[carlychan]

Until they decide to eat veggies, you could hide them in things. Someone mentioned "Deceptively Delicious." There is also "The Sneaky Chef." This may not be a long term solution, but temporary. I don't think you should be forcing the issue. Feed them lots of fruit. My boys don't eat a ton of veggies but they are offered at every meal. I think forcing food issues only causes food issues later in life. They could be mild (adults who never eat fruit/veggies) to severe (anorexia). Neither one is good.

[wantonemore]

My own ds and I went round and round about food. I wanted him to eat what I put on his plate, he didn't. Finally, one day he says to me "Mom, You are the onlhy one who chooses what I eat. How fair is that? How would you like it if I dictated to you what you put in your mouth?"

I had to think for a minute (because as I Mom, I usually think I am always right) but realized that he had a point!

Several people pointed out here that it could be a power issue. Maybe it is a legitimate one! Kids thrive on the ability to make choices, when they can. If we can help them play a part in making the choice it can be liberating!

Our solution was ~ he eats what I put on his plate (for stuff I know he resists, ie salmon and veggies, I give him one bite for every year of age. He is now 8) and if he eats it, then he can choose what he eats the next day, within reason. So, green beans the first day when I put it on his plate, and then the next day he can choose mashed potatoes, corn, or something else of his choosing.

If he doesn't eat all of what I gave him on "my night", I don't force him. But, then he forfits his right to help pick the food for the next night.

He then has a motivating factor for finishing all the food I give him, and he has a sense of control over his enviroment by picking out what he eats (hopefully) every other night!

We have been doing this for about two years. It works out well for us! Now on his "free choice nights" he sometimes suprises us by asking if we can have salad!

[EandDmom]

[quote=Hadley2]
This is a little OT, but the eat everyting on your plate rule falls into this category, too--fastest way to train a child for an eating disorder ever. When this happens, the child is being trained to ignore his/her body signals regarding fullness and satiety. A full portion for one person may be too little or too much for another. You can't measure your way through life, you need to learn to listen to your body.

QUOTE]

My dh is 37 and was raised this way and he still wont stop eating until it is all gone. He will sit there and say I'm full but keep eating. I say then stop eating and he says I can't there is still food on my plate and I can't waste it. Guess who is at least 150 pounds overweight now.

[thelowlanders]

Children won't starve themselves. Well...most won't.

Feed them their meal. It is what it is. Take it or leave it. But don't offer any quick junk food inbetween. Ours realized snacks were only going to be "worse" in their opinion ( celery, carrots, cucumbers, etc. ) than the nutritious meals. So there was nothing to hold out for. They'll eat when they get hungry.

In our cases, they usually came with a bit extra weight, so losing a few wasn't a concern.

[Emmesmom]

I don't usually chime in with my opinion, but, I too would back off on the forcing them to eat, or bribing them. I believe that most of these kids have so little control in their lives that they need to be able to control something, and it should probalby be what they put in their bellies (to a degree.) I too have a child who grew up eating junk food-chips were the staple of her life. I try to offer and she will sometimes be surprised by trying new things, but she will eat cucumbers, so I always have cucumbers in the fridge with french dressing. It dosen't matter to me if she eats broccoli, green beans, etc, just so her belly is full and its not totally full of chips! I also read about starting food battles with kids and how they can lead to serious food issues especially with girls. That article said that kids will basically self-regulate, they will eat better when they are hungry, not when forced to eat.

[Biblemom]

Here is what has worked for me:
We have a 'no thank you' bite rule. They must take one bite of everything on their plates. If that is all they choose to eat, that is fine with me but they do still have to remain at the table until the family is done eating. If they want seconds of anything or dessert then they have to eat everything on their plate first. They can plug their noses if they want to get it down. My FC wouldn't eat veggies when they first came. They slowly got used to them and even now like most.

I do not always have dessert. Maybe 3 nights a week. We also do not eat anything in our house after supper. They have to wait until morning. It only took my FD a few nights of a rumbling tummy to catch on.

[thelowlanders]

Just checking in. How's it going?

BTW: Just had a funny memory. First placement that came to us. She screamed at the top of her lungs for HOURS "I want CHEEETOOOOHS! I want BABA!!!! " over and over. hehe That was ...um...an interesting couple of weeks.