcing (cruel & doesn't work). Plenty of choices (healthy or reasonably so), fun, no stress, child's right to choose what to eat and how much and feed himself. And supplements while they work through this.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results right?
GL hun!
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