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| I agree with the others saying put less on their plates. And another thing to think about is other than just picky eaters ask yourself why are they not eating it all ( assuming that they have small amounts on their plates)? Did they just have some milk or juice before it was time to eat? Did they have a small snack? If so they won't be as hungry as we would be if we had a small glass of milk or small snack. We look at that and say well they only had such and such. For little kids their stomachs are not very big so a small glass of milk or a snack too close to dinner time can cut down their signals of hunger. Try to give a snack at different times other than 30 minutes to dinner. With my family they don't get their drinks before their plate of food (whether we eat out or at home). If you give them their drinks first even if it is water, they will chug a lug and then not eat because they are not hungry. Good luck!
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GINAEJAMES
1/17/08 5:47 P
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| I throw my sons left over food in the garbage or my husband eats it. My trouble is eating my sons snacks. Couple goldfish here, couple goldfish there...
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ROLLINSGIRL
1/17/08 3:19 P
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I'll admit to being terrible about finishing off my child's plate in the past. One or two chicken nuggets here, half a piece of toast there, most of an un-eaten pb&j... I'll bet I used to eat at least 300 calories a day on some days. I now have an absolute rule -- no food off her plate ever! I usually give a little to the dog (he's super active and never gains weight) on the way to the trash and immediately throw it out. Always.
All those bites, tastes and little bits of this and that rarely get tracked and add up fast!
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FROGGIEBEAR
1/15/08 12:36 P
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I hate throwing out food as well I just think that the food looks better in garbage than on my thighs, gut, etc It seems to work.
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YANKEEGIRL6
1/15/08 12:24 P
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| I make my children clear their own plates.
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ONLYBLUEMOMMA
1/14/08 8:39 P
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| I used to be really bad with eating the kids left overs.. now i just quickly throw it out so i don't have a chance to eat it!
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MACNJAISMOMMY
1/14/08 3:01 P
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| I give the leftovers to my dogs....maybe not great for them but we eat healthy and they love it!!!!:)
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I run into three conflicting issues:
1-I don't like food to go to waste. This actually ends up as weirdness, I will finish thier mac and cheese, or thier pasta, but thier half-eaten candy I will tell them to toss in the garbage.
2-Empowerment of tossing food, while I fight with food issues, I somehow feel empowered over the above issue by tossing food, If I am not hungry and have the willpower I toss that stuff in the garbage, it is like a petty battle I have won.
3- I had a college professor in my undergrad years who had 9 kids, at one point he used as an example how he and his wife don't even make themselves a plate at dinner, they just finish the stuff left from thier kids. This basically is that they plan thier caloric intake to account for the fact that thier kids will leave enough on thier plate to feed them. I use this strategy when we go shopping at Sam's club at about dinner time, I buy two hot dogs and soda for just over $3, the girls split one diet coke, I get one diet coke. They each eat thier hot dogs and give me the buns, I count this as a quick dinner and go on about my life.
Toby
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| I also put my children's leftovers in the fridge for later.I can't bring myself to through it out, and THEY usually eat it when their hunger hits.
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Most days if I didn't do this I'd never get to eat...
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DROP20LBS
1/11/08 12:12 P
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| What I do for my 4 yr old is put his leftovers in the fridge for later. Even a PB sandwich!! If he wants a snack, he can have that.
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TRAINEDBYHORSES
1/11/08 12:00 A
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| Raising Fit kids in a Fat World is a wonderful book...by Judy Halliday and Joani Jack. Judy is an RN and Joani is a pediatrician. It is encouraging kids to learn to listen to their internal cues of hunger and satisfaction (like they did when they were babies), learning how to select beneficial foods that will delight the palate and nourish the body (the Fit Kid Food Target), increase the fun in their lives by having active adventures, and reaching out in life by being active in service to others. It is a wonderful resource. Just have to plug it and hope you will check it out. Amazon.com has some reviews on it that are helpful, too. It is easy to read and power packed! Hope this helps!
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| I was raised to believe I should clean my plate and I still struggle with that. I have made it a point to not make my daughter finish her plate - if she wants to thats fine, but if she's full then she's done.
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| I am a children's plate cleaner myself...always feeling like..I'll just eat that extra chicken nugget or the rest of their steak..etc. Thanks for the ideas, sometimes the most simple ideas are the most useful...less food on the plate..why didn't I think of that!
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CUBFANGIRL1
1/3/08 8:15 P
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Maybe I will try that. Unfortunately my daughter is a finnicky eater but maybe if there is less of it on her plate she will want more. Thanks for the suggestions, and congrats on the weight loss. . . looks like you are making great progress with portion control:-)
Ally
Ps
How do I add the weight loss graph like you have?
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CUBFANGIRL1
1/3/08 8:14 P
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Yeah, I think it's that whole "wasted food, wasted money" idea in my head. Or maybe it's because my parents were the old "clean your plates or else" type. I used to feed the extras to the dog but the dog needs to be on a diet too b/c of that! Sigh
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| Argfa...I, too, am a plate-finisher, but not for my kids, since I don't have any. It's to the point where I am almost expected to finish off my wife's plate, and even my MIL's, if they can't finish. It's something I absolutely have to stop. It's based in my desire to avoid wasting food, but I guess sometimes I just...well, can't allow myself to force food down like that.
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I personally have never felt like I needed to clean my child's plate. I guess I know how sick my kids get and even though they wash their hands before they eat, how WELL they washed their hands is unknown. I am a germ-a-phob on a few levels, and I can't imagine eating after my kids. I may get mad if I feel food is wasted but I don't eat it.
If I know a food isn't going to be so liked I put smaller amounts on their plates to make sure it DOES get eaten, or if it didn't it doesn't go to waste. Sometimes I do save their plates for later when they ask for a snack, since maybe they weren't totally hungry at dinner, or to make sure they do eat good food that I went through the trouble of making. By saving it I don't have the "it went to waste" mentality about it.
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| I agree with Luann. put smaller amounts on the plate to start (they can always get more if they need it). Just think of the healthy habit you can start with a child, if all of us ALWAYS took less than we thought we wanted/needed as we filled our plates...think how many fewer calories we may have consumed over the years. Portion control is one of my biggest downfalls....I really work at taking half of what I "want" and only taking more if I really want it after that.
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LUANN_IN_PA
1/3/08 10:35 A
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| Put smaller amounts on her plate... no need to load it up so that you have leftovers.
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MOMOFMANYTN
1/3/08 12:37 A
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Add alot of salt to it..or quickly run it under the faucet...
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CUBFANGIRL1
1/2/08 11:25 P
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I feel like I sabotage my healthy eating endeavors by feeling obligated to finish what my child leaves on her plate. Anyone have any tips?
Thanks,
Ally
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