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Debbieanne
22-07-2009, 07:16 PM
Hi everyone,
School holidays are here and i have a 10yr old coming from 8.30 till 5.30 five days a week. normally i pick her up from school and just give her tea, but starting next week (shes away this week)i'm going to have to feed her all day.
The problem is, she's shy, quiet and a very fussy eater.
When she first started coming, about 2 months ago, her mum told me she is a very fussy eater, so i asked c if she would make a list of all the food she likes.well it consists of pizza,crisps,sandwiches(cheese or ham)sausage rolls,sausages,grapes,strawberries,yoghurt and thats it.
So i'm worried, iv got over a month worth of meals to give her and i'm going to be extremely limited.
I'm wondering, shall i get firm and encourage her to eat different things.
I've already tried explaining how important a varied diet is, especially for girls. and explained about iron in vegetables that us girls need as we start periods...heavy stuff but true.
Mum will just say oh well she's just fussy.
I wanted to cook everyone some pancakes last, so checked with mum if c likes them and mum said she loves them.
I lovingly cooked light, thin pancakes with sugar and lemon. put them in front of her and all she did was push them around her plate and said they didnt look right :mad: . what do you do???
Any ideas, other wise she will look like a pizza by the end of the school holidays.
Oh by the way please dont say...make some faces or other objects with the food....she's 10 and past that.

Pipsqueak
22-07-2009, 07:42 PM
Ok won't say make faces - how about shapes;) :D

Joking aside you sound a bit stressed about this. If she is a faddy eater your options are:

get her involved in the meal planning, shopping for it, cooking it and serving it - get her to have a responsibility like have we balanced this for the little ones
some major compromise going on as well..... she eats some of the small portion of veggies and tomorrow lunchtime it pizza fingers you have made from scratch with baguettes, tomato puree and open toppings....
We have 'fun food Fridays' - where its our 'goodie' day and its stuff you do't have a lot of during the week.

lots of activities for all the children about balanced meals - healthy options and choices
lots of activities talking about why we need certain stuff

OR

get the parents to provide the meals

PixiePetal
22-07-2009, 07:58 PM
My own kids are fussy, DD in particular (15), DS is 12 and not quite so bad. Always been fussy. She knows when I buy a different brand of cheese for instance.:rolleyes:

Will only eat broccoli, carrots and peas for veg.

I try and compromise between favourite and not so liked food. Wednesdays are pizza and bun day - my day off so no battles either. Went out for lunch with DD today as school finished early for last day - pizza :rolleyes:

They have to try a little veg even if it is only 2 green beans, luckily they eat lots of different fruits, especially DS who likes mango, raspberries and cherries ( nothing cheap for his faves!)

If I make a casserole they have to eat some even if they don't like it - small portion - and as a compromise I will do pasta instead of potato which they don't like much either :rolleyes: with veg on side, fruit and yog to follow they may get a biscuit if they are lucky.

I would ask her to help work out some meals and add small portion of veg on the side. Or as Pipsqueak said, if that does not work, ask parent to provde meals.

sarah707
22-07-2009, 08:11 PM
Dd is as bad as that little girl sounds! She had tonsillitis until she was 5 and didn't get any tastes.

My advice, living with the problem every day, is to work with the positives and mix them around.

She will eat pizza so likes tomato and cheese... mix those with a trial of pasta and you'll be flying... sausages in pasta, sausages on pizza etc.

Use the cheese and ham sandwiches - make toasties with different combinations and try a taste of something new with established food but don't push it or you could turn her right off.

Good luck! :D

mushpea
25-07-2009, 11:44 AM
is there a reason behind her fussiness?? we have now found out that my son has sensory difficultys , he has been a very fussy eater since day one and he is now 8yrs old, for him to put somthing new to his lips is brilliant. it might be asking mum or even the girl if there is somthing that could be causing it.
if there is no reason for the fussiness then i would put a plate of food in front of her with the stuff she likes and somthing she wouldnt normaly eat but only a very small amount of the new stufff then tell her if she eats it all she gets dessert.
or the other option is not to stress but to just give her what she likes making sure the protien carbs and stuff like fruit/ veg are all on her plate, when she sees the other children getting different foods she may well want to try some anyway. sometimes its easier to let them eat what they like than it is to stres about it, some of the foods she likes sound healthy enough so prehaps dont worry about it

Debbieanne
25-07-2009, 06:42 PM
Thank you for all your ideas,
I like the idea of giving her something she normally wont eat, but a small portion.
And i will try and involve her with the menu. like i say she is a very quiet child
its hard to get a smile, let alone enthusiasm about food, but i will try.
:thumbsup:

Goatgirl
25-07-2009, 09:14 PM
Hi Debbie,
I have a fussy 7 yr old mindee and was given a list of things he liked at my initial meeting with his parents. Then I sent a 'things i like' questionaire home which came back with a few that weren't mentioned previously. An emergency text when i was struggling with a picninc outing revealed white grapes and a specific request to parents for 'healthy options' when I was having him all day for a week had a couple more. In short, I think its worth asking the parents for more info as there may be other things she'll eat which they think are 'obvious'. You can say ofsted require that you provide her '5 a day' or something along those lines, that might make them think a bit harder...
I wouldn't push the child at all, it might make things worse and cause her to become more suspicious.
I got my mindee to drink fruit juice instead of summer fruits squash eventually; he copied the others, and I take a bottle to the park with us for 'top up fuel' and make a game of putting his energy and successes down to the 'magic juice'. He doesn't believe a word of it but he laughs and comes back for more when he's struggling to jump high enough etc..
and if he wants his favourite: hot dog, I usually say yes, after you've eaten an apple/ some grapes/ tomato soup/ a yoghurt.
Its trickier when you have them all day, but I'd try to get her to eat the good stuff that you know she likes before the non nutritious stuff, and try not to worry about the repetitive nature of her diet. Ultimately if you're offering healthy food, the rest is up to the parents.

sorry to go on...:eek:
bws,
wendy :-)

Debbieanne
25-07-2009, 10:00 PM
Thanks Wendy,For your reply, i appreciate the help.
Love this site
xxxxxx

miffy
26-07-2009, 08:30 AM
I sympathise - I have a very fussy 10 year old who only comes in the holidays and I find it difficult sometimes to provide a good nutritious meal that he will eat!

I try and involve him in cooking/preparing the food (doesn't always work) so you could try making bread to use for sandwiches or hot dogs.

If all else fails then I'd ask the parents to provide at least one of the meals every day.

Good luck - I'll be thinking of you

Miffy xx

Daddy Day Care
26-07-2009, 09:49 AM
Im a very fussy eater.

Wont eat any foregin food (well I liek hamburgers I suppose there american)

Hate pasta, pizza, rice, indian chinneese....hates most sauces, only eat peas and carrots and other veg is a no no....wont eat seafood ewwwww

I only really eat stews, cottage pies, roast dinners, all with limited veg or crap like beef burgers, chicken burgers, chicken nuggets.

My wife on the other hand loves everything, never found a food she doesnt like, i do try and cook here curries, pasta dishes and chillies, but since I dont liek them and dont taste them during the cooknig dont think they turn out to good

Gareth
xx

Debbieanne
26-07-2009, 09:18 PM
Hi Gareth,
You sound like my husband :laughing:
He's fussy,never eaten a currie untill he met me, he's still not keen.
I'm exactly like your wife, eat anything:blush: bit of an oink.

This young girl is a tough one, she's quiet, shy and dosn't smile. i have her sister too, she's only just turned 2 and totally different to her sister, little one eats anything.
Well i think i will start the day with a trip to the supermarket, and try to get her involved with the choosing:thumbsup:
Great to have male input,thanks.

Goatgirl
29-07-2009, 08:17 PM
Hope its going well Debbie: thought of you as I was dishing up spaghetti and meatballs today, lol.
If you come up with any miracles, do share!
:)

Debbieanne
29-07-2009, 09:29 PM
Hi flora, thanks for your thoughts.
Well, mindee was on holiday last week with a school friend, which i knew about. this week she has wanted to stay with her friends family, so i havent had her and not sure when i will be having her.
I was going to put it to the forum, do i still charge or not as mum and contract say school holidays and inset days etc. her 2 yr old sister comes 5 days a week all day and c comes after school. but not sure whats going to happen with her this summer hols:rolleyes:
Awful weather, it rained all day today. we made yellow playdough and colourful umbrellas, the children loved them, holding them up as they left bless.
One of my mindees dosnt like jam...but today he ate jam sandwiches for tea, dont know who was more chuffed me or mum.:clapping: