I am not sure what the best method is parenting wise, but I am really getting frustrated with Sydney not eating her dinners. She likes most food, but she does not like stirfry. She likes the parts of stirfry, just not the combining feature. So tonight she looked at her food and refused to eat it. I was already in a less than lovely mood, so that was the last straw for me. I wrapped up the food on her plate and told her she could have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner tomorrow but she wasn't going to eat anything else until the food was gone. I mean to follow through and serve it at breakfast, but I really hope she doens't push this much past breakfast. She is such a crab when she is hungry.
Tune in tomorrow to see who has the stronger will power! Vote for Mom-or send ideas on how to handle it!
You do realize that ideas on this topic will vary greatly. In the interest of "studying it out" versus trying to persuade you, some thoughts:
ReplyDelete1 -- You have to win, or at least appear to win, the battles you wage. In the long run, losing one or few battles over the years won't matter. So having said no other food until this is eaten, you ought to stick to your guns or find a graceful, teaching way to show compromise and some fallibility on your part (yeah, kids need to know adults make mistakes, helps teach repentance)
2 -- This battle, over "eat what you're served or nothing at all", isn't one to wage. Pick more important places to make a stand.
3 -- Provided with healthy alternatives, even if gorging on Halloween candy and nothing else for days (which from your previous blog you got some control on this), kids will eventually get what they need. which is to say, there is a difference between waging a battle in the store over things they want versus being hungry at home and eating what is there. Kids will eat.
4 -- Tastes vary. She might be right. Certainly tastes change, too.
5 -- Also certain is that kids will defy. Why set-up confrontation on something like eating food?
6 -- My immediate reaction was why not let her eat the parts separate?
7 -- Better yet, let her cook (with help). Let her pick a better way to stir-fry. If it fails, and she eats it -- eat with her. That's her taste. If she ends up not liking it either -- she may like yours better and she may admit she doesn't like her own recipe. Great discussion.
8 -- I love stir-fry (but not some versions, another story there for later) but it could stay off the menu for awhile. Certainly let Emily and Sydney plan some meals in the weekly routine. Eventually, either eating out with Karl or just a little later in life you can go back to adult food.
9 -- Bottom line, we never forced any recipes on the kids. Some of biggest "fights" (metaphorically) in our home was over who took too much broccoli. The food was there. If someone didn't like it, they could cook something for themselves (peanut butter sandwich, bowl of cereal...) and all the more for others to eat. Usually if Dad was eating it, they figured it must be good (and I was always telling them they couldn't have something too yummy for their immature taste buds, which in turn led to them wanting what they couldn't have)
10 -- All four kids have exotic tastes! Two are seriously into gourmet cooking on a serious basis (Ryan and Elisha), Trisha manages a delicatessen, and Christina blows her cash on eating out. All four look well fed.
Bottom line, don't sweat forcing your kids to eat anything. Buy healthy food (or bring home cheese puffs like Heidi did -- good laugh on the guilt on that one).
One last GREAT piece of advice -- in fact two. Chase (dilute, 50/50) ALL sugared cereals with non- sugared ones (Fruit loops or Honey nut Cheerios with regular plain Cheerios, Kix with Trix or Coco Puffs). Second, skip Koolaid -- but if you make Koolaid it says I think 2 cups of sugar -- use just half a cup.