3 year old grandson, we keep him most weekends, the wife tries to get him to eat what we eat, so we have a battle every meal w/ no winner, i say if all he wants to eat is bread & butter, give it to him, he will come around when he's older. any thoughts on this?

 

I think that we can be indulgent as grandparents without ruining the child's homelife. They know that there can be different rules at grandma's house, things that don't apply at home.

I have always felt that we are not running a short order cafe here. The food is prepared and served. You can eat it or not. No special foods just for one's picky eating. But there is nothing wrong with letting the child decide reasonably what he might want for a meal or as part of a meal.

If he decides that he does not want to eat what is, he can eat at the next meal. All in all, I would try to come to an agreement with my wife as to what to do and hold to it.

 

i know, just needed to whine.

 

My research tends to reveal that one should offer a heatlthy meal in a happy environment and if the child should partake that is fine. To do otherwise tends to put the child in control.

 

you're right twelvepole, but does theory stand up to the actualaty of dealing w/ todays children who have been raised different than you or i?

 

How does your grandchild eat at home? Does he just eat chicken nuggets, pizza, fries and stuff at home then at your house he has to eat baked fish and collard greens?
Our kids eat pretty good at home and at grandmas they eat pretty much what they want and I've already told mom it's ok since that's what grandma is for and that's gonna be a good memory after they grow up.
As long as it's not causing waves at home and your grandsons parents are ok I don't see a problem.

 

he's daycared 5 days a week. at home i think he eats the stuff kids like. i'm a vegaterian because of health reasons, but its really a terrible way to eat & i wouldn't try to make him do it. he's not a big eater, i guess kids only eat a lot when they are in a growing stage(wish we had this info when i had small kids), anyway, my wife is a neat freak & i'm not, so he & i spend most of our time outside, i guess to reduce friction us guys will go to dairy queen, & i'll layin a bunch of snack stuff for him. his mother dosen't have any rules as to anything, so thats good, we are mostly vegeterians because of health reasons, so we dont have a lot of good stuff in the house.

 

Provide a healthy meal in a happy and healty environment and kids will eat. They will not starve. I have known so many mothers who ran a short-order cook restaurant. Cook a healthy meal in a happy environment, and if hungry they will eat. Avoid catering to special appetites. Be aware of nutritonal requirements. Example, if you are a vegetarian, perhaps you should not impose that diet on a growing child. Or, if you are on the Adkins diet or some other fad diet, do not impose it on growing children. Consult with your pediatriacian. My family studies were rooted in the research of 20 years ago, and they required a happy and healthy environment with happy and healty and nutritional food with no naggng, whining,l or enforcement. (Note: the old days provided no in between snacks and I still don't snack & I hate dessert (love to fix them)) The point is that positive reinforcement promotes good eating habits & negative and can promote poor eating habits, including eating disorders.