Anonymous
12/13/2021 11:35
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:Our 4yo only eats breakfast-ish foods. She has never swallowed a bite of meat or fish in her entire life, even during baby led weaning. She is over 99% for height and 65% for weight. DD prefers to serve her "dinner foods" aka meat, starch, veggie that she will not eat and then have her go hungry until she gives in and eats it (she hasn't in the past). I prefer to just give her what she enjoys, she eats it, and we move on.
She eats a rotation/combination of:
Greek yogurt
Any fruit
Omlettes (with any veggies)
Beans and toast
Oatmeal
Veggie and sweet potato hash as long as it's served with another breakfast item
Smoothies with any fruits and veggies
Homemade banana oat flax break
Toast with anything on it- PB, almond butter, jelly, or avocado
Hard boiled eggs
Homemade pancakes of any kind- sweet potato, berry, zucchini, etc
She drinks milk, almond milk, ripple (whichever we have on hand) and water
Dh also gets annoyed that she won't eat any kid food- chicken nuggets, hot dogs, pizza, etc. I will admit that could be difficult when away from home, but we haven't taken her to a restaurant or anything since covid anyway.
Is it worth pressing her to widen her food choices or just let it be
Hi OP,
In general, there is nothing wrong with what your DD is eating. But if that means that you have to make separate food for her while the rest of the family is eating something else, or if you can never go out to a restaurant, or if travel becomes a hassle, I would think about ways of change the situation. I have three kids and I could never made four different dinners if all three of them decided that they are eating something different from what DH and I are eating. I cater to my kids' preferences to a certain degree, but it has to be compatible with my sanity.
Maybe you and your husband are two extremes, and you could meet in the middle. Have a few things on the table that you know that your daughter will eat, such as veggies. Have protein for the rest of the family. She does not need to eat meat, but I would not make pancakes for dinner either.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 11:29
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:I'm the OR who thought the beans affectation was funny. I guess I know what posters are still speaking in English accents or saying prego! twenty years later. I really hit a nerve!
Actually, I think all of the responses to your post hit a nerve with you. Ciao, cheerio darling.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 11:28
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:I'm the OR who thought the beans affectation was funny. I guess I know what posters are still speaking in English accents or saying prego! twenty years later. I really hit a nerve!
Lordy you’re annoying.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 11:24
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
I'm the OR who thought the beans affectation was funny. I guess I know what posters are still speaking in English accents or saying prego! twenty years later. I really hit a nerve!
Anonymous
12/13/2021 11:20
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Will she eat scrambled eggs? My British dh loves kippered herring served with scrambled eggs, or smoked salmon with scrambled eggs.
He also likes sardines on toast, and when I moved to the UK, this was my most beloved culinary discovery. DH has it for breakfast.
He also likes sardines on toast, and when I moved to the UK, this was my most beloved culinary discovery. DH has it for breakfast.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 11:20
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
You consider beans a breakfast food???
It sounds fine to me. She’s eating a big variety of foods. Who cares if she doesn’t like meat and “kid food”?
Op here. I studied abroad in the UK and guess it stuck with me
Omg I'm dying. Sorry to go off topic but the idea that someone spent four months in college in London and now considers beans a breakfast food is hilarious.
A lot of Latin American countries have beans at breakfast. Just because you didn’t/don’t have it as a breakfast food doesn’t mean nobody should.
We're not talking about Latin Americans, which I happen to be actually. I'm laughing at someone thinking of beans on toast as a breakfast food because of four months of their of their 20s.
NP. Your reaction to this is so odd. Why can’t someone like something they encountered on study abroad and continue it in their normal life? I don’t understand why you have an issue with that.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 11:03
Subject: Re:Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
There is middle ground between you and your DH. There is no reason your daughter needs to eat pizza or chicken nuggets or whatever. I do think you need to help her expand what she likes to eat, but what she is eating right now is fine.
And guess what? It sounds like you and your DH need to open your minds, too. It sounds like your DD is going to be a vegetarian, and you need to cook what she is going to eat. I thought I was headed down this path, so I started collecting recipes that would work for the kid that wouldn't eat meat. It sounds like she isn't going to eat meat/fish at all. Which is fine, but it also means that it doesn't make sense to present her with it for dinner and expect her to eat it.
So - give her one new food along with her old trusty favorites and encourage (don't force/coerce/etc) her to try them.
And guess what? It sounds like you and your DH need to open your minds, too. It sounds like your DD is going to be a vegetarian, and you need to cook what she is going to eat. I thought I was headed down this path, so I started collecting recipes that would work for the kid that wouldn't eat meat. It sounds like she isn't going to eat meat/fish at all. Which is fine, but it also means that it doesn't make sense to present her with it for dinner and expect her to eat it.
So - give her one new food along with her old trusty favorites and encourage (don't force/coerce/etc) her to try them.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:55
Subject: Re:Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
If mom and dad were vegetarian, this would not be an issue. I’d work veggie and or bean burgers/patties and sweet potato fries into dinner rotation for the whole family. Basically take the beans and veggies as mains and work on more family dinners.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:55
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
You consider beans a breakfast food???
It sounds fine to me. She’s eating a big variety of foods. Who cares if she doesn’t like meat and “kid food”?
Op here. I studied abroad in the UK and guess it stuck with me
Omg I'm dying. Sorry to go off topic but the idea that someone spent four months in college in London and now considers beans a breakfast food is hilarious.
A lot of Latin American countries have beans at breakfast. Just because you didn’t/don’t have it as a breakfast food doesn’t mean nobody should.
We're not talking about Latin Americans, which I happen to be actually. I'm laughing at someone thinking of beans on toast as a breakfast food because of four months of their of their 20s.
My uncle spent a semester in London and eats beans on toast decades later. He liked it then and still does. Who cares?
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:51
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
You consider beans a breakfast food???
It sounds fine to me. She’s eating a big variety of foods. Who cares if she doesn’t like meat and “kid food”?
Op here. I studied abroad in the UK and guess it stuck with me
Omg I'm dying. Sorry to go off topic but the idea that someone spent four months in college in London and now considers beans a breakfast food is hilarious.
A lot of Latin American countries have beans at breakfast. Just because you didn’t/don’t have it as a breakfast food doesn’t mean nobody should.
We're not talking about Latin Americans, which I happen to be actually. I'm laughing at someone thinking of beans on toast as a breakfast food because of four months of their of their 20s.
NP - deciding you like beans on toast after having it for four months is not weird at all. You sound very limited. In fact, this is the very way you teach children how to like a food. Serve it many times, try it many times, and then it may or may not become a favorite and a regular in rotation.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:46
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
You consider beans a breakfast food???
It sounds fine to me. She’s eating a big variety of foods. Who cares if she doesn’t like meat and “kid food”?
Op here. I studied abroad in the UK and guess it stuck with me
Omg I'm dying. Sorry to go off topic but the idea that someone spent four months in college in London and now considers beans a breakfast food is hilarious.
A lot of Latin American countries have beans at breakfast. Just because you didn’t/don’t have it as a breakfast food doesn’t mean nobody should.
We're not talking about Latin Americans, which I happen to be actually. I'm laughing at someone thinking of beans on toast as a breakfast food because of four months of their of their 20s.
Personally I don’t think this is weird at all. Yes, sometimes people like to pretend they are worldly because of a stint in fancy Western Europe, but this isn’t that.
Anyway sorry for going further off topic! (Or is it farther? 😉)
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:46
Subject: Re:Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Your list looks pretty good and has things on it that my 4yo won't eat. I wouldn't stress about this.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:45
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
You consider beans a breakfast food???
It sounds fine to me. She’s eating a big variety of foods. Who cares if she doesn’t like meat and “kid food”?
Op here. I studied abroad in the UK and guess it stuck with me
Omg I'm dying. Sorry to go off topic but the idea that someone spent four months in college in London and now considers beans a breakfast food is hilarious.
We enjoyed have them for breakfast in Costa Rica too.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:38
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Never make food a big deal in front of your daughter. Ever. She will absorb that she is (1) bad; (2) fat; and (3) you are both disappointed in her. Young kids go through eating phases where they are obsessed with certain foods. Our youngest (now teen) went through an extended mac and cheese phase for a few years.
Offer a variety of foods in the house, let the kitchen run out of something once in awhile. Oops, we don't have your usual food tonight. We're having this instead. If she won't eat it, don't make her, that's fine. She won't starve.
Offer a variety of foods in the house, let the kitchen run out of something once in awhile. Oops, we don't have your usual food tonight. We're having this instead. If she won't eat it, don't make her, that's fine. She won't starve.
Anonymous
12/13/2021 10:36
Subject: Husband and I are at odds over DD's eating
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
You consider beans a breakfast food???
It sounds fine to me. She’s eating a big variety of foods. Who cares if she doesn’t like meat and “kid food”?
Op here. I studied abroad in the UK and guess it stuck with me
Omg I'm dying. Sorry to go off topic but the idea that someone spent four months in college in London and now considers beans a breakfast food is hilarious.
A lot of Latin American countries have beans at breakfast. Just because you didn’t/don’t have it as a breakfast food doesn’t mean nobody should.
We're not talking about Latin Americans, which I happen to be actually. I'm laughing at someone thinking of beans on toast as a breakfast food because of four months of their of their 20s.