tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post7091658377246762489..comments2024-03-27T17:27:42.775+10:00Comments on Aunt Annie's Childcare: Food failings and fussy eatersAunt Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-18534107552056434842019-06-06T00:05:19.442+10:002019-06-06T00:05:19.442+10:00Hi aunt Annie,my 20 month old has feeding issues.s...Hi aunt Annie,my 20 month old has feeding issues.she don't eat any thing whole day and even dont drink any fluids or water.she is active and happy. but recently I have noticed that her urine has become very concentrated.Now i force-feed her. Even water I need to force her to drink.Meal time has really become a struggle time for us.This is even causing problems in our family.kindly give some suggestionsAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14581252596200950749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-74262212822582359702012-06-13T14:02:02.078+10:002012-06-13T14:02:02.078+10:00Michi, thanks for your feedback!
As to your son- ...Michi, thanks for your feedback!<br /><br />As to your son- this sounds like food's becoming a power issue, which is understandable given that the poor kid has so many restrictions already. You need to decided where your fences are, point them out calmly and then step back. <br /><br />Basic Principle 1 is that no child will starve while there's food available, so you need to be clever about quantities. Make your dessert portions smaller- and I mean SMALL- you are trying to replicate the healthy eating pyramid and sugar is at the very tiny tip of that. Offer dessert plus the normal meal together, and make no comment about what he eats and doesn't eat. When he turns the normal food down, take it away and cover it and put it in the fridge. If he complains he's hungry between meals, that's what he gets offered. Put up with the screaming. He will eat it if he's hungry enough. STAY CALM.<br /><br />When he asks for more sugary stuff, say calmly "I won't let you eat ONLY sugary food. It will make you sick." Brace for the screams. Another useful calm statement: "If you are hungry, there is food right here for you to eat."<br /><br />As an activity, draw the food pyramid and let him stick pictures of the foods you normally feed him onto the pyramid, so he has a visual cue as to relative amounts. Explain that more food eaten from the bottom of the pyramid will equal more dessert at the top of the pyramid. STAY CALM.<br /><br />The next meal time, you calmly serve a meal in the same way, but if he didn't eat his main course last time you give even smaller portions of everything, including dessert, without comment. Explain to him, if he protests, that your job as his mum is to make sure he is healthy, and so because you love him and want him to feel well, you will give him more dessert only when he eats more main course. Point to the pyramid. Talk about it.<br /><br />(A smaller quantity of healthy food will be less daunting, too.)<br /><br />Repeat until he is hungry enough to eat normal food. When he is hungry enough, he WILL eat what's offered. He may complain and cry, but humans are designed to survive and he won't hold out for long. He is testing your boundaries and you must show him CALMLY where they are- the boundary is his health. <br /><br />Your biggest enemy here is your own emotions, which will tell you are being cruel and starving your child! Actually if you have ever had to take a small child to the dentist or stick a child every day with a needle due to diabetes, you would know that you are being a good parent by refusing to be manipulated into giving him a diet of sugar. <br /><br />Make sure you explain the food quantities using the pyramid, stay calm, and try to let him work it out for himself.<br /><br />GOOD LUCK! It will probably be noisy!Aunt Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-39085827596027012552012-06-13T12:44:21.582+10:002012-06-13T12:44:21.582+10:00Hi Aunt Annie, since i saw this posted on my faceb...Hi Aunt Annie, since i saw this posted on my facebook news feed a while back, i've really tried to change the way i feed my son. it's resonated with me bc everything you say is SO true. i've always dealt with eating issues bc my mom made me eat as a skinny infant. then i got chubby bc i probably never developed my own internal meter to detect when i'm full. i always listen to others to tell me when to eat and when to stop. i've also made eating and food an emotional issue. it's been a lifelong struggle and one which i think my son can avoid or at least not be such a big issue if we as parents deal with this in a healthy manner. anyway, sorry for being so longwinded but i have a question. my son who is now 3.5 has never been too picky with eating. however, now he's reached 3.5 he's suddenly become pickier. the other issue is that he LOVES sugar. so now he'll pretend to eat his meal, then an hour later ask for candy. or he'll have a few bites of dinner and want dessert. i usually keep dessert to fruit or flavored yogurt but sometimes he wants ice cream. if i serve dessert with his main meal he'll only eat the sweet portion and skip the savory and vegetables. if i were to have him decide his menu for the day it would consist of candy, yogurt and some fruit. the other issue is that he has food allergies (egg, peanut and tree nuts) which means most commercial candies and bakery items are off limits due to cross contamination. so when we find a candy he can eat we end up sort of going overboard which is entirely our fault. so usually now i end up telling him that if he doesn't eat his main meal then there's no dessert. this is something i've wanted not to do and i'm not sure how to set limits on him with this one. it inevitably turns into me forcing him to eat his main meal. ugh!Michihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05337414962394455123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-61979259283099650932012-01-24T16:34:25.226+10:002012-01-24T16:34:25.226+10:00Thank you both for your kind words!Thank you both for your kind words!Aunt Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-41857963147862896292011-09-21T18:14:22.348+10:002011-09-21T18:14:22.348+10:00another wonderful post!
I read the book Baby Led ...another wonderful post!<br /><br />I read the book Baby Led Weaning which was a really enjoyable and lovely read.. we have implemented this philosphy with our daughter and it is going brilliantly. It works around the principal that although it is up to you to offer your child a broad variety of foods, it is up to them to chose how much/what/the order the eat.. and when to stop. <br /><br />I have book marked this post as it builds on those trust principles for the older children. <br /><br />I really really really want my daughter to be free from all the dieting and food cr@p that plague her mother!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-51736939498312583672011-08-15T21:59:33.890+10:002011-08-15T21:59:33.890+10:00Thanks for this Aunt Annie. A great post, and mak...Thanks for this Aunt Annie. A great post, and makes me feel a lot better about the position I want to take with my own son (who only eats "party food"). It has been a struggle for us for a few years now. I appreciate you sharing this.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02781857506170205131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-32322388992840352742011-06-21T19:16:48.184+10:002011-06-21T19:16:48.184+10:00Thank you so much, Beth- that one slipped through ...Thank you so much, Beth- that one slipped through without me noticing it. You're absolutely right! I've changed it to 'parents'.Aunt Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-63353334168489111582011-06-21T06:44:49.402+10:002011-06-21T06:44:49.402+10:00Thanks for the great post! I think it is very hel...Thanks for the great post! I think it is very helpful and makes me more conscious of my modelling for my daughter. I also like the 2 options when giving choices.<br /><br />Can you please change one part of it? <br />>>"Both mothers and childcare workers need to MAKE time to sit down at meal times and do this."<br />Please do not leave out FATHERS!Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07350071009259857649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-63797883244666427802011-06-16T12:08:34.591+10:002011-06-16T12:08:34.591+10:00Oh good grief! He wouldn't like fish?
!!!!!
...Oh good grief! He wouldn't like fish? <br /><br />!!!!!<br />Sounds like you handled it perfectly :)Aunt Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08799746597313773030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189220758768300295.post-82040856444230238662011-06-01T21:55:49.637+10:002011-06-01T21:55:49.637+10:00This is something I've worked hard on with my ...This is something I've worked hard on with my son. I wasn't raised with a healthy concept of food. I did a lot of reading on this and talking to my super supportive pediatrician. My son just turned 3- all of a sudden, he eats. He spent the last year just grazing and probably experimenting with foods, finding out what he liked and didn't like. Overnight, he kind of turned from a "picky eater" to an amazing eater. The biggest problem I had was other family members (mostly grandmas) who in front of me would insist that he "finish" his plate, bribe him with desserts, and lie to him about what he was eating. My father in law cooked some fish last summer and my MIL told him, those are chicken nuggets. When I asked her why she lied to him she said, "Well, he wouldn't like fish." I try to be kind when addressing these family members but I also have to tell myself that I'm my kids advocate!Jackie Higginshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13536816014343140102noreply@blogger.com