how long without food

[ethanryan]

hi i have a 3 year old son who is a really fussy eater, he will only eat mash and beans and sometimes meat but only sausage or chicken, and it must be fresh with no bread crumbs or batter. i have to spoke to my health visitor and other people who have said to make him different meals and just put it in front of him. they say if he is hungry he will try some. but he dont. then i feel quilty for sending him to bed hungry. i want to stick with it to get him to try new things but he wont and i worry about him not having enough food. i have stopped him having any snacks but that dont work either.
how long would you leave yours without having a proper meal as i feel bad when he goes to sleep on a empty stomach.

[lorri24601]

i know how you feel my daughter was the same when she was little,and no i never let her go to bed hungry i also refused to turn meal times into a battle ground as i dont think that achieves anything in the long run,i used to leave small but healthy nibbles in bowls around the room, a couple of grapes, peice of cucumber, and slice of cheese, that sort of thing ,then just gave her smaller meals of things she would eat, i then made sure without her realising i knew she was watching would also pick the nibbles up and eat them through the day, it did not take too long before she was copying what i was doing, she would still only have what she wanted on her plate at meal times but we both thought we were winning lol,good luck, i know how stessful a fussy child can be, especially as the worst thing you can do is let them sense the stress, my daughter is now 16yrs old 5`10" still very fussy about what food she eats but very healthy, so try not to worry too much im sure your son will be the same :-)

[ethanryan]

thanks lorri. it is so difficult. i have tried a reward chart and stuck pictures of different foods on it, the idea was if he tried some he got a sticker or a treat out of the tin, but this didnt work either, his younger brother 16 months eats it all, i thought he may copy when his brother got stickers and he didnt , but still he refused to copy. he has the same meal every night, if i put something different on he just pushes it away and sits there
its so frustrating

[lorri24601]

yep i know exactly how you feel, i tried lots of things and they just seemed to make her more determind to stick to her guns and be in control of the situation herself, so in the end all i could do is what i posted above, but it did seem as soon as i took the pressure right off and did not even acknowledge what she was eating she seemed to relax and start trying things in her own time, sometimes she would only bite a grape in half and leave the rest as though she was testing to see if she could do it without me knowing she had tried it lol

[lorri24601]

i also remember hearing on house of tiny tear aways that a fussy child on average will reject a new food 18-20 times before feeling happy to try it,so may be worth just putting one new food on his plate alongside his normal meal everyday for a month, maybe just 3 peas and make no fuss about it, if he ignores it so be it, you never know when he gets used to it just being there he may try it, i have been there and been that desperate mum too lol!!

[ethanryan]

thanks for all your advice, i will try putting some with the food he likes see if that works.
thanks

[Anngel]

You could try putting some parsnip ,swede, liquidised leeks, cheese in with the mash. You can also buy different types of sausages, which would get him used to different flavours. It may be best to buy them from a butchers at the moment. You don't mention if you have a dessert? Also, it may be worth trying to involve him in preparing the food. I know this can be dangerous with all the heat involved but if he becomes involved he may at least try the raw ingredients...such as carrots which will do him the world of good. You don't mention if you make the mash yourself or use instant. If your child is particularly fussy it may be worth making the mash yourself then you can sneak in all sorts of things. Did this happen from when you started weaning him? Or has he picked up this behaviour from nursery or a friend? Anyway, good luck. If you are like me and feeding your family is really important to you I have every sympathy with your plight!!