My girls have sugar on their breakfast, kids can be easily tricked.i would tell them it won’t taste so bad I will out a little bit of sugar on it, but I was not putting sugar just a tiny bit of salt lol…but it tricked them and it worked that they would eat their veggies. Now they are old enough to understand they need them because its healthy and everyone needs veggies and food like this. My daughter takes an hour to eat her food though, she just chews and chews but doesn’t swallow..so we offer dessert if she eats faster..it helps when u sit the dessert near them that they see it and want it so they eat a whole lot faster!

I have a little boy with allergies who has been on the white diet for some time. I am slowly introducing new foods to him as food challenges and it is a long process. Sometimes I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. I find he eats things better if I take the time to sit with him at the table and talk to him etc while he has dinner. He seems to be more distracted and unwilling to try new things. You could try sitting with your little ones as I do with mine and see how this guys. Make dinner time your special family time together =).

I involved my kids in cooking. Homemade pizzas is a great one which gets them excited about eating their own creations. Also fun things like tacos and burritos that they can ‘build’ and devour.

I was in your same boat! I have 3 boys 7, 4 and 3.. I couldnt get them to eat to save my life! I tried everything from going to mcdonalds to get them something I knew they would eat, to when money was tight making them something else.. even tried to give them chips just to put something on their stomach.. Then enough was enough I hate to say it but mommy got mean!! I started telling them that was dinner and if they were done then I had better not hear im hungry at bed! well surprise surprise ever single time “im hungry im hungry” as soon as mommy said time for bed! my oldest figured out real quick that mom wasnt playing anymore when he went to bed with out mommy running to the kitchen to make him something.. I was staying at my moms and I had to stay firm so I had my mom sneak him a pb&j and pretended that I didnt know but only 3 nights of mommy saying “im sorry buddy but I told you i didnt want to hear it at bed time! it took the other two close to 3 months to take their brothers advice.. All three of them will now tell me at least 20 min before bed they are still hungry and they get the plate they walked away from.. I always put it straight into the fridge when they say im full mom ..

Then again they are old enough now to honestly be able to tell you if they do not like something.. which with my children I tell them its ok to if you dont like onions, just because you see Uncle Josh eat them does not mean you have to like them, but I also give them a vise versa like just because mom does not like olives does not mean you cant like them. . Always make them take “no thank you bites” which is a bite big enough to actually taste it, after the 4th meal with that particular dish they still say no thank you then i quit putting it on their plate..

if you can only get them to eat mac and cheese and baked beans then try to spice up their other meals… there are some great recipes out there to turn veggies into muffins and cakes maybe you should try to rearrange your menu

My mum used to tell us to either eat the food properly – and we must not leave our seats – or we leave the table and don’t eat. If we come back after dinner time and say we are hungry we were offered the exact same plate we had at dinnertime (so it was stone cold). Soon enough we figured out that either we eat the food while it’s nice and warm with the family or we eat it later (stone cold) when we are starving.

I think I am lucky as having 2 boys they love there food. If it did happen I would just put it in the fridge and tell them if you want to eat, it is in the fridge and you will heat it up when they are hungry. Do not let them eat anything else even the next day, that should be the only option first.

Im always saying this ….but its true…Best piece of advice Ive ever received was “start as you mean to go on”…..if its not something that you are going to be happy to do every night then DONT start. Sadly with this its too late and your daughters think meal time is a great game.
You either need to be harsh and if they dont eat dinner then thats their problem and they will just have to go hungry but they are not allowed to leave the table. They must sit there until dinner is done with or you can excuse them from the table in which case they must go and play quietly until everyone else is finished.

Im thinking that you need to make sure that you are not giving them their afternoon snack too late in the day and then serving dinner too early. Make sure they are hungry by dinner time.
Allow them to help prepare dinner. There are always things you can find for littleones to do.
Sometimes naming the foods after them helps….make a special soup and because child #1 helped name it after them.
Once a week you can have a picnic dinner where you have a blanket on the lounge room floor and have finger foods…but you only have the picnic if they have been good at easting dinner during the week

Judging by the answers here I feel really lucky that my kids eat nearly everything I give them. I do have a child that won’t eat chicken piece in any kind of orange sauce as I made him a terrible apricot chicken years and years ago so I let that one slide. My eldest doesn’t like salad very much but will eat it with cheese in it so we usually just expect her to eat most of it. Maybe you could find out the meals they do like and want to eat and go from there making slight alterations or slowly introducing other foods. Eliminating the other distractions is a great idea too. Good luck.

Welcome to the world of most parents, most nights mine will say I dont like that etc or fight with each other etc. I try to ignore request and complaints and just put it on the table where they have to stay until they eat it or until they dont want anymore. Then if they eat it they can have an icey pole and if they dont they dont have anything else until breakfast. If they do it night after night they dont get anything to eat after school.

I have done this with 9 Grandchildren as my kids always ate well, but if they start this sort of thing the t.v is off and if the take to long I tell them straight the choice is their’s eat or I shall find them like a baby and they will eat it all. I also make a variety of things as we all don’t like some things that others love. I don’t mind if I have to cook one of them one thing and the other something different and when it comes to veges I put 4 to 5 types on their plate and they must taste it before telling me they don’t like it. But they must eat 2 veges. I am happy if around half of there plate is eaten

Must be frustrating. What about making it fun I.e making good into faces, animals etc

I hear that.. My kids are very fidgity and won’t eat at meal times, however we found some things that help. First is eliminate mealtime distractions. No phone, no T.V. no music, no computer, etc. Make it an experience of comunication for the whole family. Second try to involve the kids in the prep work. If you can. Even just dumping an open can into a pot, or pushing the buttons on the appliances can really make the little one feel like they are helping, and then they will want to eat something they helped make. My last tip is to just make their portion more kid friendly. Like lay it on the plate in a fun way. Cause as they say, you eat with you eyes first.

Been in same situation, I have the back room set up with their table and chairs and tv, I put something on they want to watch most nights they don’t get up, they eat until they are full and the oldest 6 knows he’s not allowed to leave table until 2 year old is finished.

Been there…done that! I find it so much easier to prepare of platter of my kids favourite finger foods, such as carrot, celery, cucumber, tomato, rice crackers, grapes, bananas, apple, etc. If I know there are certain foods they like, such as home-made sausage rolls, chicken nuggets and mini-quiches, I will serve these up weekly as I know that being homemade they also are loaded with vegies and no nasties. I know the kids should be exposed to many different foods, but I honestly feel that if they won’t eat what I cook, at least they are eating a healthy meal. All the best. xxx

I’m very interested in this subject too. I only have a little baby at the moment but it will be great to get some tips before a problem starts! Good luck – I hope you find something that works! 🙂

Just like Aussiemum I’ve put my 3 year old to bed having eaten little for dinner. His appetite varies daily but I tell him if he doesn’t eat dinner, he can’t be hungry and won’t need to ask for more food later. I’m conscious of not forcing him to eat though, so he can learn to stop when he’s full but I have resigned myself to helping him eat if I know he hasn’t had much during the day. But usually I only feed him a couple mouthfuls and tell him I’ve shown him how to do it and now he can try, he’s done it before. If he keeps leaving the table too much I often say that he’s telling me he’s not hungry do I can give his food to the dog!

I just let the kids sit and eat at their own leisure, they eat when they are hungry

Dinner time should not be negotiable. I know its very difficult to get them to eat, but leaving the table should not be an option. Offer them the dinner you have cooked, hopefully they eat some, and then fruit for dessert. Good luck.

I had a girlfriend who was so sick of her children complaining and not eating dinner that she made herself dinner one night and ate it in front of them! I think they were a bit older though and at least could make themselves a sandwich or something. Have you tried not feeding them afternoon snacks and nothing after dinner if they don’t eat it? We sent out daughter to bed with an empty stomach twice – it was REALLY difficult, but she has eaten her dinner since. It’s liberating not to have to cook 2/3 dinners each night!