Most of my dcks barely eat at my house...I have no idea what the heck they eat at home but apparently it's nothing even close to the healthy, yummy, variety of stuff I make here.

Today, one is crying because I'm not sitting at the table with him and one is crying because he apparently doesn't want to sit at the table and eat, or doesn't like the look of lunch, or something. I'm not really sure. I get so tired of making lunch that no one (except my own DD) eats.

Both of these dcks have been here for a long time now so they oughta be used to what I serve.

ARGH!

I just have no patience for this today. I'm giving them ten minutes and then if they're still doing this, it's nap time.

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I have the opposite problem. My dck's eat me out of house and home and my own kids are super picky.

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I have issues with getting them to eat in a timely manner.

I dont make a big deal out of eating. All kids are required to sit at the table, if they don't want to eat, then they go for nap. They eat when they get up. You know the saying. you can lead a horse to water you cant make them drink. Same with eating.

I would offer the food and leave it at that. Unless they are sick, they will eat. this is from my experience..

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What are you fixing? Just curious.

I make a mix of junk and healthy foods. I have exactly half the kids who will eat only the healthy foods, and the other half will eat only the junk.

One kid's mom said "he eats anything you give him". But, she forgot to say "except anything healthy".

I have some kids who will eat just the cookie and throw the whole lunch in the trash. Some who will eat the lunch and throw the cookie in the trash.

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all of my kids have been with me for awhile so I went through trial and error. I saw what they didnt like and what they did. Made note of it and now I try to always serve those things that I know they will eat. Even if that means we have the same boring menu weeks in a row...

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Exact same thing here. My dck's will eat absolutely anything.

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youretooloud, today it was bean and cheese burritos with sour cream, corn, and banana. My DD ate everything and wants more, the 18 mo ate nothing, the 2 yo just ate the banana (but cried when I got him down from the table).

I have tried noting what everyone likes, but a couple don't seem to like anything...the 2 yo will eat bananas, crackers, and spaghetti and that's about it. The 18 mo only eats if I'm at the table...and if I don't down fast enough he gets hysterical and won't eat, period. The other two dcks eat a better variety but it's hit or miss...what they gobble one day, they won't touch the next time it shows up.

*sigh* It wouldn't be bothering me so much today except that I'm feeling very short-tempered and irritable.

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I have the SAME issue! My ads and contract state I feed healthy guided foods and snacks. I also ask, "what does dck not eat? What are their favorite foods?" and always get "oh he/she eats everything!". So when I serve egg whites with veg and turkey sausage for breakfast and they pick around at it I learn that no, they dont eat everything. DS on the other hand will eat all of that and then most likely eat theirs too.

I feel I waste so much. Im not licensed and dont use the food program so I dont get much for my food. Im not making 15 meals so I offer a wide variety and hope they try new foods. They wont starve but Im not feeding chicken nuggets and easy mac here. I refuse.

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Yep, that's our situation exactly--right down to your own kid being likely to eat everyone else's food too!!

At least I can stop feeling like my group of kids are weird...there are others in my situation, too. Phew! I was starting to feel like I was doing something wrong.

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I never sit with them. He'd be a very hungry boy if he had to eat lunch here. I wonder if he some anxiety over this, or if it's a control thing?

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I have the same problem, only one will eat whatever I serve and the other one will eat maybe the fruit. Today I made homemade noodles, with chicken and peas and oranges. I even made my own broth so it was pretty good. One ate everything and the other ate one piece of orange. I don't make them eat. She brought mini pepperonis and a cheese stick and thought that was what she was going to eat for lunch. I give up trying to figure out what she will eat and just offer what we are having and let it go.

What you served sounds yummy. I would eat at your house.

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He does seem to have some major anxiety issues...he cries hysterically if he's on the other side of a gate from me, if I walk out of his sight, etc (naptime is the exception; he's fine then). He is VERY attached to his lovey, a blanket--attached to the point where he simply MUST clutch it tightly at all times or he gets very upset. He even needs it with him at meals (and it's taken me four months to get him to the point where having it tucked behind the booster is acceptable; for awhile, he wouldn't eat because he'd be clutching the blanket). Diaper changes are a nightmare because he panics since he's not holding the blanket. It's a problem at home, too, but mom doesn't seem to know what to do about it.

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Guess I'm the odd ball. I only serve "lunch" foods .maynot be healthy to some but its what they like and eat it all every day. And the parents do not care. We all believe the meals u guys serve are dinner meals. And that its the parents job to do all that. I use to once upon a time do what u guys di but also wasted most of it. So for the last year I changed things and its been great since.

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Poor guy! I've had kids with anxiety problems, and it seems to follow them forever. I feel bad.

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I have taken the "no thank you bite" approach with my dcks, and it seems to have worked very well. Their first week may have a few glitches, but I explain to the parents the way I do meals and why, and I have found that the parents are thankful. Most of them have instituted the rule in their house as well.

Kids are so quick to say they don't like something b/c of the looks, or b/c of what someone else says, and then the look of amazement after they've tried something new and liked it always makes me laugh.

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I love mealtime. Next to having newborns, it's my fave part of child care.

My kids LOVE food. They eat everything in site. It's very rare for me to throw away a teaspoon of food. They clean their bowls with their bread to get every smackerel of it.

I don't do any kiddie food. I like them to have "Sunday Dinner" meals every day.

I think one of the reasons all my kids eat so well is because they eat shortly after they walk together. They walk as a pack, come back and cool down for a few minutes, help each other get off their outdoor gear, and then eat together. Just like a pack of wolves By the time they eat they are hungry and thirsty. They don't have any idea of not doing things as a GROUP or a whole.

The "pack" mentality in combo with good solid home made meat and potatoes meals make for a stable group of kids. Once they have a belly full they play and poop. Then they go down together for a rest.

If you keep the "pack" together they will do everything together. Eat, sleep, play.. together.

If I had one that didn't want to eat I would NOT make them sit with the pack. I don't want unstable behavior at the table. I would WANT them to come be with us but I wouldn't want them to be there unwillingly.

NO drama at meals. NONE..... If they don't like something... so be it. If they want more.... so be it. If they are unhappy they can get up and play. There's no bribing or consequences if they don't eat. No energy goes to that. Just okay.. and off they go.

My kids don't do this because they don't want to be apart from the others. They don't see themselves as one kid... they see themselves as a part of the group... part of the whole.

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My dcks are just like the OPs. So I don't think yours are weird. I used to throw away a ton of food each week and I am not on a food program so that all comes out of pocket. I have found though that the more involved or "fancy" meals that I make the more likely they are all to throw it out. So I serve simple, real food (not processed) that I like to call my "deconstructed meals" and it seems to go over quite well.

For example I used to make what I thought looked like a yummy casserole with ground turkey meat, egg noodles and veggies but NO ONE would touch it. So instead I now serve them all seperate, ground turkey meat, egg noodles and veggies with fruit on the side. Little ones gobble it right up! As long as I follow that rule there is little wasted food. I change up the meats and grains and sometimes we have hard boiled eggs instead of meat. It's boring but healthy and so I don't complain, I just eat some of the veggies with them and then eat my own lunch later.

And I agree totally with nannyde. NO DRAMA at my table. If someone wants to eat more or not eat at all I don't blink an eye. Easiest way to set yourself up for problems is to make a power struggle out of eating.

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I have been struggling with 3 kids lately, and I am really getting sick of their attitude and their wastefullness. I serve lunch, not a 5 course meal. There was a day when I went all out for lunch, not any more. Food is way too expensive to put on someones plate only to throw it in the trash. I am the same as Bentleys Bands, it is the parents responsibility to feed a big supper, not mine, I feed them lunch. I was raised that supper/dinner is the big meal of the day, not lunch.

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Okay, so I just have to share this irony, since it's along the same vein as this thread yesterday. The 2 yo dcb who only eats a tiny variety of things? Well, he has no problem trying any number of foods...so long as they're plastic! I'm said no less than five times in the past 20 minutes, "B, no mouth!" (or, "B, no nose!") as he puts various items of play food in his mouth or nose... *sigh*

The cynical side of me says that this is partially due to the make up of food he gets at home...

(and yes, the words, "B, don't put the fork up your nose!" did just come out of my mouth...)

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I have a 3 y/o, that when I first purchased the basket of plastic food, spent 10 minutes every day, lifting her shirt and sticking each piece of fruit/veggie, in her belly button and then in the basket. She did this to each and every piece about 3 times and then was done.

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that made me lol

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I just hide things in foods that the children LOVE...I also serve them as a side to make sure they know to try somethings new....For example, in my spaghetti, I puree butternut squash into the sauce, or I make grilled cheese with pureed cauliflower and cheddar cheese. I then spread it on whole grain bread and yummy food for the kids...their sides are still veggies like some broccoli with ranch, but I think once the children grow accustomed to your ways their palettes begin to change too.

I always have a meal during the week where the kids have to try something new like stir fry, or a new recipe I made....the other day I made a pasta sauce and improvised and thought it was gross, but the kids came back for three helpings...so wierd.

Good luck and I hope it gets better....

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Crazy... you crazy

I do the same.

My kids will eat ANYTHING. They love love love puree. The bigger kids love it the most.

Today they had a tomator based lamb stew with rice, spinach, and acorn squash puree and applesauce puree on the side.

Didn't throw a teaspoon away!!!!!!!!!! I had to take a scraper to the bowl to give thirds to a two year old.

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My kids are good eaters. I use the line, "no, I think that is enough or your tummy is going to hurt" everyday! And yes sometimes that is because my wallet is hurting from 3 helpings of *** but oh well. I know they are all fed well and I mix in a few unknown foods to keep them trying new things every once and a while.

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my life inmproved dramatictly when my lunch times became NO DRAMA. I have a 4yrs that up untill 6mo ate everything in sight. now super picky. It is a litel lucky that the things she still likes are veggis. I give him a small portion of everything and LARGE searving a veggies. I ask him to take one bite of the other foods on his plate. He either does right away or he starts to cry....as soon as the tears come I tell him its fine you maybe excused from the table and he is happy to leave. Mom and I discussed that I will not force him to eat, this will be our routine and if he eats more or less i will let her know.

He sometimes skips snacks too.


Only once have I made him something different and it was bc he hadnt eaten with me or at home in nearly four days

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