tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post8463658073775386395..comments2023-07-18T02:51:55.285-06:00Comments on Ranavan and the Wee Man: To Eat or Not To EatRanavan http://www.blogger.com/profile/16813747774603866918noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-2606079970776602022011-06-13T23:23:32.456-06:002011-06-13T23:23:32.456-06:00Toddler eating is so hard! They're so opinion...Toddler eating is so hard! They're so opinionated, and when they've not had enough food in the past, you really want to make sure they're getting SOMEthing. What I've noticed about our daughter (age supposedly 4) is that she'll go a week eating very little, then a week eating a lot. In my experience as a nanny, this was very common for toddler/preschool kids. So when she refuses what I offer, I just tell myself that it must be a small meals week. We are pretty strict at our house about not offering a different meal if she declines the first one. I do try to put at least one thing on her plate that is usually a hit, and if she refuses even that, I go back to "It must be a small meals week." This allows me not to stress about it and sends her the message that there's plenty of food, but you don't always get exactly what you want. So far, so good--I mean, she's still trying to put us in the poorhouse by outgrowing all her clothes, so she must be getting enough, right?findingmagnoliahttp://findingmagnolia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-18457081394389003582011-06-13T11:01:22.185-06:002011-06-13T11:01:22.185-06:00Occasional stalker who linked through a friends-fr...Occasional stalker who linked through a friends-friends adoption page chiming in for the first time here. <br /><br />With a 3.5 and 1 year old I hear what you're saying. My youngest gets black beans from a can when I can't think of anything else - bush league, I know. Somedays it works though, other days she's into only soda crackers and cheerios. I keep chopping stuff and throwing it on her tray, and then tossing most of it into the garbage hoping she ate enough. <br /><br />Two sites that help spur the ideas when the well of recipes/finger foods has run dry:<br /><br />http://www.annabelkarmel.com/<br />http://www.anotherlunch.com/<br /><br />Sure sounds like you're doing a great job.<br /><br />And the crying at the fridge almost made me teary...that has got to be a heartbreaking experience. Glad it's passed.Sabrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10951986583141616127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-10961849256824049642011-06-08T23:01:44.454-06:002011-06-08T23:01:44.454-06:00Oh no! Isn't it funny how things change!! I ...Oh no! Isn't it funny how things change!! I would definately say to keep offering healthy choices and don't let it turn into a control thing at all. Don't let him know that you care at all whether he eats or not! It should be about him and how the food makes him feel. Make the food and if he is hungry, he will eat. If he says no and refueses something that you know he likes, just say "okay" and keep on eating. Eventually he will catch on that you won't just whip up something new everytime he says no. They just love to watch us sweat! Honestly it is such a slippery slope and I know so many people who have to make 2 different meals every night! Really, he is playing you! Obviously if you know he truly doesn't like something then you don't need to make it for him, but I think it is okay for everyone to eat things that aren't their favourites sometimes. Thats life. Hope that doesn't sound too harsh, but I promise it works.natasha salaashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13243070391717477227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-77811945479305106422011-06-08T13:11:35.376-06:002011-06-08T13:11:35.376-06:00Love this post and all the responses.
We have been...Love this post and all the responses.<br />We have been home almost 3 weeks with Mek who is 3 years.<br />He has been picky since day 1! It is crazy. He eats enough to feed a horse but has a limited diet. It is so hard to find things he will eat! The only meat he will eat is ground beef. And he eats about 2 dozen eggs a week. He is going to have high blood pressure or something. lol<br /><br />Have you tried mango? Mek loves it. He got so excited when we started cutting a mango. He was kissing it. He likes to suck on the pit. We blend the mango and he eats it in a cup with a spoon. You can hide things like fish oil in there ;)<br />aliciaJohn and Aliciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03402116123945148242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-75973312927569469182011-06-07T12:29:53.252-06:002011-06-07T12:29:53.252-06:00Hurray for toddler pickiness! Seriously. It's ...Hurray for toddler pickiness! Seriously. It's a good sign developmentally. And the doctors say, a toddler can survive on very little and very little variety, but they will eat what they need to eat when they need to eat it, so go with it. <br /><br />Don't stress. Whenever you worry about opening a can for your kid, remember me, whose child after 3 years has yet to eat a piece of fresh fruit that is not a banana, or a piece of meat that is not a cheeseburger, or a fresh uncooked vegetable, or a noodle... You're doing just fine.CinnamonOpushttp://www.cinnamonopus.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-27001797399130607942011-06-07T11:38:05.278-06:002011-06-07T11:38:05.278-06:00Elfe arrived here smack dab in the middle of the t...Elfe arrived here smack dab in the middle of the toddler picky stage, and is just now starting to come out of it! I remember one morning three or four months after getting home, I think I offered her four different options for breakfast (as in, cooked and served them - not just suggested them) and she refused to eat any of them! I think with a bio child, I would have just shrugged and said "she'll eat when she's hungry" but it's been SO hard not to push food on her when I know she probably didn't get enough to eat at the beginning of her life.<br /><br />Hang in there, it does get easier...InventingLizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08882590455596544329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-25365635538578921992011-06-07T11:32:30.710-06:002011-06-07T11:32:30.710-06:00haha! you won't hear me 'tsk taking' y...haha! you won't hear me 'tsk taking' you that's for sure. My oldest was SO picky..she is much better now at 11. :) Honestly, loved ketchup (still does) so ketchup was on most things...darcihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11729565512380024608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-83227935591994707892011-06-07T10:35:43.824-06:002011-06-07T10:35:43.824-06:00Heh - ketchup and fish crackers would be one more ...Heh - ketchup and fish crackers would be one more food group than my two eat. <br /><br />I totally sympathise with you, Rana - UGH. Hate the pickiness. It's a hard one to 'let go' of - feelin' it along with you!Claudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09352341442556433375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-81701743045982916092011-06-07T09:58:31.338-06:002011-06-07T09:58:31.338-06:00It's one thing to read that it's normal, b...It's one thing to read that it's normal, but quite another thing to deal with trying to hit the moving target of a toddler's appetite... :) I've found that smoothies are the worried mother's best friend for sneaking in healthy food - squash, spinach, wheat germ, flax, cooked carrots, yogurt, avocado, fresh fruit, etc - even nut butters!!! I just have a bunch of the litterless juice boxes that you can get in the tupperware section of your grocery store and we're good to go - I make one almost every day (sometimes 2!), because otherwise Owen's diet would be something like ketchup and fish crackers. :) <br /><br />hang in there!!!!Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18439705393049465997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-45136216536009399792011-06-07T07:53:30.114-06:002011-06-07T07:53:30.114-06:00"So, I did what I have always said I wouldn&#..."So, I did what I have always said I wouldn't do ..." <br />Welcome to mothering a toddler Rana! I can't even count the number of things I swore I would never do - things like adding chocolate to milk, offering a second version of a dinner she wouldn't eat ... so many things I thought I was sooooooooo above! <br />Food has frustrated me to no end - especially when she fell off the growth curve with her teeny stature (doctors and their damn curves!) I am sure she ate the equivalent of 5 cheerios for a week or two. She survived - and she is back eating avocado and hummus again. <br />Let it go ... it should be the mantra of motherhood! Just wish I knew how to do it! If you find the answer -please share. And, damn it, why do the husbands always seem to be better at this?<br />Jen<br />PS Imagining Ade sobbing at the fridge nearly broke my heart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-69003453352384931322011-06-07T04:59:20.685-06:002011-06-07T04:59:20.685-06:00We had a couple of years where E's diet was ba...We had a couple of years where E's diet was basically oatmeal, whole grain bread, fruit and yogourt. I alternated between stressing about E's refusal to try anything new and being happy that the few foods he would eat were at least relatively healthy.<br /><br />At four years old, E has started to eat a bigger variety of foods, and he'll try at least a bite of almost anything. I was SHOCKED last night when he voluntarily ate four slices of cucumber. <br /><br />... it'll get better. In the meantime, although I'm no expert, I'd suggest you just keep offering healthy choices, try not to stress about it, and know that when he's hungry, he'll eat!Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06552426800053621537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-11884737519526855432011-06-06T22:12:55.159-06:002011-06-06T22:12:55.159-06:00Sounds like you have a healthy, normal toddler on ...Sounds like you have a healthy, normal toddler on your hands. I know. Doesn't make you feel any better does it? I'm still struggling with it with my 5 year old. How to make food not a battle? It's a tricky thing. But I am hopeful. My 7 year old eats a lot more things now than she did a few years ago, even things she doesn't really love, she has learned to eat and be satisfied with. That is a HUGE step. Just know that you aren't alone. :)Shannonhttp://www.livinginthegray.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-91984828229100578042011-06-06T21:01:12.240-06:002011-06-06T21:01:12.240-06:00It took Ekaete several months to not go crazy arou...It took Ekaete several months to not go crazy around food (and other inetible items she could get in her mouth) and then toddlerhood set in. Just keep trying everything and remind yourself that he is crazy...I mean, a toddler. It's not you...it's him. ;)Brendan and Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00380842649784357330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7012958329981212922.post-33545112960351567952011-06-06T20:30:44.069-06:002011-06-06T20:30:44.069-06:00He'll probably come around to the hummus again...He'll probably come around to the hummus again one day! Hopefully before he's twenty. Heh. <br /><br />I can totally relate to initially celebrating the pickiness - as a sign that they are now confident in the food supply - and then within days having it drive you nuts. Remember, there is no logic in toddlerdom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com