Mansfield moms share their tips and tricks for getting kids beyond Fruit Loops and chicken nuggets.
Hey, Moms, can we talk? We all have opinions about what’s best for our kids (and for those toddlers screaming at the restaurant table next to us). Mom Talk is a weekly forum to exchange advice and ideas about topics related to raising our children. If you would like to be a part of the Mom’s Council and share your wisdom with other Mansfield parents, please contact me. We’d love for you to join in the discussion.
This week’s Mom’s Council Members are: Tia Willour, a single mom to two sons, ages 5 and 7; Beth Russel, mom to a 4-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy; and Korina Moss, mom to a 6-year-old son.
Tia: My children started being picky eaters around three years old. I was a bit lax however and bent quite a bit, letting them choose their menus. It took me quite a while to toughen up and I feel I spent too many hours making several dinners and exhausting myself. Now I have learned - one meal made or go hungry. I do wish I started sooner so they were more used to it and I didn't have such a fight when I started.
Korina: Same issue here. When my son was very young, he’d eat almost anything but then he started getting picky and I gave into that. Same as Tia, I am now firmer, which does lead to some dinnertime arguments.
Tia: Arguing in my house is a daily battle. But it’s less arguing than WHINING.
Korina: We still have battles, but now when I know he's going to be eating something new, I make sure I put something he does like on there. If he just eats a little of it, I'm ok with that. We call it the Taste Test.
Beth: I try not to make too big a deal about eating everything, because a lot of times I think it's because they're not very hungry. The later we eat, the more success I have! They do have to eat all their salad. This is the only vegetable I make because I hide a lot of things in there! But anything else is just a taste, especially if it's something new.
Tia: I rarely serve a meal without one item they like. I pick my battles. I don't complain about how much ketchup or butter is used. And I let them choose dinner once a week.
Korina: As long as he doesn't gag on something, I'll try to serve it several times within the next couple of weeks so he'll get used to it and it’s not the “new” food anymore. This has actually worked with sweet potatoes and squash.
Tia: My motivator is dessert. They don't get a lot, maybe ten M&M's or a small ice cream sandwich, but it works. No dinner eaten = no dessert.
Beth: Dessert is also the major motivator over here, but that consists of a small piece of candy. There is no dessert if salad is left.
Tia: I never back down on my rule about dessert.
Korina: My son has gotten a taste for sweet cereals, so now I mix the sweet ones in with the low sugar ones - like Apple Cinnamon Cheerios with regular Cheerioes, Frosted Mini Wheats with Multi Bran Mini Wheats, etc. He's still getting the sweet flavor but without as much sugar.
Tia: Before I had my second child I used to care about organic vs. non-organic. That was before I was a single mother too. I have come to accept that my children are not going to die if they eat food that everyone else eats.
Beth: I buy organic if it's relatively affordable/easily accessible.
Korina: The closest Whole Foods store is West Hartford so it's not very feasible to go all organic. Plus I think it would be too expensive for us. The things my son eats on a daily basis I do buy organic or local, like apples, baby carrots, and milk.
Beth: We get our dairy delivered from Mountain Dairy, which is the farm right here in Storrs.
Korina: I get my milk from them as well. I like Farmer's Cow eggs from Connecticut farms because you can really taste the difference. And I feel good supporting our local farms.
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