Reply to When your upper elementary age kid is sneaking snacks and hiding uneaten food what worked?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So I grew up being a picky eater...here are my thoughts. I think she is sneaking the food because she is hungry. I used to do that. Now that I am older I wish my parents had been a little more strict at mealtimes. Have you considered looking into a food therapist and not a family therapist instead?
Switch to cloth napkins and inspect them after meals. Make her finish the food that is in her mouth before he leaves the table. This way she can't put food in her mouth and then spit it into the toilet after meals. Watch closely that she is not moving food around on her plate. Always make sure there is at least one food she likes at meals. Require her to take a bite of everything on her plate. Don't give her seconds of the thing she likes until she has a bite of the other food.
Stop buying stuff like goldfish and M&M's. The squishy fruit I assume you are talking about fruit snacks? We don't consider that food/fruit in my house....we consider that candy. Stop buying those.[/quote]

OP here.  Thank you for this perspective.  DD has taken a cooking class to learn how to make different treats etc. She enjoyed the cooking but didnt want to try half of what she made.  We do make food she likes but my guess is that she gets bored with that food and stops wanting to eat it.  [b]It is tough because we have a younger child that doesn't have these issues and if we eliminate processes food snacks, everyone is living with it.  [/b]Also, when we address the wrappers etc there is the whole dynamic of one child getting negative attention and the other child not getting any, the child getting in trouble getting ticked off at other sibling "never getting in trouble" and at times ratting her out (they share a room). I don't like pleading and getting upset when she doesn't eat all her food at dinner because I feel that in effect gives her control over the dinner table and conversation.  I think there was a previous poster that mentioned if the child won't eat they either sit in their room or they stay at the table until everyone that is eating is done and then they are done.

I do think we have to treat it like she has a sugar addiction and not allow it in the house or severely limit it. Then I think we can tackle the picky eating maybe with the help of a food therapist.   [/quote]

That's fine, thouh.  THere is really no reason or necessity for anyone to eat processed, sugary stuff like that.  My older DS is a bit of ajunk food junky/hoarder.  Not quite to the level of your DD, and not a picky eater, but I used to find wrappers in his room, food in drawers, etc.  I stopped biying them completely.  Needless to say, I didn't suddenly start finding bananas in his room.  :)

Snacks are carrots/hummus, unsweetend applesauce containters, meatsticks from WF, Tzone granola bars, cheese, stc.  SOme of that stuff is still pretty processed, but not quite at the leve of fruit gummies.  No chips, crackers, brownies, chocolate, etc.  Sometimes you really do just have to eliminate certain foods.

and do consult a food therapist, and dno't punish your daughter.

Also, the dinner table shouldn't be a battle zone.  IMO, your daughter should sit there, be served the same as everyone, and eat or not.  But not be served anything after.  And no conversation about whether she's eating or not.  Or how much she ate.  Or whether she tried it, etc.  Too much focus on it.  [/quote]

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