I want to tell the younger moms here... do not stress about what your kids are eating. If they only eat one thing that they like, everyday, every meal, let them eat it. Their taste buds will change.
When my kids were younger, I would change the meals to satisfy a child. If one didn't like spag sauce, okay plain pasta for that child, if one didn't like a roast okay eat the sides, etc...
It drove my MIL crazy but hey, she's deceased now and my kids are thriving.

Now my 13 year old dd steams broccoli for a snack, other dd loves a salad for a snack, etc.

Offer them healthy items but their tastes will change with their age. As long as they are filling their tummies with something healthy they will grow to be more demanding eaters as they age.

By Enchens on Thursday, August 30, 2007 - 03:27 pm:

Thank you, Annie. This is encouraging to hear. I struggled with my now 4 year old ds. I'm starting to see benefits of letting them eat what they like. I've actually had him ask me for broccoli! And the two of them (sons, 4 and 2) get rather upset if we don't do our usual produce shopping on Wednesdays. They love fruits and veggies and prefer them when they feel "snacky" as my 4 year old calls it.

By Nicki on Thursday, August 30, 2007 - 04:44 pm:

Thank you so much, Annie! I pretty much do as you did. I, too hear about it, but it is SO nice to hear something positive. I struggled with an eating disorder for years. I still have some food issues. Not saying my upbringing is to blame, but as a child, choice did not enter the scene at the dinner table, and we were to clean our plate. I can remember feeling physically sick more than once at meal times. I encourage dd to try everything, but if after one bite she doesn't like it, that's fine. I stick to things she will eat and try to make meals relaxing and stress free.
This is interesting you posted this today. We are having problems with my dd not wanting to eat meals over at Grandma's. Grandma takes meal times pretty seriously, and the pressure to eat, and eat everything is constant. It makes me uncomfortable, and now Lara is getting a tummy ache everytime we must sit down to dinner over at MIL's house. It's hard, because I feel her pain, lol! I've tried to talk with MIL, but I don't get far.
Thank you, Annie. I could just hug you.:-)
Oh, and Enchens, my dd LOVES raw broccoli with Ranch Dressing as dip. We always have both on hand.:-)

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, August 30, 2007 - 10:53 pm:

I've never sweated the details on what my kids ate. Sometimes Emily would barely eat anything, and other meals she ate like a horse. I figured it all balanced out eventually.

By Kaye on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 12:43 am:

LOL we all do it so differently, and really they mostly turn out okay!

It never dawned on me to feed my kids different food. So from the moment they grabbed for stuff I ate, they got it. By a year they all just ate whatever we had. They all have preferences, but they eat a lot of different foods. I never thought it was odd until we started eating out with others. They eat the gamut, spicy cajun, mexican, italian, seafood. The only big thing no one likes is steak (only the 11 year old does), and I think it is because often when we would have steak I would cook them hamburger patties because it was cheaper

By Crystal915 on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 01:29 am:

Great post, Annie. It's hard not to worry when they will only chicken nuggets and ketchup, but they do outgrow it!

By Dawnk777 on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 10:09 pm:

Emily is a chicken nugget, chicken strip, chicken finger sort of gal! On the other hand, she has always gobbled down fish, which you would think most kids don't like!