Fussy eating grand daughters

I just remember at Christmas the fuss there was about DGD1 not eating . He DM went mad showing her different things and she wanted none of them . Fast forward to this year she is now 9 and I coud not believe the amount of food she ate . It will pass believe me .

Don't get over anxious anxious gran Most of us been there!
I am still there!! got lots of GC and get the same! Don't like this, don't like that. Even when am told they eat it at home!

So what I do is put it out, tell them to eat what they want and leave what they don't want. This they do!

Often after half an hour they will say "I'm hungry" so I offer them the plate they have left? They don't want it...what they want is crisps, chocs, biscuits, ice cream etc... I ignore!

I don't worry about them being hungry because I know they will go home and EAT! or IF they are REALLY hungry they will eat their meal! Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't!

I never worry or get upset about it!

Thanks for your replies. Won’t take refusal of food to heart in future.

The more fuss you make, the more fussy they will become. Do what I used to do. Tell them, 'this is what is for dinner'. Put it in front of them. If they don't eat it, remove it without comment.
It used to be ...no main dish, no pudding. The more you pander to them, the worse things will get.

GreenGran78 I think they looked nervous because we were English - it was a very damask tablecloth type of restaurant - once I spoke to them in French and they saw DGD tuck in the atmosphere lifted considerably and then we were shown photos of their grandchildren etc etc. I was thrilled and a little proud.

DD (now nearly 55) remembers my mantra of “there’s an apple in the fruit bowl” whenever she said she didn’t like/didn’t want something. It worked even better on her daughter who has never really liked fruit!

Can’t believe the lengths some parents and grandparents will go to over behaviour which will usually pass, especially when there is competition. DH had a tiny appetite except when with his always hungry cousins until adolescence hit, after which he never looked back.

I've found the easiest thing to serve fussy eaters is to let them make their own pizzas. Just provide pizza bases and a variety of toppings that they can choose. This also works when there are people who are vegans, nut free, lactose free, gluten free (provide gluten free bases, lactose-free cheese etc). My daughter has done this for children's parties where there have been many allergies, and it has been a great success.

Goodness. It seems every day eating has become a bit complicated. I ate everything mum gave me as a child. I have a very small esophogus as confirmed by a Consultant ENT. My son has possibly inherited this. At age 9 months we took him to meet his paternal grand parents abroad who forced him to eat pita bread, causing him to choke (mildly). I felt the need to intervene. And did so. I ran a business from home in Luton and tried a local recommended nursery when he was around two years old. The principal used to give me a plate of roast dinner when I picked him up. Apparently he refused to eat it and she took it personally. She insisted I let him starve until he "gave in"! I gave him chicken nuggets and employed some au pairs. One was only 16 but she had college training and he loved her. An update means I can tell you all we bonded over our weekly trip to Macdonalds on Saturday. We moved to Spain where apart from him becoming fluent in Spanish, he was trained as a chef. We are now back in the UK. He has qualifications as a personal trainer, nutritionist, all of which he has cast aside for a career in TV like his mum. What's apps between us include a boring spag Bol, cottage pie, black garlic and weirdo mushrooms. He was very fussy brought on by people outside his mum and dad. We knew he wouldn't starve and just ignored any funny turns.

All 6 of my grandchildren are fussy eaters. I do nice meals they don't eat them. Think they just get brought up differently these days with what they eat, usually things like chips and chicken nuggets. I don't make a big deal out of it anymore. Otherwise it becomes a big issue.