Battle of the Picky Eater

Picky eaters. Something we all have to deal with at one point or another. And for most, it's just a phase that quickly passes.

I am not so lucky. My picky eater will be 5 years old in March and is stuck in this phase.

Yes, I'll admit this is my fault. She was my first born, even though I have 3 children older then her. We are a blended family, his kids plus ours. And of course, as with most, I still baby my first born.

But this girl is super picky. If she could have her way it would always be Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast, Fish Sticks/Chicken Nuggets for lunch, and Ramen Noodles for dinner. Granted, sometimes she'll reverse her lunch and dinner.

I've tried the whole "just one bite", sitting together with all the food in front of her...all sorts of things. It just doesn't work. And screw the whole "if they're hungry they'll eat" bull crap. This past week I decided to make changes. She is now required to eat what I make for dinner, or nothing at all. I'm tired of cooking 2 meals for dinner. That's not working though. No, I'm not cooking a separate meal for her. She's just not eating. As a result, she's going nearly 20 hours without eating any food.

So, I've got a new tactic. It's not a perfect one though, and it still caters to her wants. For now on, her dinner options are either what is cooked or a bowl of cereal. Nearly every child's dream dinner. Only thing is, the cereal has to be plain. Good thing she likes Chex. And to keep it fair to the older kids, they have a second dinner option. If they don't want what's on the menu they can have up to 2 PB sandwiches instead. Of course, they can add jelly if they wish. But they are NOT allowed to have both. So say I make fried fish and mac n cheese. They can't have 2 sandwiches and mac n cheese.

I'll also need to start offering a bedtime snack to Josie (the 4 year old). But her only snack options will be fruit. Again, this works because she happens to love apples. Downfall? She'll only eat it if I peel and chop the apple. I'm willing to make this sacrifice if it means she's eating something.

We'll see how it goes. Something has to give here.

What are your solutions to battling a picky eater?