Anonymous wrote:My DD5 eats:

Boiled eggs
All fruit
Black beans
Corn
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peas
Greek yogurt
Cheese
Salami
Honey nut cheerios
Toast with peanut butter

That's literally it. All her meals are comprised of those things and we just don't stress about it or fight it. She actually had her 5y check up today and is 99% for height and 85% for weight.

I get this is limited in terms of number of foods but it’s full of plants and proteins. I know some people want their kids to be “adventurous” and that’s fine, but for me the issue is whether my child is getting sufficient nutrition. Your list wouldn’t worry/bother me at all. And with beans, eggs, and fruit/veggies on the list, you can probably eat out at restaurants even.

Different than a kid who refuses most proteins, fruits, or veggies, or is very limited in what textures she will eat. I’d be thrilled if my kid had 3-4 veggies she liked and I’d feed her those every day. Same with proteins. What’s hard is when she won’t eat ANY of that.

I think I would buy the foods she will eat and then make them available to her so she can get them herself from a low shelf both in and out of the refrigerator. Make sure she can open the refrigerator. I would let her eat them when she wants.

This would eliminate conflict over food and it would eliminate her telling you she's hungry all the time. I would also let her pack her own lunch and snacks to take to school or camp or whatever.

I definitely would not dedicate your whole day to feeding her. Let her own her own diet. Even if that means she eats muffins all day sometimes.

Might be worth a try. If it goes badly, try something else.

Anonymous wrote:My DD5 eats:

Boiled eggs
All fruit
Black beans
Corn
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peas
Greek yogurt
Cheese
Salami
Honey nut cheerios
Toast with peanut butter

That's literally it. All her meals are comprised of those things and we just don't stress about it or fight it. She actually had her 5y check up today and is 99% for height and 85% for weight.

Adding my other DD eats everything and anything

My DD5 eats:

Boiled eggs
All fruit
Black beans
Corn
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peas
Greek yogurt
Cheese
Salami
Honey nut cheerios
Toast with peanut butter

That's literally it. All her meals are comprised of those things and we just don't stress about it or fight it. She actually had her 5y check up today and is 99% for height and 85% for weight.

I was a picky child with major anxiety and being forced to sit at the table and drink my milk and only eat healthy foods really did not help. It was trouble. I encourage all you parents out there to please not make meals and food a battle ground.

I would just give her what she be wants to eat. It will make things a lot easier for all of you. It works eliminate the battles, everyone would be less stressed, she would eat and you wouldn't be wasting anymore of your time, or mental energy.

My seven year old eats:

Cereal (Cheerios, Crispix)
Bacon
Granny Smith apples
Pasta (with butter)
Chicken nuggets
Tater tots
Cheese pizza
Pancakes (no syrup)
Toast (with butter)

No dips, sauces, or anything to spice up her food

She will only drink milk or water (no smoothies)

And the crazy part is - she has three siblings that eat almost everything under the sun. She’s medicated for anxiety and I really hoped once that started to help her out that she’d get a little more brave with her food choices… but nope. Not yet. In fact, she has eliminated yogurt, cheese quesadillas, and goldfish from her diet post-Covid (they tasted weird for months so she nixed them).

ALL THAT TO SAY…. I feel you, OP. Some kids are born picky (she most definitely was!). My sister was similar as a child and she is a 29 year old less picky vegetarian. Fingers crossed for us both!

My 4yo is picky too and I’ve wondered if we should do anything further but our ped hasn’t referred. He eats a decent number of things but no fruit (unless in a smoothie or freeze dried) and no veggies. He will even complain about little pieces of green (eg kale) on a noodle extracted from a family meal. Just yesterday he ate such a noodle and proudly announced it. Amazed!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would give one warning then empty the unwanted plate straight into the garbage can and tell her no food until breakfast. Or wrap it and it becomes breakfast. Stop battling with her. If doing this causes her to lose weight then she has an eating disorder. Healthy kids will not starve themselves.

This is nuts, particularly wrapping it and serving it again to her at breakfast. WTAF?!

Not wasting food is so weird!

Anonymous wrote:I would give one warning then empty the unwanted plate straight into the garbage can and tell her no food until breakfast. Or wrap it and it becomes breakfast. Stop battling with her. If doing this causes her to lose weight then she has an eating disorder. Healthy kids will not starve themselves.

This is nuts, particularly wrapping it and serving it again to her at breakfast. WTAF?!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What helped me is ordering from a meal service, then if they didn’t like it, I could just toss it without being angry about all of the time and energy I spent to make it.

They aren't cheap. I'd be pissed if my kids refused to eat any of it.

Better my money than my time, but whatever works for you!

Eating the food you buy? How pedestrian!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would give one warning then empty the unwanted plate straight into the garbage can and tell her no food until breakfast. Or wrap it and it becomes breakfast. Stop battling with her. If doing this causes her to lose weight then she has an eating disorder. Healthy kids will not starve themselves.

You don't actually do this. If you do, then you'll be at fault when YOUR child starts binge eating later in life.

Lol. Please. This was what was typical when I was growing up. Parents worked hard all day and then made dinner. They weren't going to cater to each kid and if you didn't eat it, you must not be very hungry.

I was #2 of 6. A noneater probably would have starved to death unnoticed in our household. LOL

Haha, mine too. Large family, zero catering to individual preferences, and we all made it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What helped me is ordering from a meal service, then if they didn’t like it, I could just toss it without being angry about all of the time and energy I spent to make it.

They aren't cheap. I'd be pissed if my kids refused to eat any of it.

Better my money than my time, but whatever works for you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would give one warning then empty the unwanted plate straight into the garbage can and tell her no food until breakfast. Or wrap it and it becomes breakfast. Stop battling with her. If doing this causes her to lose weight then she has an eating disorder. Healthy kids will not starve themselves.

You don't actually do this. If you do, then you'll be at fault when YOUR child starts binge eating later in life.

Lol. Please. This was what was typical when I was growing up. Parents worked hard all day and then made dinner. They weren't going to cater to each kid and if you didn't eat it, you must not be very hungry.

I was #2 of 6. A noneater probably would have starved to death unnoticed in our household. LOL

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would give one warning then empty the unwanted plate straight into the garbage can and tell her no food until breakfast. Or wrap it and it becomes breakfast. Stop battling with her. If doing this causes her to lose weight then she has an eating disorder. Healthy kids will not starve themselves.

You don't actually do this. If you do, then you'll be at fault when YOUR child starts binge eating later in life.

Eating disorders increased as permissive parenting increased. So has depression, anxiety, ADHD, school shootings, etc.