Unregistered 06:57 AM 08-19-2011
I have a 2 1/2 year old that started 2 months ago. I try real hard to feed nutritious home cooked meals for the kids in my care. This new one though won't eat anything healthy. No veggies or anything that may have a veggie in it. I am lucky to get him to eat anything out of the 3 meals (breakfast lunch and snack). I know he is starving when he goes home because when mom gets here the first thing out of his mouth is that he wants chicken and fries. Based on moms response it looks like 4/5 times he gets what he asks for.
So how do I fix this? I don't want him to starve all day not only is it bad for him but I have more behavior issues out of him than the other 6 I have that are in the same age range. I attempted to talk to mom about it and she told him needed to eat what I give him but I think he is content to wait for McDonalds when she picks him up.
Ask mom what kind of healthy foods he eats at home (if any) and occasionally serve those. That's about all you can do. You need to serve nutritious meals, but you can't force a child to eat. In time, if you stay consistent he should give in and eat something. Hang in there!
E Daycare 11:20 AM 08-19-2011
I have this issue too with most of my dcks. One dck Ive had since January still refuses to eat anything but his dessert. I made baked pitas and disguise them as "chips" so he *might* eat those but for the most part he waits for snack (and even then he will turn his nose up to even cheese and crackers) or wait for food from home. One day he showed up with nutter butters for breakfast!
His mom tells me "well he likes fries so those calories are better then no calories right? Plus kids need fat for their brains to develop". This is also the same mother who told me they cant go out to eat because since he wont eat he just terrorizes the patrons.
I havent changed my food program because I want my own child to have good choices. So if I change it then my child loses out as well as the other kids in my care that may or may not (more than not- its sad) eat. I always say "try it, if you dont like it you dont have to eat it".
Funny how most parents are sooo happy to hear you serve healthy meals but on their end they dont bother. Why bother if rent a parent has it covered am I right?
littlemommy 12:05 PM 08-19-2011
I have a 2 year old boy that I've had for 4 months. He's eaten one bite of food in my care. It was one bite of a cracker. His parents claim he eats everything at home. One day his 11 year old sister was here. She was concerned that he wasn't eating. I asked her what he eats at home. Her response was "chicken nuggets, fries, hamburger helper, pizza..."
As soon as I tell the kids to come sit down, he stands up and cries. He'll eventually come over and sit down, but push everything away. He won't even look at it, even when the other kids are so excited!
He comes at 10ish each morning. Mom usually says they stopped at Burger King for cinnamon rolls or french toast sticks. He always has a sippy with "juice"...which is more like sugar water with 1% juice. That gets put in the fridge until he goes home. He won't drink anything here, either.
cheerfuldom 01:25 PM 08-19-2011
I bet a lot of the behavior issues are due to his diet. There is nothing you can do about it if his parents just fill him up with junk food later. Just offer the food and if he doesn't eat it, then he can wait for his mom, who will give in from the sounds of it.
nannyde 06:30 PM 08-19-2011
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I have a 2 1/2 year old that started 2 months ago. I try real hard to feed nutritious home cooked meals for the kids in my care. This new one though won't eat anything healthy. No veggies or anything that may have a veggie in it. I am lucky to get him to eat anything out of the 3 meals (breakfast lunch and snack). I know he is starving when he goes home because when mom gets here the first thing out of his mouth is that he wants chicken and fries. Based on moms response it looks like 4/5 times he gets what he asks for.
So how do I fix this? I don't want him to starve all day not only is it bad for him but I have more behavior issues out of him than the other 6 I have that are in the same age range. I attempted to talk to mom about it and she told him needed to eat what I give him but I think he is content to wait for McDonalds when she picks him up.
There is no way to fix this because it's not a problem. The Mom is happy to have him on a treat diet of high fat, salt, and white carbs. She believes that the calories from processed treat food is more healthy than no calories at all. That belief system is what she wants and what he loves. It works for them so it's not a problem.
Your mindset and your words need to be specifically on what you do do that is right and good.
When you talk to her talk the truth without judgement. Just the facts.
"We had beef and noodles, french style green beans, and some thinly sliced apples with a dash of cinnamon for desert. Your son was such a gentleman during lunch. He didn't care for our food but he sat with us all for the whole lunch and we had a GREAT conversation about brown bears, polar bears, and black bears. That boy knows ALL of his bears."
She needs to hear that you offer him a wonderful home made lunch every day and he says no BUT he behaves great during the meal and we love having that time together. It's about fellowship, relaxing, and being WITH good friends that is important NOT what he doesn't eat.
When she gives you the line that the junk food calories are better than nothing I would just say "you know I've heard that before but it would be something you might want to run by his pediatrician. Some Doctors of the kids I've had have said that it's better for them to miss meals completely than it is to have the treat fast food. It's something about hunger drive IIRC. If they have the kind of foods he really likes it fills them up enough to make it through without eating until they get the treat food again. If they miss meals it increases their natural hunger drive and they are more willing to eat fresh healthy foods. I think he is just not hungry enough to eat fresh home made food."
That kind of convo sets you up for a quick easy explanation for future meal refusals. When it comes up the next day and the next day... day after day... you can just give her a quick "oh he just wasn't hungry enough today. He did have a great time sitting with us though. We talked about X. He made me laugh when he said _________"
You can keep these conversations down to a few words, talk about what he DID that was great, and set it back into her lap.
If she keeps hammering away at it then just keep saying the same thing. Get it down to a couple of sentences that are straight and end the discussion. You can even say "He didn't want to try our lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and blueberries today. He said he just wanted to wait and eat with Mommy because she will get him some chicken nuggets. I told him I would let you know he just wanted to wait for the nuggets and fries."
If the kid complains about hunger when the Mom picks him up then just say to him in front of her. "Johnny your Mommy is here... you can ask HER if she can get you some nuggets and fries".
See? The meals are about what you offer and how he BEHAVES during that time. It's NOT about what he does or doesn't eat.
It's just about repeating back what they both are saying they want and JUST adding what you did that was great, the part he did during the meal that was great, and what he CAN have with her that's great to them.
Everyones happy .... he gets what he wants... she gets what SHE wants... and you leave them both to it.