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is feeding kids that important?

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Just treat them like dogs. Put their food in front of them for 15 minutes. If they haven't finished it then it gets taken away and not served until the next scheduled meal time.

My dogs learned pretty quick to eat when food was presented to them, I'm sure kids are smarter than dogs.
 
bignateyk said:
My dogs learned pretty quick to eat when food was presented to them, I'm sure kids are smarter than dogs.
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Not really.

Kids can be stubborn little SOB's who's willpower will directly conflict with personal well being. They'll override what their body is telling them and do things just to piss you off. Because that's one of the few things they can really control in their life.

Dogs don't play games. They are almost purely driven by instinct.
 
After 3 1/2 kids are like pets, if they want to eat they will eat, if not, they get hungry and eat. If they dont eat when I say eat, they go hungry and can fend for themselves with the food I leave out for them. Seriously tho, kids over 3 do not need to eat just because we think they do. When they get hungry, they will eat.
 
Joemonkey said:
nah, with school back in session we have a pretty rigid morning, evening, and nightly routine. it helps we only have one kid, and she recently got a puppy that is forcing her to learn some extra responsibilities
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Cool. My son has two speeds, asleep and...well...not asleep lol. We're very structured/routine oriented people...but that boy has got some energy.

What kind of puppy did you get?
 
bignateyk said:
Just treat them like dogs. Put their food in front of them for 15 minutes. If they haven't finished it then it gets taken away and not served until the next scheduled meal time.

My dogs learned pretty quick to eat when food was presented to them, I'm sure kids are smarter than dogs.
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I think my parents dog is smarter than most people 😉 he eats when he's hungry and doesn't eat when he isn't.

if you give him food and he's not hungry, he takes it upstairs and stashes it in his crate for later 😀

I think he freaks out and hordes food when my parents go out of town, though. I was dogsitting once and found a loaf of bread in there.
 
Uhtrinity said:
Being a parent I can say it is to keep everyone on the same schedule eating the same things. Do you realize how inconvenient it is to not only prepare multiple meals at different times, but to also prepare different things based on a child's whim? My son has always been expected to eat what is served, if he declines he is told he has to wait until the next meal, though I will usually give him a snack after an hour. Most of the time it works well.

What will happen when they start school? Demand a different lunch time or something not on the menu? You might not understand it, but it is a matter convenience as well as building life skills. To do otherwise contributes to a person who has a world revolving around them.
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Agreed 100 percent.

<-- Parent of 2
 
Our daughter just pushed food away if she was done when she was an infant. We didn't try to force her to eat. Soon she learned to say and sign "more" if we took it away too early (I think day care taught her that). It works really well.
 
ch33zw1z said:
Cool. My son has two speeds, asleep and...well...not asleep lol. We're very structured/routine oriented people...but that boy has got some energy.

What kind of puppy did you get?
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A boxador 🙂

VUzAi.jpg
 
Wyndru said:
Our daughter just pushed food away if she was done when she was an infant. We didn't try to force her to eat. Soon she learned to say and sign "more" if we took it away too early (I think day care taught her that). It works really well.
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Ah good job. 🙂 My little guy signs for eat, drink, milk, more, all done. For awhile there he would just drop food over his tray onto the floor when he didn't want it anymore, but I taught him to hand it to me instead. I can usually get him to eat more if he has a fork and feeds himself.
 
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vi edit said:
Not really.

Kids can be stubborn little SOB's who's willpower will directly conflict with personal well being. They'll override what their body is telling them and do things just to piss you off. Because that's one of the few things they can really control in their life.
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I was a teen when my little sisters were toddlers. One was a compliant eat-anything kid, the other definitely wanted control over her own diet. "Or" worked wonders. It wasn't "eat this", it was "you choose, are you going to eat this OR that?" That little bit of control made all the difference to her, and as long as both her options were healthy foods that were already planned as part of the meal, we were golden.
 
AreaCode707 said:
I was a teen when my little sisters were toddlers. One was a compliant eat-anything kid, the other definitely wanted control over her own diet. "Or" worked wonders. It wasn't "eat this", it was "you choose, are you going to eat this OR that?" That little bit of control made all the difference to her, and as long as both her options were healthy foods that were already planned as part of the meal, we were golden.
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With mine it doesn't really matter. The only "or" that works would be if the other choice was a hotdog, pb&j or mac & cheese.

I could give her the choice of salad or grilled chicken and she'd choose the chicken and not eat it.

Or a choice of pasta or fish and choose pasta and not eat it.

She's so picky that she'll eat chicken nuggets, but refuses to eat the breaded chicken that comes in the chinese skillet meals (like orange and generals chicken) even though I'll intentionally hold some back without sauce on it.

It doesn't matter, she just sucks at eating.
 
Because in my household we sit at specific times (lunch/dinner) and have a meal together. I try to make my 3 year old eat, but sometimes he just doesn't....and sometimes it's ok, but they have to sit by the table. The kids don't just get to run around and do what they want and then complain 30 minutes after dinner that they are hungry. You'll sit at the table when we do and if you are hungry later, we have another snack/meal coming up practically ever 2 hours. Who's running these households anyway??
 
One thing I'll never understand is why some parents insist their kids have the same eating schedule as the parents. Kids have terribly inefficient digestive tracts whereas adults are a lot more efficient. Kids need to eat very frequently, but adults can go 12 hours without eating and it's not a big deal. Kids thrive on sugar because it's quickly digested, but adults generally eat more fat and protein. Trying to get these two to match is just silly.
 
vi edit said:
With mine it doesn't really matter. The only "or" that works would be if the other choice was a hotdog, pb&j or mac & cheese.

I could give her the choice of salad or grilled chicken and she'd choose the chicken and not eat it.

Or a choice of pasta or fish and choose pasta and not eat it.

She's so picky that she'll eat chicken nuggets, but refuses to eat the breaded chicken that comes in the chinese skillet meals (like orange and generals chicken) even though I'll intentionally hold some back without sauce on it.

It doesn't matter, she just sucks at eating.
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Sounds like my little brother when he was little ...

The kid would ONLY eat grilled cheese sandwiches or green eggs. (scrambled eggs that we colored green with food coloring.) He went through this phase for a few years. Also, everything had to be cut a certain way. When he was about 10 or 11, he started to try other things, and now, years later ... he's no longer "picky" about his food....

It's probably just a phase ... but ... no guarantee (my bro in law is going to hit 30 soon, and he's about as picky as most 5 year olds ...)
 
ShawnD1 said:
One thing I'll never understand is why some parents insist their kids have the same eating schedule as the parents. Kids have terribly inefficient digestive tracts whereas adults are a lot more efficient. Kids need to eat very frequently, but adults can go 12 hours without eating and it's not a big deal. Kids thrive on sugar because it's quickly digested, but adults generally eat more fat and protein. Trying to get these two to match is just silly.
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Whilst this is true, I still think the kids need to at least sit at the table or something. I mean are you just going to let the kids decide whatever they want to do and whenever they want to do it?
 
They're kids. They eat when the meal is served, or they wait until the next meal. Simple as that. Lazy parenting these days, just contributes to the cycle of entitlement. Kids grow up to be whiny brats that think the world revolves around them.
 
It's worth remembering that many of us grew up with parents who made it through the depression, and they had no problem berating us at the table should we not clean our plates. My wife and I vowed never to do this, but our daughter (who now has three boys of her own to feed; good luck with that!) tried our patience greatly in her young years. By the time our son was out of his high chair, we just let him be and he developed a healthy appetite. We learn not to give him too large a portion.

Ditto on not feeding them between meals, no matter how much they whine. They will learn, and parents just have to suffer some short term pain for long term gain.
 
TheNinja said:
Whilst this is true, I still think the kids need to at least sit at the table or something. I mean are you just going to let the kids decide whatever they want to do and whenever they want to do it?
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So, your theory is to force kids to sit at a table with you while you are eating...for no reason except you don't want them doing what they want?

A lot of this mentality has to do with people having huge egos, creating a power struggle, or desiring power in general...


I eat when I am hungry and used to never eat meals with my parents. Why should I eat when someone else is hungry?

I have a 4 year old, and he eats when he is hungry in all but extreme circumstances.
 
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Bateluer said:
They're kids. They eat when the meal is served, or they wait until the next meal. Simple as that. Lazy parenting these days, just contributes to the cycle of entitlement. Kids grow up to be whiny brats that think the world revolves around them.
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So the world doesn't revolve around the children, but instead revolve around the parents because... they say so? Sounds like you think the world revolves around you, and you are an adult, you should know better. You knew the responsibilities of having a child, and now want to be lazy about it because you don't want to be bothered having ot deal with the schedule of another human.
 
Nope. No need to feed them. Let them starve. Bunches of them already are all over the world, why should yours be any different?
 
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