wasting food

my 3.5 year old is doing my head in. she will pour herself a huge bowl of cereal, and then eat a quarter of it. wants a big glass, but then doesn't drink it all. I tell her to get some, and she can always get more but it doesn't seem to be getting through. I don't want to be a food controller, also dont want to force her to eat if she has had enough, but the wastefulness is getting to me.

her appetite is quite varied, so I can't always predict how much she will eat. I am happy for her to take as much as she wants- if she will eat it.

any ideas to get me through?

Let it go, it's a losing battle!

She will get over it in time, they don't waste food forever - I've got one that eats basically everything, and the other 3 waste everything still. I know it passes but its still frustrating, especially when you know there are starving kids that would love a plate of food!

I still hate it but I whinge under my breath now instead of getting angry. That doesn't make them eat anyway lol

Can you subtley control portion size by buying her "special" smaller bowls/cups for her to use?

I agree with Arimeh.

If you really can't get past it though, you could portion out the cereal into snap lock bags so she's only making what she will eat.

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Can you subtley control portion size by buying her "special" smaller bowls/cups for her to use?

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Nah, at the moment she wants 'adult bowls' 'adult cups' etc .... "cos i'm big".

awhile ago, i was pouring the cereal into a jug and then she could pour it into her bowl. that could work, just means i have to lock up the main box before she helps herself. I only have a certain amount of food, its enough, but when its gone i have to get inventive at the end of the week.

It's simple in our house, I do the portioning until my boys understand the concept of not wasting food.

DS1 is just starting to get it now, and has started making his own breakfast, pouring his own drinks etc. Sure there is still wastage as they never eat everything on their plate but it's not a ridiculous amount like it would be if I let them get their own, supervision is the key :)

I don't know if this would work for you, but I am resigned to only ever eating DD's leftovers. I don't prepare anything for myself unless she has finished everything on her plate. If she doesn't eat something then I will.

I like the smaller bowl idea - perhaps you could get one of those ones printed with her name or something? I understand very well how she might not be swayed though lol.

Have you tried putting the cereal into a container that has a smaller opening? Like instead of a cereal container with a big opening, try a juice jug that has just a small opening? I find half the cereal wastage is because it pours out faster than they can manage.

My kids do it too. This morning DD2 begged for porridge, then didn't even eat a single spoon of it! Grrrr!

DD1 always loved using her 'special' bowls with her name on them or pictures, often received as gifts (Xmas is around the corner!). Those are generally smaller than adult sized. We keep all the kid safe bowls, plates, etc, where they're easily reached and the breakable adult stuff up high. Would that work?

I think it's great she wants to do it herself and it sounds like you're trying to work with her independence without ending up with the food bill of a teenager.

Depends on my mood lol but I tell DD eat this little bit first then you can have a big bowl/plate/piece etc. afterwards. Sometimes she tantrums so I say ok then have nothing and she usually comes around, other times I'm not in the mood for a tantrum so I say fine...DS is good at eating her leftovers too at times.

happens in our house too... good thing we have animals to eat the scraps, but yep, does my head in too!

Get her a scoop for the cereal? So she can have one scoop, and do it herself. And if she eats all that, then she can have more/ two scoops the next day. That's how I'd play it. And if she only eats some of her one scoop, then no big deal, it's minimising waste.

My dd does this with drinks, but we just put them in the fridge and she can keep going back to the same one.

What would happen if whatever doesn't get eaten got covered over and put in the fridge and served up for the next meal?

I suspect my DSs would only have to be served soggy weetbix for lunch once or twice before they'd get the hang of serving a more reasonable portion for brekky...

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What would happen if whatever doesn't get eaten got covered over and put in the fridge and served up for the next meal.

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I don't know if I could be that mean. LOL.

I started a thread on this when DD was about the same age. I have learned to let a lot of it go. It helps that DS finishes off lots of her food these days.

I think unless you want to be in charge and portion everything, you have to just accept she can't rationalise portions yet. Can you get some pets to clean up after her LOL?

I think it depends on the wastage? If it's marginal I wouldn't worry. If it's twice her actual consumption I would monitor it.

Could it be related to her wanting to be a grown up? Situations like this are an opportunity to learn. And don't have to be a power struggle. Talk to her about food wastage, and not to be cliche, but about those that don't have food, the value of food and look at pictures of the varying sizes of stomachs. Explain she can't physically eat as much as she dishes out. I wouldn't suggest serving her food again as this has been proven to lead to psychological problems with food ie. finish what's on my plate or I'll eat it cold later which leads to overeating and being part of the clean plate club.

We encourage our children to eat to full even if it means leaving stuff on their plate. And if they really enjoyed it and don't want to waste it, then most things can be saved for later (but it's not enforced). I have a fear of an unhealthy relationship with food because I had one and I'm still fighting against it. But at the same time I think you can work through this without it being a huge drama. Just try not to focus on finishing what she has prepared for herself. And maybe remind her that being little is just as awesome as being a grown up. It sounds like she sees this as being inferior. And I think that's the issue, more than the food.

Maybe as well as talking about the fact there are those without, even talk about in general terms how there's money budgeted for food and how when food is all gone then you have to wait again before being able to get more. Because our budget can be quite tight we explain how important it is to really listen to your body before deciding if it wants that much food. We don't want to control food for all the reasons people have expressed and DD1 might end up eating 3 mangoes in a day and that's fine, it would be hard to watch them end up waste though! So far just reminding her to listen to her body has helped a lot.

Another thing is we do the same. Dish a similar amount to DD1 for ourselves then go back for more as needed. So that she sees it's an everybody thing.

Also if she is doing it maybe because she enjoys the dishing part think of games and activities where she can do that without the waste problem. We have a tub of coloured rice, had the same lot for almost half a year and they both enjoy pouring and scooping and such. Might help to explore that side outside of the kitchen?

With DD2 who isn't yet 2, we do a lot of sharing lol.

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happens in our house too... good thing we have animals to eat the scraps, but yep, does my head in too!

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Our chooks and our worm farm do particularly well some days!