grrrrrrrrrr wwyd

3 year old recovering from an ear infection. (acting perfectly normal.)

will snack a bit, will not eat meals.

he is normally a VERY picky eater, takes 1hr + for him to eat most meals. most of the time i have to physically put the bite in his mouth for him to eat it. then takes forever to chew and swallow. i KNOW he can eat on his own just fine. he does it at school every day and finishes his meals w/in 15 minutes. but for me...no such luck.

will not eat. kicks, screams, hits.

just say eff it and move on with the night, or punishments until he eats something? i cannot keep doing this 3 times a day. i feel like he's gonna grow up with major food issues if we have to keep forcing him to eat.

btw he is 75th percentile for height and weight so he is by no means starving.




loosing my marbles here...

Re: grrrrrrrrrr wwyd

I dont know but if he has no issues at school, I would give him his food and if he doesnt eat it just let it go eventually be will get hungry and realize he needs to eat when you say

Re: grrrrrrrrrr wwyd

his teacher tells me every day at pick up how he ate. they also send any uneaten or half eaten food home so i can keep tabs. 90% of the time he comes home from school with an empty lunchbox.

he gets home, and i have to chase him all over the place to get him to eat.

Re: grrrrrrrrrr wwyd

If he is hungry, he will eat. Maybe move dinner time back a bit later so you know he is hungry. IMO, punishing for anything eating related is a bad idea. Can create so many more problems. I say eff it, go on with your normal nighttime routine.

Words of wisdom from my grandfather: "If he is hungry, he will eat. You can't force him. "

Thats what he ALWAYS said to all of us.


Edited to add: I was raised in a "clean your plate" home and have struggled with my weight ALL my life. Food issues and control stuff is just bad news.

Message edited 12/16/2010 6:51:50 PM.

Re: grrrrrrrrrr wwyd

i was force fed most of my life. i had 2 grandmothers that insisted you eat everything. I hate food, i hate thinking about dinner, and eating.

So i would say not to force it. when they are hungry he will eat.

DS was being a pain in my a$$ the other day. i left him in the hichair with the food on the tray and walked away. when i wasnt looking he started to eat. I swear, its a crapshoot some days.

Re: grrrrrrrrrr wwyd

thanks for all the replies. i'm going to relinquish control on this. i too have had MAJOR food issues, and i never want that for my children. thank you for helping me realize that even more. i just needed a little shove in the right direction.