My eco solution to rat problems

[Seagazer]

On the flip side of this is the problem my hubby has. He always had to finish everything that was on his plate and he has real problems now with wanting to eat all the time. We were brought up at the time when everyone eat the same thing and the usual thing was to empty your plate. He always cleans his plate even if he is full and food is a big issue with him. He's now back on his lighterlife diet thing (which I think is useless as soon as he goes back to normal food he eats lots again).

 

We've said with our kids that they have to try whats on their plates but I do not expect them to finish it all (I am trying to do smaller portions as well).

[Guest]

On the flip side of this is the problem my hubby has. He always had to finish everything that was on his plate and he has real problems now with wanting to eat all the time. We were brought up at the time when everyone eat the same thing and the usual thing was to empty your plate. He always cleans his plate even if he is full and food is a big issue with him. He's now back on his lighterlife diet thing (which I think is useless as soon as he goes back to normal food he eats lots again).

 

We've said with our kids that they have to try whats on their plates but I do not expect them to finish it all (I am trying to do smaller portions as well).

 

 

Yes this reminds me as I was bought up the same finish it as starving children etc (which I know is true) but even when I am full I still am very guilty if I leave anything on the plate(hence I wish I was slimmer)!

Rings true this to me indie

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Thanks guys, it normally doesn't bother me, and I don't cook three different meals. My advice to everyone else has always been to look at what they eat over a week instead of a day, but I'm tired and fed up today and this was the straw that broke the camels back. I've told him (and MD) that once or twice a week there will be new food for them to try and they HAVE to try it. If they don't like it then fine, but I am going to stamp my feet and get them to try. For goodness sakes, spaghetti bolognese isn't THAT scary?

 

BeckyBoo

 

Backy, my DS2 is also a fussy eater but we have stuck with the rule you describe above for a few years now and his list of 'foods I like' is gradually growing longer. Apart from that we don't make a big fuss, and what's cooked is what there is, eat it or not. What we did avoided turning mealtimes into a big performance and revealing a chink in our armour that an astute child could quickly exploit!

 

I have a cousin who ate a VERY restricted diet for many years - he existed seemingly on corned beef, beetroot and white bread, with the odd packet of crisps. He was fussy from the moment there were discernible lumps in his baby food. His mum was going crackers and spent a fortune on vitamins to ensure he didn't get scurvy.

He turned out to have mild Crohn's - probably the reason why he was so picky! However he is 6'9'' tall and disgustingly healthy, and now he knows what he can eat safely, he cooks and eats very well indeed.

[missuscluck]

Aww, Bex. Kids I think they all go through it one way or another. If its not becoming good 'wind mum up' sport it will pass.

My son, who is now 14, 6ft and eats like a horse went through a phase of gagging on pasta. Probably at about the same age as yours in now come to think of it. I started to cook him a baked potato in the microwave on which he was allowed some butter and a bit of cheese. We went through this for a while. No fuss, no asking what he wanted and no debates. Whenever it was pasta night, a baked potato would appear at his place at the table. One day he decided he would like pasta and there it ended.

 

At our house if you dont like it, fine, no worries. BUT...thats what is for tea. Take it or leave it. They usually take it

[debbier]

I'm sure some of you may think I'm soft, but in my house, if I know my kids genuinely don't like something that I happen to be cooking for the rest, then I'll normally offer an alternative. It's my choice and I'm comfortable with this.

 

For example, my son literally gags on rice. (Thanks to missuscluck for reassuring me that he's not alone in this type of reaction!). I love it, as do the rest of my family. It's a simple matter of him having the rest of the meal, but having, say, bread instead. I know that it's a waste of a good carrot to attempt to cook them for either of my children, so I'll leave them raw for them, and cook them for me and my OH.

 

My two children are both older, so can quite happily get their own meals these days anyway, but we do still all sit down and have dinner together. I see it as a social time when we interact as a family, and I'm not about to cause unnecessary angst for either me or them. I have more than enough psychological problems with food myself to not want to wish any onto my children. My m-i-l had made the crass comment about starving africans enough times for me to have had a quite heated discussion with her about it in the end. No way are my children going to be forced to feel guilty about not finishing food if they aren't hungry.

[The Dogmother]

I am with Freddie - apart from a few concessions to fit around my veggie daughter,they are given a meal & that is that.

 

If I listed,thought about or considered everyones likes & dislikes I would be grey

 

As the cook in the house,I always get to eat what I like - one small bonus for all that work!

 

Same here, eat it or go hungry...... cruel mum I now, but it works.