If he's not hungry, he won't eat. If he won't try the food in front of him (did him a gorgeous nicoise-y salad last night he refused to even try) then he doesn't get made anything else. I do give him new meals and if he can't hack part of it I'll serve him without the "nasty" bit next time I do it. But that salad is now off our menu list for another year, sigh. I'm not too unreasonable if he doesn't like food as I recall having to choke down food I detested as a child and feeling sick with every mouthful shoved in.
If he does try and really dislike, then eats all the bits he does like, he can have pudding. If he doesn't try or doesn't eat what he normally will, no pudding as he's not hungry. He doesn't complain and doesn't suffer.
I grew up being force-fed because "you haven't eaten enough" (literally forcefed, spoonfed for many years if I wouldn't eat something), denied food when I was hungry because "you've eaten enough", told it was impolite to eat as much as I did at one point, basically told to ignore my body signs for what my mother deemed correct. I am anorexic. Although I do eat, sometimes it is an effort to remember that I need to without being told I must eat because now it is an acceptable time for me to be hungry. And she wonders why I tell her off when she does the same to Liebling...
It's normal toddler behaviour. DD used to eat heaps and now some days will hardly eat anything and one day all she ate was half a banana. Our rule is if she doesn't eat what we dish up then she goes without. Unless there is a medical condition kids will not starve themselves
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks