Getting kids to eat dinner

We learned something recently. There are three ways that your kids can refuse to eat food that we have identified.

• Not Hungry – They just sit there and stare at the food. If you ask them if they are hungry, they turn around in their chair and say, “No, no, no.” If you hold a fork with food on it up toward their mouth, they turn around in their chair and say, “No, no, no.”
• Don’t like the food – They just sit there and stare at the food. If you ask them if they are hungry, they turn around in their chair and say, “No, no, no.” If you hold a fork with food on it up toward their mouth, they turn around in their chair and say, “No, no, no.”
• Tired of you shoving food in their face, but willing to eat if you just leave them alone – They just sit there and stare at the food. If you ask them if they are hungry, they turn around in their chair and say, “No, no, no.” If you hold a fork with food on it up toward their mouth, they turn around in their chair and say, “No, no, no.”

Nobody ever said being a parent was fair.

Now the trick is being able to tell if they are exhibiting the third refusal. They probably aren’t going to eat no matter what if they just aren’t hungry or don’t like the food.

Let’s start with a basic fact. If you try to shove food into my face I will turn my head and yell at you to knock it off. I will not open my mouth and eat the morsel.

Here’s another fact. Sometimes kids like to be independent. That might be why they are refusing the food in the first place.

So, how do you remind them that there is something worth eating on their plate without offending their independent spirits.

Using your kids fork, stab some items from the plate. Then, place the fork in your kids hand. Pookie will often raise the fork to his mouth and then proceed to eat the rest of the food on the plate.

Once in a while he will refuse to take the fork. When that happens, we place the fork on the plate with the the food still attached. He will sometimes pick up the fork and go to town.

When he still doesn’t eat anything, we assume it is one of the first two refusals and go about our lives.

This trick will not work if you let your kids refuse what is on their plate and get them something that you know they like out of the fridge. If you gave me that option, I would always hold out for the more fun food, too.

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