At what age do you stop providing alternate meals and say "You eat what we eat." - Page 3

[EdnaMarie]

I never make my kids eat anything. They always have the option of bread, the fruit dessert, and a condiment. Always. They are quite little.

I do sometimes serve food I don't want. Like leftovers. And if I don't end up eating a lot, oh, well. I'm all the hungrier at the next meal. Sometimes I want a banana but I eat a powdery old apple because the kids want the banana. Sometimes I'd like fajitas but I settle for black bean burritos because we are saving the roast. Sometimes I don't really feel like fish but I make it because that's the only protein we have that can be prepared before bedtime.

If I were not willing to compromise on food, ever, we'd end up spending a LOT on food.

[mamadelbosque]

I never have and I never will. DS1 and DS2 have both eaten w/ us from day one. I delayed solids with both (7.5months w/ ds1, 8ish w/ ds2), and from day 1 they ate off our foods. DS1 is 3.5 and fairly picky, but I do *not* make him special meals. He eats what we do, or he doesn't eat. His choice. Often that means he's only eating the noodles/rice & meat but thats fine. Other days he subsists off of nothing but cheese and fruit. I simply refuse to make multiple meals. I cook for me & DH. If you'd like to eat it too, wonderful. If not, there will be another meal in a few more hours at which you'r welcome to eat as well.

[Norasmomma]

I never have. My kids eat what we eat. Both of my kids like to eat and I firmly believe for my family it is necessary to not make some special meal for them.

[MrsBone]

DS is 22 months and eats what we eat(aside from a dairy allergy, so he get's a dairy free version) He doesn't always eat it, but those are his only options. If he eats a little bit of dinner, he can have a banana or a spoonful of peanut butter before bed, otherwise I try and offer his dinner again. he's a pretty good eater though, so I haven't had much struggle yet. The only thing I hate is that he wants ketchup on EVERYTHING. I guess there are worse things. I get natural ketchup with no HFCS, so i don't feel to bad about him eating it all the time. Oh, and I also don't make him clear his plate. I don't think at 22 months, that's an issue to force. I don't think it's a healthy way to feed kids in general though. At your kids age, 19 months, I would really try and stick to feeding him what you are preparing and not making special meals. You will regret it later!

[chel]

i fix separate meals.

dd and i are vegetarians, dh not. i like lots of ethnic foods dh and dd don't.
dh often comes home at 8pm. dd and i eat an afternoon/after school snack together (usually same) but family dinners don't often work out. we do great for breakfast! but even then, it's more that i make a large variety of breakfast food (meat something, fake meat something, eggs, pancakes, fruits, etc)

[gagin37]

I give ds choices of things he likes and let him decide on breakfast and lunch, as well as a variety of snacks, but at dinner he gets what we have. Like so many others have said, I try to take his tastes into account when planning sides, just like I do for dh and myself. He gets a little bitty portion of each thing, and can eat whatever he likes. Sometimes if I notices he's eating all carbs, I'll suggest he try his other foods too, but I never make ultimatums about it. He's finally coming out of some of his pickiness and is eating a wider variety of fruits and veggies. He still seems to have a deep seated hatred of green things, but I just keep offering. He also still nurses several times a day, so if he really just doesn't want what we have at dinner, I know he'll fill up on breast milk before bed. He's 26m btw.

[~Amy~]

I don't cook anything extra (ie. DS isn't getting mac & cheese when everyone else is eating chicken & veggies), but I don't mind scooping out some yogurt or spreading PB on a piece of bread if he's not into what's for supper. When he's a bit older, he can choose to do that himself if he wants. I'm not interested in fighting with my 2 year old over food.

[3xMama]

DD eats what we eat. I'm not big on making exceptions. If she doesn't like something, that's fine, but that's whats for dinner. If I know that I'm making something she's not going to go for-ie chicken-I try to make it in a way that appeals to her. Or I offer ketchup on the side. I do have to tell her how many bites of something she needs to eat but that has more to do with her energy level and behavior.

DS is only 11 months old so there are some exceptions. Today, I made a wilted spinach salad. Since he can't chew mostly raw spinach, I made some corn for him to eat. Otherwise, he pretty much eats along with the rest of us. And that's what will continue as far as I can tell.

[Girlo]

We basically did the same thing with both DS and DD. They ate baby food until around a year old....and had table food in varying amounts as they were able to handle the chunkier/thicker textures.
Around 11 months-ish, their meals became smaller versions of what we were eating with some minor variations. If DH and I were having steak or pork chops (or similar), our younger child would have a Gardenburger (or similar) for their protein.....and then all of our sides. Once their molars started coming in, we were going to full-on table food and no alternatives.
I don't remember when we started the hard-core "you eat what you're served" mantra with DS, but it was early (before 18 mos). With DD, we started it about a month ago (at 15 months)...mostly because I think she really can "get it" now. She understands everything we say to her, so I think she can start understanding this rule. It's hard on her when she sees DS eating ice cream (because he finished his dinner) and she can't have any (because she ate one bite of her own dinner and gave the rest to the dog). She's doing just fine physically (and has the pot belly to prove it!) and we don't worry about her missing a meal because she refuses to eat what's in front of her. I will NOT give her nuggets/mac&cheese/yogurt/anything else because she chooses not to eat what the rest of us are eating. Period. That's a hard & fast rule in our house. One night, she'll eat more than her brother.....other nights, she'll eat a single pea and call it good. It all evens out in the end.

The affirming result is that my DS (who will be 7 on Saturday) will at least taste anything. He doesn't care for tomatoes, but will eat them if they're served to him. We're hoping that DD will have the fantastic eating habits that her brother does later.