Straight to hell.....

tonksy

New Member
That's where I'm headed.
In the girl's nightly prayers we always have this blurb about trying our vegetables, ok? Well tonight Malory is screwing her nose up at the chicken pot pie because it has peas and carrots. She won't even try it. So Rob goes "Remember what you said in your prayers?" to which I add "You told baby Jesus that you would eat your peas and carrots"....Horrible tacits, I know.
How do you get your kids to eat theire veggies? I'm thinking if nice, fresh from the oven (not frozen) flaky chicken pot pie isn't going to do it I'm at a loss as to what will.
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
I tend to (pardon the pun) the carrot and stick approach. "You're gonna eat them. Now, what would you like me to put on them to make them taste better?" Usually a little HP sauce, or a drink (sips) to wash down the taste is all it takes.

How are they on raw veggies? I know I don't dare have raw carrots anywhere near the kids, or I'm going hungry.
 

tonksy

New Member
Marlowe does well, she likes salad, fruits, and can always be counted on to eat broccoli....Malory eats meat and starch and cheese. Period.
 

tonksy

New Member
Oh! And Malory has this lovely gag thing down pat. If you make her eat something she doesn't like she'll just throw it right back up on the table. Very disconcerting.
 

Professur

Well-Known Member
Then you pick it back up on the fork, and shove it right back down again.

I've always found that leaving them sitting with their supper in front of them while everyone who's finished eating gets icecream or sorbet is one helluva motivator.
 

tonksy

New Member
They don't get treats if they don't eat their dinner. That's not an issue. I just don't understand why she won't eat anything new or any vegetable matter. I was never a picky eater, Marlowe is not a picky eater...well...she has her moments but usually she eats okay.
 

Gonz

molṑn labé
Staff member
It also depends on the veggie. I hate peas but can eat them. Get a lima bean in the same room as me & all hell breaks loose. The gag reflex may be real. On the other hand, tell her if its real, you'll beleive her if she throws up.
 

tonksy

New Member
But she does throw up. For example, sweet potatoes. She'll freak OUT AND NOT EAT AND THEN WHEN WE MAKE HER TRY (sorry caps lock) them she'll puke, then she'll realize they were good and finish the rest of them. Weird child.
 

Starya

New Member
I have never ever tried to make my kid eat veggies. I had one rule only when he was little: Everything served had to be represented on his plate. If he didn't want to eat it, fine. Leave it there. Usually he forgot he wasn't gonna eat it, and threw in a bite by mistake, and noticed it wasn't all that bad. Or maybe he ate it the next time.

He had a very brief period where he said "no" to veggies ( I think he must have picked up somewhere that kids aren't "supposed" to eat it). I said: "Good! Those darned veggies make you grow too fast anyways, how will I afford bying new clothes all the time. Hey.. What are you doing..? Leave that carrot alone. No.. I said leave it. Noo! Don't eat the... Oh darn. *grumpy face* "

When he decided he didn't like cauliflower at three, I pointed out how they looked like trees.. "Haha, I am a giant, eating the trees of the forest.."

Oh, and the most important rule when it comes to making kids eat veggies: Don't overcook it. I didn't like boiled carrots as a kid, when I started making it myself I realized why..
 

Starya

New Member
Only once in my life have I been "forced" (as in, may not leave until..) an item of food. I refuse to taste it even today because of it. Many of the foods I wouldn't eat because I didn't like it as a kid, I have grown to like inmy own time. Tomatoes took me about 26 years. :p
 

tonksy

New Member
Yeah...i think I'm gonna go with the whatever attitude and see if that works.
"Whatever, don't eat it but no treats for you".
 

Starya

New Member
I never withheld treats either. The only thing, if he didn't want to eat what was served, he'd get no replacement.

Anywhoo, I didn't have much problems. Or, the problem would after some time be this: putting a bowl of veggies on the table, turning around to fetch the poatoes, only to turn back and find one single piece of carrot left in the bowl - the rest on his plate. :mope:
 

HomeLAN

New Member
We're lucky. V2.0 doesn't really balk at veggies. He does, however, occasionally balk at meats. He'll yak it back up at ya, too. This was all power play, he didn't wanna, and I told him he was gonna. I'm with Prof, put it back on the fork and jam it back down there. This was at my father-in-law's however, and I got overruled by the female contingent, especially his step-gramma.

Grandpa, OTOH, was on my fuckin' side. He caved, though. Power of the box.
 

Leslie

Communistrator
Staff member
I did like Starya. And now they eat anything under the sun, and are always ready and wanting to try even the oddest and most disgusting looking things.

I always right from the start made it clear that I didn`t give a shit whether they ate anything at all. I served it, the mantra was if you don`t want it don`t eat it. If you don`t like something that`s in it, pick it out or don`t eat. However, I will not be making a substitute. It`s all power struggle. If you don`t give em the struggle they soon find it`s stupid going hungry for nothing, they`ll eat.

I will make substitutes for things I *know* they don`t like. Each child has one or two things.

You want her to see food as a thing to enjoy with gusto and (no pun intended) relish. You don`t want her to see food as a game to play with mom.

Something that worked wonders for me, NO candy treats at the grocery store. The treat is that they each get to pick one fruit or veggie at the store to try. And maybe you do too. And you take one (just one cause they cost and if noone actually likes it it`s a waste of money) of the really funky ass looking things (starfruit, blood oranges, that kinda stuff). And have a good game of everyone in the kitchen giggling at it and going wtf and trying to get the prickles off or figure out how to peel it, and tasting it is all part of the game. Some will be freaking disgusting, some will be a joy and become a part of your weekly list cause EVERYONE likes it.

*tip* Noone needs to or will ever know till you tell them that you put carrots, lentils, spinach, zucchini, eggplant, etcetera etcetera into the blender and poured it into the spaghetti sauce/chili/homemade soup.
 

Gato_Solo

Out-freaking-standing OTC member
When I was little, I hated broccolli. My father, OTOH, loved it. I was always given a smaller serving, but I also had a habit of 'yakking it up' when I was told to eat it. I also learned that an unexpected backhand was sure to follow for wasting food, however, so I learned to eat it.
 

Winky

Well-Known Member
My kid used to literally drink A-1 steak sauce (caution sound!)

we never tried to force him to eat specific things

just to get him to STOP eating too much of certain things

like Steak heh heh

he got a roaring case of the trots when he was still diapers,
it turned out he was chuggin' the worcestershire sauce!

He also got onna kick where he’d eat beef bullion cubes

weird assed kid

Oh yes the joys of parenthood.

yeah one time when I was a kid I told my Dad I wasn't
gonna eat my baked potato and he mashed it in my face,
only resulting in first degree burns…

I love baked potatoes today!
 
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