When we still had work and school, they ate what we'd eaten the night before, because we ate after they went to bed.

Now that we're all home together, we've pushed their dinner time back a bit and made ours earlier. So now we eat dinner together every night.

They are in elementary school but it has been this way since they were 1+ and eating people-food.

We all eat the same meals, but I would say it’s a combination of them eating what we eat and us eating what they eat. We have a pretty decent amount of tacos and speghetti, and we pretty regularly had applesauce as a side when kids were little.

They eat what we eat.
Breakfast is what they want: oatmeal, fruit, eggs, yogurt and granola.

Lunch is usually what they like.

dinner is what I make, take it or leave it. They won't starve because they had breakfast and lunch.

Anonymous wrote:Op here - how long do you go when you have a hold out? My 3 year old is super stubborn and strong willed. Plus very very picky. As in only eats chicken nuggets and rice sort of picky. Do I just hold my ground and assume hunger will win out? Do you do this for breakfast too? What if we get to 3 meals a day and she won’t eat? Do I just give her milk and water then?

My kids were always free to have a PB & J if they don’t like what’s being served. At 3 years old, I would make it, as kids get older, they can make it. If PB & J isn’t something your kids eat, then pick something else that you always have on hand that you know they like. Frozen waffles or whatever.
Then just tell them they can eat that instead and enjoy your meal. You don’t want to turn every meal time into a battle with a three year old. That sounds miserable.

^^Tired of cooking

I am wondering about something after I read your update, op. You said you ate popcorn a ton instead of meals. I wonder what your childhood home meals were like? The reason I am wondering if that my college age kids are at home now. I am finding that ds and dd want all kinds of food. Meatloaf, fish and green beans, curries, pork chops, steaks, rice dishes, calamari, beans, soups, I mean like I am some kind of a all cuisine restaurant chef! Did I create these monsters? Was it that I cooked too much when they were kids? I am tried from cooking. Maybe I created the opposite, these nightmare, where is my smoked salmon and avocado everything bagel, and you can't really expect me to eat a plain sandwich douche bags! I always thought it is great to cook and have a variety of dishes, but boy, I am not that happy about it now!

Anonymous wrote:Op here - how long do you go when you have a hold out? My 3 year old is super stubborn and strong willed. Plus very very picky. As in only eats chicken nuggets and rice sort of picky. Do I just hold my ground and assume hunger will win out? Do you do this for breakfast too? What if we get to 3 meals a day and she won’t eat? Do I just give her milk and water then?

Same boat and when I make things our 3 year old will eat she eats them. But other times we just make chicken nuggets and and noodles and a vegetable for her because we are eating sushi or Indian or whatever and it’s not worth the battle and I also don’t want to deal with the inevitable 8:30 pm whining for a snack because she’s starving and then won’t fall asleep until she makes up for the lost calories. I know plenty of parents who make separate meals but you won’t get many weighing in on these threads because that’s not socially acceptable according to parenting experts. But my DH had many young cousins who were like this when we were first dating (McDonald’s only, nuggets at Thanksgiving, etc) and who now eat adventurously and well so honestly it’s not worth the headache or puritan views. We continue to offer new foods and encourage polite bites of new things but I’m tired of the dinner table being a battle field and if at the end of the day your child is fed, you’re a good parent. Don’t stress, it’ll pass eventually.

OP - honestly -this seems super harsh, especially in uncertain times. i have two teenagers -both are good eaters, one though is a vegetarian.

How about you try dinners first - let everyone eat what they want for breakfast and lunch - that way they don't starve and also you aren't mean.

Then for dinners, make only one meal starting now but try every night to include one thing they do like - like pasta or a fruit or whatever and then whatever you are planning to make anyway - chicken with a sauce or whatever. If you try on purpose to make things they hate they will hate you.

Of course, you want good eaters so start easy and branch out, good time to try new recipes.

My teens are becoming more flexible as things are not as easy to get every thing they love.

Op here - how long do you go when you have a hold out? My 3 year old is super stubborn and strong willed. Plus very very picky. As in only eats chicken nuggets and rice sort of picky. Do I just hold my ground and assume hunger will win out? Do you do this for breakfast too? What if we get to 3 meals a day and she won’t eat? Do I just give her milk and water then?

I've never done separate dinners for the kids except if we're eating something they really can't/won't eat, like if it's really spicy or expensive steaks we don't want them to waste. No picky eaters here...if you don't eat, you must not be that hungry.

Anonymous wrote:Op here - interesting advice thanks! Do you think I can just go cold turkey and stop making the food they have been eating and insisting they eat our food? What do you do for lunch? I hate having to think of food for everybody every day. When I was single and living by myself I ate popcorn for like 6 months straight for dinner.

I have also implemented the snack basket so they can only get what is in the basket each day and once it is gone it’s gone. I hate the revolving kitchen door situation that is happening during quarantine.

Yes, go cold turkey. We did this when the kids were 2 and 4. I always served fruit and milk with the meal, so that even if they didn’t eat dinner, they were not hungry. I also did not do all unfamiliar things - they are more likely to try something if it’s ONE thing versus all new things. I still make some kid meals, but I would say everyone eats the same thing 90% of the time. I do not allow substitutes - eat it or wait until the next meal.

I will do some deconstructed meals as a PP mentioned. If we are having barbacoa tacos, the kids have barbacoa, rice and beans. Or if we are doing bibimbap, they have the meat, rice and veggies.

I am more apt to do “kid” food for lunch, because there might not be enough food for leftovers for everyone.

I'm more lenient about lunches personally but you should think ahead to the kinds of meals you would pack for school and get them used to that now. Would you be willing to make pasta, chili or macaroni and cheese each morning to pack in the thermos, or would you prefer your kids to get used to turkey and cheese roll ups or sunflower butter sandwiches? Your kids won't suddenly love sandwiches if you don't get them use to that type of lunch now.

DS is 3 and has always eaten what we eat from the start. He'll eat pretty much anything. I think it's a combination of luck, baby-led weaning so he has always been used to getting the same food as us, and daycare provides meals so he has to eat what is served there, too. He's never been given the option to eat something different from us (or the rest of his class, as the case may be).

Tonight we're having chicken stuffed with mozz and prosciutto, wild rice pilaf, and sauteed snow peas.

I have never made a separate dish for kids. But, I also made dishes less spicy when they were little. So, if we were having curry, I would not make it super spicy and hot. If I made pasta, I left a bit of ground beef and plain pasta for kids, just in case.
Started feeding DS at 1 year regular food, he wanted it and hated baby food. Even though kids had severe pickiness due to health issues(DD still has severe GERD) they grew to be eating almost everything. In fact, my kids eat more foods than me. I won't touch onions and peppers and celery. DD will eat them raw.
Even if I made cabbage rolls, I did not cook a separate meal for kids. But, I was happy to have them eat meat and rice from the rolls, and not make a fuss about it.

Anonymous wrote:They eat what we eat for the most part.

+1

On weekends, DH and I will eat after they do while we watch a movie or something, so we get some alone time, but what we make on those days is super easy. Otherwise, we all eat the same thing. Kids are 8, 6, and 4.