Q: My child has been refusing to eat dinner and then begs for something else to eat 15 minutes later. What should I do?
A: Dinner can be a tough meal for children because there tends to be more grown-up food on the table. I follow the advice from Ellyn Satter’s books and consider the whole family when planning dinner instead of focusing on my picky eater. I try to prepare at least 2 meals per week that are my daughter’s favorites and do the same for my husband and me. On the nights the dinner entree is a new item or something she doesn’t typically eat, I make sure to serve at least 2 other items that she likes such as bread and fruit.
If your son goes to bed awhile after dinner consider adding a bedtime snack. That way, when he asks for food between meals you can tell him his bedtime snack is coming in a couple of hours. If you stay consistent, your son will catch on and will stop asking for food right after dinner. Eventually, he’ll start eating a wider variety of food because he knows you’re not just going to feed him his favorites.
The hardest part is accepting that some nights your little one won’t eat a balanced meal. But I believe the above strategy pays off in the long run. My daughter is finally starting to eat more of the dinners I serve after months of refusing. And by refusing I mean taking the food off her plate yelling, no, no, no! Of course, I follow the Division of Responsibility: I decide the what, when and where of feeding and she decides the whether and how much of eating.
Got a nutrition question? Send it through!
Subscribe to Raise Healthy Eaters for more nutrition Q&As.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
My 18month old refuses to eat solid food. He looks at it and shivers. When he does finally try something he will gag and sometimes throw up. He is capable of eating though because he eats graham crackers every day. any ideas?