I'm Going Insane, Please Help

Thanks y'all for your comments! I greatly appreciate it and feel less alone in the meal-time battle!!! Our mistake is probably that we are reacting and they know it frustrates us! So we shall press on! I thought 3's were fun, but so far I think they are harder than 2's...and Bailey's coming up right behind her! Lord help us.


Ok, calling all my mom friends- I want to know what you do for picky eaters. Am I the only one with picky eaters? I would love to know how you handle this meal-time madness and what tips/tricks helped.

First of all, I'll tell you that whatever I make for dinner is what is for dinner. Everyone is served the same thing. I don't give sugary snacks (usually fruit, cheese, crackers, etc) and they don't drink all day long. I've gone to cutting out snacks all together and this still did not get my girls to eat. Bailey will eat better than Cerys, but now I think it's just a power struggle with Cerys. They eat breakfast and lunch fairly well, but dinner is just becoming ridiculous. We've tried the "eat 3 bites" thing and Cerys has been known to sit with one nasty, chewed up mouthful of food at the table for an hour! She is stubborn. So the "eat 3 bites" won't work, since she keeps the first bite in her mouth for so long. We've tried Dobson's method- what you don't eat will be served at the next meal -breakfast, then again at lunch if it's not eaten. This has worked a few times, but only after coaxing her to swallow the food. I'm tired of this battle. We are tired of this battle. Tonight did not go well. I was already out of patience with them and then after making yummy chicken, homemade mashed potatoes and black eyed peas, Cerys would not even touch it! Bailey ate her mashed potatoes, but nothing much else.

I know this should not be a battle, every parenting book says that, but I just worry that since Cerys is so skinny to begin with that she is not getting enough! I feel like she barely eats anything. I've tried acting like I don't care if she eats or not, but it does not seem to work. Nothing seems to work.

So, any advice you have would be great! Hurry, before I lost my mind!!!!

I need to go have some coffee now.

Posterous theme by Cory Watilo