Ok, what to do about this??

[jojo2324]

Inspired by Susan's twins and their fondness for lima beans, I introduced some chick peas to Gannon this past weekend. His reaction was less than thrilled. It was pretty cute, actually, to see him scrunch up his face and twitch and sputter all while desperately picking chick pea chunks off his tongue...

Anyway, I'm still sticking with them. They're new, they're not gold fish, it's going to take some getting used to. But what do I do when he starts discarding them from his tray? One by one? I don't want to take his food away...I don't want to punish him because he doesn't like something. But I also don't want garbonzo beans on my floor! And it's a very deliberate action, because nothing else on his tray is being tossed to the ground.

I guess I could just abandon the idea that he'll eat chick peas...

[egoldber]

Take the food away. He doesn't have to like the chick peas, but he has to learn it's not acceptable to throw food he doesn't like on the floor. You're not punishing him, you're helping him learn how to respond appropriately. Just say "we don't throw food on the floor, so we're all done." And just clear up matter of factly. I guarantee after 2-3 days of this he will get the message (as long as you're consistent). And if you do this now you will have a much easier time when he's older, and more stubborn.

It may just be chick peas now, but as soon as he learns that throwing the food means you will take the offending food away, it will be ingrained. They learn VERY quickly!

HTH,

[brubeck]

You could try hummus. When Amy went on veggie strike (at about 14 months) I discovered hummus spread on crackers. She loved it so much that she still eats it. In fact I usually make her a 'cracker sandwich' or two for dinner on nights when it is too warm to cook. She will take the crackers apart and lick off the hummus like it was the cream out of an Oreo. :-)

I wouldn't try forcing him to eat the chick peas. If you really want him to have them, just put them on the tray a few nights in a row. If he eats them, great, if not, don't worry. If he throws them on the floor just put them back on the tray, telling him, "You don't have to eat them Gannon but we do NOT drop food.". If he doesn't get the message then dinner is over. Trust me, he WILL get the message pretty quickly after that.

[nigele]

I wish I could see his chick pea face!! Tom throws everything off his tray. When he is sick of one food, he refuses to look at it and off it goes. I then give him the next thing to try. I just put up with it but will reconsider after reading Beth's post! ;-)

[spu]

Charlotte + Else throw everything on the floor - or aim for Clara's mouth (our choc lab) I'm going to try some of those techniques to teach them not to do that.

As for the chick peas - when we first tried them, I ground them up and they hated them, but now they eat them whole and enjoy the process of trying to get those darn things into their mouths. I used to skin them by pinching them but it doesn't seem to bother them anymore.

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else

[muskiesusan]

Nicholas doesn't care that I take the food away! It drives me nuts, but with eating, for the past 6 months or so, it doesn't bother him to not eat. Sometimes he throws the food before he even tastes it and goes on his merry way when I take it away. I have been working with him to say "all done" when he doesn't want to eat, but he usually throws the food and then says "all done."

And I know that you aren't suppose to worry about the pickiness of the eating habits, but how long can a child survive on cheese? He has never eaten fruit and now won't touch veggies, which he loved when I first introduced them. I serve them every way possible, but, for example, he will literally suck the yogurt off the fruit and take it out of his mouth. I can't believe how stubborn he can be (I can't decide if its the red hair or the fact that dh and I are pretty stubborn ourselves.

Okay, thanks for letting me vent. All I have to say is thank goodness for dogs, makes my cleanup a lot easier!

Susan
WAHM to Nicholas 10/01/01

[egoldber]

How often does he eat? I find that Sarah eats much better if I let her go a little longer between meals. She can go 5-6 hours between meals on occasion. But usually, she gets breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12, snack at 4 and dinner at 7. And does he get milk or juice between meals?

I used to give one warning and then take the food away. But I found after 14 months or so, that was one too many. Now it's one throw and the meal is over and nothing until the next meal. She does have free access to water between meals, but she only eats at the table at meal times.

Sounds like you've got quite the character! And dogs ARE very useful. Even though Sarah doesn't deliberately throw food, not all of it necessarily makes it to her mouth! :)

[muskiesusan]

Beth,

Nick usually eats (or I give him food anyway) breakfast around 6:30, lunch at 11:00, snack around 3, and dinner at 6. He usually eats breakfast very well, but the other meals he hardly touches. He only gets milk with meals, and we don't do juice. He also can have all the water he wants. I used to give one warning, but stopped that several months ago, so now I immediatly take the food away. Doesn't bother him one bit.

The dogs, who at first wanted nothing to do with him, now whine at me when I am late getting Nick's meals prepared, they are like buzzards around the high chair. At least they enjoy my cooking. :)

Edited to add: He sometimes gets a mid morning snack since he has been known to start our day at 5:30.

Thanks for your ideas!

Susan
WAHM to Nicholas 10/01/01

[egoldber]

I also find that Sarah tends to only eat one "good" meal a day anymore. My ped told me this was totally normal with toddlers and not to worry about it.

My dog is also a "buzzard". If I'm slow getting Sarah into her chair, the dog barks at me to hurry up!!