Picky dinner guests (kids)

[RaggedyAnn]

AGDee and MysticCat, you had it easy LOL. There were children starving in Ethiopia, so we had to everything on our plate; thankfully, she served in appropriate portions. I just learned the least amount of times I had to chew in order to swallow the food I didn't like. I also feel real guilty still about not finishing what I put on my plate, so I much prefer family style meals. I felt really bad though this past Easter. My SIL made this carrot based soup that was just aweful and I couldn't stomach more than 1/4 of the bowl.

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

These aren't my kids; they are my sisters. Two of the three of them (the older two, 8 and 10), are beyond picky and wasteful. I was asking for advice on how to deal with them, because even when I ask them ahead of time what they want, and I prepare 2-3 different main dishes and lots of sides, they complain, toss their food (I've found it in my couch cushions), or mangle and leave it so that we have to throw it away.

Yah, no. My three year old nephew decided to stomp a strawberry into my carpet last summer and got a triple reprimand. Andy and I told him no and set down the rules. When Mom found out later, she was so embarrassed/mad; he got the discussion. The 8 and 10 year olds would have got a cleaning invitation from me. It's okay to set down the law in your own house. My family still keeps coming over and my neices and nephews never want to leave. When we go to their house they get all excited to see us. That's just disrespectful. I hope you let their mother know what they do.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

It's okay to set down the law in your own house.

This. It's not only okay, it's appropriate.

And sorry you had to eat everything on the plate.

[FSUZeta]

our very wise pediatrician once told me that she had yet to see a child who would voluntarily starve her/himself to death. this after i was concerned when one of my children did not want to stop whatever activity he/she was engaged in and sit down to eat.

we always asked our daughter and son to give everything a try-just one bite. they have never been picky eaters, and i am so grateful for that. i also think that it makes life easier for them.

when they were little they were both diagnosed with multiple food allergies-which effected them mainly histimically. we did our best to avoid those foods-chocolate was a big no-no. i would take along a vanilla cupcake to birthday parties when i knew that the hostess was serving chocolate cake. of course, my kids would have rather had the chocolate(and i can't blame them!) but they ate the vanilla. luckily, chocolate seems to no longer bother them.

the same goes for your nieces and nephews. if they get hungry enough, they will find something that they will eat. when my children had friends over and the friends did not like what i had cooked, they were invited to make themselves a sandwich-themselves(of course, these were school aged children). your nieces and nephews are of the age where they are capable of making a sandwich. i think it is time to quit catering to their ridiculous whims.