Untrained Housewife

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Mealtime Battles – They Happen, How do You Handle Them?

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I think this is something every mom struggles with at one point or another. That moment when your child won’t finish his dinner. Suddenly they don’t like ____ or refuse to eat _____. This video by Ragu makes me laugh because I think we can all relate to the desire to  do what it takes for our kids and then hit that point of – gee I wonder if this looks weird to anyone else.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzUxuvU7JUs[/youtube]

While I’ve never worn spaghetti on my head (at least not on purpose), I can definitely relate to that moment of desperation when you feel like you have to do SOMETHING. We had one time in particular that turned into a major battle of wills with my oldest son, Evan.

Yes, I did basically bribe him with a trip to Chili's in order to get him to eat the oatmeal.

He was about five and had helped himself to seconds of oatmeal without asking. So Sidney said that he could have it but he needed to eat it all. Of course, Evan couldn’t finish it all so we put it in the fridge and brought it out for lunch. (Our philosophy is that if a child takes something to eat it will be the next thing that they eat – even if they don’t finish it at THAT meal.)

So lunch? A total no go. Dinner? Ditto. My usually voracious son had set his heels in the ground and I was getting desperate.

At breakfast the next morning we hit the 24 hour mark and I pulled out the big guns. “Evan, when we go to town this afternoon we’ll be eating lunch at Chili’s!” This is a big treat for the kids because we don’t eat out often. “You can either order a kid’s pizza like your siblings, or I can bring this oatmeal in a tupperware.”

In my head I was praying – please, please, please do not make me bring this cold, slimy oatmeal to Chili’s. On the outside I was cool as a cucumber as I reached into the pantry and brought out a tupperware bowl and lid. As soon as he saw the container Evan knew it was over and finished his oatmeal. PRAISE GOD!

I’ve never had another situation like that again. What a relief too because that was tough. Once you say something you feel committed as a parent – how did I know my son would be that stubborn!? I wonder who he gets that from….Hmm….

Now it’s your turn. Share your biggest mealtime battle, or how you avoid them, and you’ll be entered to win a $50 AMEX Giftcard!

To Enter –

REQUIRED: Leave a comment with your “mealtime battle” feelings or memories or survival tactics.

EXTRA Entries:

  • Tweet this giveaway – Share your mealtime battle and win a $50 AMEX card from @UntrainedHW and @RaguSauce http://bit.ly/xBFdFT (Leave a comment, one entry per day)
  • Follow Ragu and Untrained Housewife on Twitter (Leave a comment, one each)
  • Subscribe to Untrained Housewife’s Newsletter. (Leave a comment)

Don’t forget that you can also follow Untrained Housewife and Ragu on Facebook. In fact, go to the Facebook page and ask your question and you could see a new video come out of it, just for you!

Giveaway ends March 18, 2012 at 11:59pm CST. Open to US residents only, 18 and over, void where prohibited by law.

I was a member of the Mom’s The Word on Dinner program last year but have not been compensated for this post – I just think the video is funny. 

About Angela England

Angela England has written 562 posts in this blog.

Founder of Untrained Housewife, Editor-in-Chief of Blissfully Domestic (http://blissfullydomestic.com), mother of five, wife of one, and God-seeker always.

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Comments

  1. That video is HILARIOUS!!! I’ll admit to stay away from mealtime battles we make kiddo friendly food, they must try at least one bite of whatever the adults are eating though and of course their food is 1 entree, 1 veggie, and a carb or fruit.

    • I thought the video was funny too. Ragu is making new ones as people send in questions…they just posted one with a cell phone that was pretty funny. We try to keep things pretty kid-friendly here and we know what the kids generally like and dislike.

  2. We usually threaten with “no dessert” and that seems to work most of the time.

  7. The wackiest thing I’ve ever done to get kids to eat- sneak beans into smoothies and homemade popsicles

  12. i told my son that there was a quarter at the bottom of his cereal bowl–he ate all the cereal with no problem–it works 🙂

  15. I sneak spinach and other veggies in smoothies or mac and cheese because if I don’t do it my child would not eat veggies

  20. kids have to eat all their food or no dessert thats how that works around here

  23. My biggest battle is with my younger son who won’t expand his palate beyond chicken nuggets, pasta and pizza bagels. He does like fruits and a couple of vegetables but I’d love to see a dinner plate that isn’t beige.

  24. getting the kids to eat veggies is tough for me. I usually bribe them with dessert.

  29. My motto:
    at a restaurant you may choose; at home you will eat what was prepared for you. (we don’t discuss or debate this much…one spoon of every item on the table, seconds of what they enjoyed)
    ~ Somedays there are your favorites
    ~ Other days the meal might be something new and trying new things makes the whole process nicer for the cook and stretches all of us. We can vote on if it is a “keeper” after we have all tried it.
    ~ Other days it is not even on your top ten, let alone a favorite, but you get to eat it anyway because it might be someone else’s favorite (there are SEVEN of us) and so you learn to “prefer others” sometimes as we are instructed in Romans 12:10 because life is not all about you.

    But there is a husband, who was once FORCED to eat something his dad had prepared, as a treat, that my husband intensely disliked….and a half century later any hint of that food item will agitate a pretty mellow man, so he is not a big advocate of force in the food area either.

    So if they don’t want to eat something someone else graciously prepared, after trying it, they are not forced, but they are not rewarded. They simply don’t eat another option until the next real meal time. No desserts, no snacks with a late night movie, etc.

    • We tend to have that same philosophy – what’s cooked is what is cooked = what is eaten by everyone. I think it helps that the kids are involved in the food growing/gathering process…collecting eggs, planting and harvesting fruits and veggies, etc.

  30. I’m with Karis – you have to eat what is made. You only get something different if you are sick, such as soup. You don’t have to “like” the food but you must try a bite before rejecting it. We don’t “force” food BUT…no treats, extras, etc. if you choose to “not eat” your meal. My son has always been a challenge in the “food” department. We try to sneak protein powder into his ice cream and shakes – but he is getting really good at “knowing” something has been added.

  31. pureed squash on sandwich just to make him eat some vegetable
    amramazon280 at yahoo dot com

  34. My boys are both picky eaters and they typically are completely opposite in what they like. I have to be very creative in finding ways to disguise things so they will eat!

  36. I prevent “mealtime battles” by putting cheese on everything so they’ll eat it!

  40. I only insist that my kids try a bite of something, not that they clean their plates. Of course, even this small request caused much drama with my daughter, but my son is like a vacuum cleaner with teeth 🙂 Even my daughter tends to be a little more adventurous in her eating now though.

  43. I can honestly say that the wackiest thing I’ve done to get my kid’s to eat was suck a spaghetti noodle up my nose, I know crazy, but after a fit of laughter it worked wonder’s!

  56. my mealtime battle is a daily thing at our house. My 2 yr old son refuses to eat meat, veggies, and fruits. He likes to eat cereals, peanut butter sandwiches, chicken nuggets and french fries and of course cookies and junk food. Since I no longer buy any types of junk food what I serve for dinner he doesn’t want to eat it so its constant battle to get him to try new foods. We’re working on it. Day by day. Thanks!
    ashleygatewood1(AT)gmail.com

  76. If they immediately decide they don’t like it just from hearing the name/description, Don’t tell them what they are eating! Just put it on a plate in front of them.

  80. Mealtime can be a big battle because my children refuse to eat many veggies. I know when I was little, we weren’t allowed to leave the table untill we ate all of our food. I notice they are more willing to try new veggies as they get older though.

  84. To avoid disasters at the meal table, along with discipline and such…we like to play Brain Quest or we make up alphabet/learning games that we take turns playing while eating! 🙂

  88. My mealtime battles is basically getting my daughter to feed herself unless it’s something she wants to eat and getting her to take a normal bite of food instead of mini rat bites. this is an ongoing battle
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

  94. My biggest mealtime battle is getting my son to eat any vegetables. He will only eat carrots (sigh).

  105. Mine is a memory of when I was little. I remember swallowing my peas whole by chasing them down with big gulps of milk so I didn’t have to taste them. It’s lucky I didn’t choke, LOL!

  111. It is hard getting everyone at the table. Now they eat at different times and microwave their food.

  119. every day is a meal time battle because the kids don’t want what i make and are picky eaters

  125. I was lucky, my kids weren’t that fussy with eating…. but I did find out early that they loved to dip things… so I often times made a dip (cheese, sour cream, ketchup, etc) so they could dip.

  130. Every night is a struggle to get my 4 year old to teat. He’s very, very picky and I’m trying to come up w/ new ways to get him to eat all the time

  155. Our daughters are only 9 & 10, but we ‘catered’ to them WAY too much in younger years and we are paying for it now. The older one will consent to eat what is in front of her more than her younger sister will.
    But we’ve started the process of ‘this is what’s for dinner. You don’t want to eat it? Fine. But there are no snacks and nothing else until breakfast.’

  161. I try to avoid battles by offering an alternative meal type for those who dont enjoy the main dinner being cooked as long as its reasonable to cook

  165. My kids can be picky so I just tell them that they are lucky to get such good food and they have to eat what’s on their plate or go to bed hungry. They have the choice. I am not a slave or maid. I already have to cook two dinners because of my special diet. I will not make them eat the dinner if I know for sure that they absolutely hate the foods. Then they get something simple.

  169. Trying to get everyone to eat the same thing.. seems everyone always wants something different.

  170. My five year old son is an extremely picky eater. I have done everything from the Happy Dance to the Airplane in the Hangar scenario to try to get him to eat more of a variety of foods. But unfortunately, no go. I only hope that he will outgrown this. Thanks for the giveaway!

    katbirdfl (at) gmail (dot) com

  173. Following Untrained Housewife on Twitter (@katbirdfl)

    katbirdfl (at) gmail (dot) com

  184. Did have many “mealtime battles” with my kids, but if I did then they had to clean the kitchen. Not just the one who didn’t want to eat, but all of them. This worked, because the other would make the one eat, no one wanted kitchen duty.

  187. I’VE USED THE TECHNIQUE BEFORE WHERE “IF YOU FINISH THIS” THEN… “WE’LL GO DO THAT” LIKE WATCH A MOVIE, GO TO THE MOVIES, GO OUT TO EAT THE NEXT DAY, ETC. I KNOW, SHE’S SPOILED!

  226. Mealtime generally goes pretty smoothly for us, but once in awhile our 13 month old just refuses to eat favorites from the day or week before. I’ve found it’s best not to push it and just let her get down from the table and try again the next day!

  230. I Subscribed to Untrained Housewife’s Newsletter. (shilohleah (at) yahoo (dot) com)

  233. I cook dinner and plate it without really telling my kids what they are eating until they have already tried it. I get them to try a lot more foods this way and the battles are a lot less frequent!

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