Children Refusing Food
My six-year-old is refusing more and more foods—not liking things this week that she liked last week and complaining about being offered the same foods, such as oatmeal for breakfast.
I know that moving in physically with affection is a great response. What should I do when there isn’t time? What about her not eating much during the school day?
It’s challenging putting together lunches. Her favorite items are packaged things and we try to limit these, yet she sees her friends bringing in loads of plastic-wrapped junk food. I try to hold out for1 two vegetable servings a day and give choices for those. I’ve been thinking that perhaps I’ve given her too many choices and she just needs to cry when faced with “this is what’s for dinner, and there’s nothing else.”
I have two nieces who developed serious eating disorders at older ages, and I’m concerned about seeing food issues start so soon.
Thanks for any insights on the subject of children being picky eaters,2 girls and eating disorders, countering the plastic-wrapped school-lunch catastrophe, or anything else related.
"Anne"
1"Holdout for" means continue to insist on.
2"Picky eaters" means fussy, particular eaters