5 yr old food issue

[Palestrina]

My 5yr old has gotten impossible to please in terms of food and snacks. We are at home until school starts on Sept 9 and I'm at my wit's end sorting out his food.

He asks for something to eat, sits down, takes a bite and then leaves it. 10 minutes later he asks for something else to eat instead. I tell him no but he gets so agitated and whines a lot. For lunch he'll say no to everything I offer him, settles on eating whatever I give him for a bite or two and then says he's not hungry. 5 minutes later he's asking for a snack.

Up to this point he's been a really good eater and we haven't been strict with food in anyway. I don't want to force him to eat something he doesn't like but I don't think it's right that he refuses to eat food that he has asked for. We don't have a schedule and I always intend to give him food when he's hungry, but this is not working anymore it seems. Any ideas on how to fix this situation?

 

[SarahBear]

How big of portions are you making? For example, could you try making him a quarter of a sandwich instead of a whole?

 

[loeylo]

My dd is far younger but we have a dietician due to allergies. Our dietician said only one meal, if she doesn't eat it then tough. She can have fruit or milk if she doesn't eat, but basically they wont starve themselves. Obviously if it is something she actually doesn't like then that is different (although literally the only two foods she doesn't like are broad beans and green beans!) - if we are having these we still put them on her plate, whatever is left is left, but I will not offer her something different.

Sarah, how could you make 1/4 a sandwich? I'm genuinely confused lol

 

[SarahBear]

Cut the bread in quarters and use two of them to make a sandwich. Or cut the bread in half, use half and then fold it to close the sandwich. If Violet is wasting a bunch of food because of not eating a lot, I give small portions. Better to waste smaller portions and you can always make more if needed. That size sandwich is, however, usually made for my toddler though.

 

[loeylo]

My ten month old eats two whole slices then usually looks for more, lol.

 

[Palestrina]

The portions I give are small. I don't quarter sandwiches hehe but I make half sandwiches or just give him a little of the food we are eating.

 

[caz_hills]

I get this all the time! My son is not a good eater at all. He has been like this probabl since he was two.

We ended up entertaining him at the table, feeding him, bribing him. However now we offer a meal we know he likes and if he doesn't eat it (himself no feeding) he waits until the next meal. We try to offer different food to vary his diet but our main aim is to get him eating! We had gone days with him only eating a satsuma.

So all I can suggest is:

- smaller meal portions
- eating together as a family
- giving gim choices as to what he eats
- praise when he eats

We haw definitely not cracked it. If he is tired e won't eat. We don't get annoyed with him - we ask him to sit at the table for ten minutes then he can get up. So we encourage him strongly to eat but I try and just relax about it and trust that he will eat if he is hungry.

So all I can offer is advice as we are on the road there. I have often asked for advice on here and people have great ideas x

 

[justplay91]

Have you tried giving him small portions of a bunch of different things at mealtimes? I.E. half a sandwich, a few cheese cubes, some strawberries, a couple carrot sticks, and some pretzels? My kid is only 2 so I have a lot to learn yet, but my friend's almost 5 year old is a very picky eater and also only takes a bite or two of things and leaves them. She gets around it by offering him a variety of different things and he sort of picks at all of them but does at least get more to eat than he did before. She also lets him graze on healthy snacks all day to help boost his intake. Good luck, it sounds like a hard age!

 

[noon_child]

My 5yr old is a pretty good eater but she does get bored eating if she is left alone and will get up and start playing rather than finish her meal even if hungry, so meals are far more successful when we all eat together.