Friday, April 24, 2009

At Wits End

I am really at my wits end. And the sad thing is that this has been an issue since the very beginning. It is not anything new. I guess it just bothers sometimes more than others. Sarah is the worst eater. I mean so bad. It started early on when she first started eating regular food. I used to have to mix fruit in with her food to get her to eat it. I guess that was the wrong thing to do. But you can't very well reason with a 6 month old. If she didn't want it, she didn't eat it.

Now, we have a child that is SO stubborn and I still can't reason with her. There was a time I had taken every stuffed animal away from her. The shelf in our closet was so full. AND she still wouldn't eat. I feel like I have tried everything. There just doesn't seem to be one item that pushes her to eat what is in front of her.

Monday night I had to take a toy away from her to get her to eat. It seemed to upset her but not enough to eat. Then tonight, I told her if she didn't eat, there would be no movie. There was a movie that came on Disney that both girls wanted to see. She had at least 40 minutes to eat her dinner. Guess what? She was still sitting at the table when the movie started. So NO movie for her. The possibility of her not seeing the movie was not motivation enough for her to eat. Why is that?

She is so stubborn. She gets that from her Daddy.

The only thing I haven't tried is giving her a plate of food for dinner and if she doesn't eat it, give it to her for breakfast the next day and so on until she is so tired of seeing that same plate that she finally eats it to not have to see it again. A friend told me about that strategy but I just can't seem to make myself do it. I remember a time my Granddaddy telling me I would have to eat for breakfast what I didn't eat for dinner the night before because my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Maybe there was some knowledge in that saying. Of course, Sarah's eyes are not bigger than her stomach ... her taste buds (or it is her mind playing games with her) just don't like what is on her plate. All she wants is pizza, spaghetti, lasagna ... wait, there is a trend there. Maybe she has a bit of Italian in her (ha ha ha).

Anyway, something has to give here. I am tired of fighting with her at dinner time. And that is the only time I really have issues. Breakfast is bad but I don't have time to fight with her. So if she doesn't eat much, I don't think about it. Not a very good mother, I know.

Thankful thought: I need to find something to be thankful for where Sarah is concerned. I don't want to beat her down to you. She is my loving child. She is the one I can pull in my lap and hug and kiss on. She will let me love her anytime just not anywhere. I am thankful for that. And Bethany is my eater. She will eat anything I put in front of her ... she may not like it but she will usually eat it with vocal complaints.

1 comment:

Tonya Roberts said...

You need to get the book "Deceptively Delicious" and start using their tips!!! You KNOW what an awful eater my Max is. I have been able to slip all KINDS of veggies into his food with NO complaints! You can make fun "treat" stuff like chocolate puddings and chocolate fondue dip (SO YUMMY it's to die for!!!). My kids BEG for the stuff in this book! Also tells you how to slip veggies into all manner of foods! ESPECIALLYT things like Lasagna. I hoped Max would learn to eat them by now...but he still refuses! I decided one way or another he was going to get them. It has worked GREAT!! Go get the book!!!! Deceptively Delicious!!!!