Do You Ever Wonder Why You Bother?

[Cat Herder]

OMG!! happyface A kindred soul!!! lovethis

:::: I am sure this surprises no one. Type A, organized, motivated, analytical, "facts only, please", types of people flock together... ::::

It starts from day one...

[kimsdaycare]

I don't do well with mixed foods either, or crust . I LOVE my partitioned plates and typically eat one section at a time as well. Usually in order of least favorite food to favorite. I even peel apart burgers and eat the layers separately. It's pretty ridiculous, but it's just how I am. My DH teases me "Oh you don't want that bacon?" when I put the little pieces to the side and is usually met with my ill stab you with a fork if you try to touch it look. It is my favorite part and must be eaten last so I can savor it, and no I will not try a bite of your yummy anything if I already ate my last bite. It ruins my routine and freaks me out .

One trick I've found with picky kids is being creative with condiments. My kids will eat almost any vegetable sprinkled with parmesan cheese. They love saying "cheese on my peas please" and getting to sprinkle their own. They tend to keep eating the veggies so they can do the sprinkle the cheese thing again. Same thing with most foods, just different dip or sprinkle. Works miracles here.

[Unregistered]

I supply all the food for the day which helps kids eat the new things
if some one else likes it they might be more willing to try it

I have a few tricks
" I would never feed you something that you would not like , why would I even do that "
" this is what they have at the fancey dancy resaurants "
to get them to try something new I say " do you like pizza ? ( yes ) how do you know you like Pizza ....you tried it !! "
we have a game too
to get them to eat the salads ..I feed them ...even the 4 year old say me next ...the game started with dont bite me as I pass lettuce with the fork and in it goes ..then the big pieces of lettuce we do the bunny look ..half in half out them pull it in with their lips ...like a bunny
I even with the kids help got a child yesterday to try something she said she didnt like and then she had more ..
but truely the best one is the fancey dancy resaurants

no it does not always work

I will only give a little at a time even if I have to refill plates 3 times ..just incase

and children will never starve themselves

[drseuss]

I feel this frustration too. When I interview parents, I always ask about the child's eating habits, whether or not they are a picky eater, and what the family's mealtime routines are like. That usually gives me a pretty good picture of what is going to happen once the child is coming to daycare. I love starting babies, because I know that even if the families are not doing the greatest job at mealtimes, I can help the child form healthy habits.

I do not cater to picky eating and keep an open line of communication with parents about their children's eating habits at daycare. Johnny didn't eat much today because he wouldn't eat his organic free-range omelette with sweet peppers and asparagus. He might be hungry but it is not because I did not feed him. It took me a while to stop feeling badly when kids went home hungry.

My most recent enrollment started just under three months ago. Parents told me he was not picky at all, and that he eats whatever they offer. Awesome, right? Didn't take long to figure out that the little guy has never even laid eyes on a green vegetable or a bowl of oatmeal before. OY. He eats poptarts, pizza rolls, things like that at home and that's all he is offered. That, to me, is the most frustrating part, and what usually inspires me to do a Healthy Bodies unit with the kids. :: That is on my books for September.