This is a sponsored post from Chef Boyardee and BlogHer.
Once our little guy started eating table foods, one of the things that concerned me the most was whether or not he was going to be a picky eater. Since I was raised in a you-eat-what-you’re-served household, I was bound and determined to do the same. But what if he balked? What if he wouldn’t eat his vegetables? What if I turned into a short-order cook?
Needless to say, these prospects did not fill me with joy.
But as it turned out, I need not have worried. Sure, we had a rough go of it a time or two when grown-up food textures were just too much for his two- or three-year old palate. For the most part, though, we’ve fared remarkably well with very, very few food-related battles. I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers (after all, there’s only one child in this house, and he’s of a super good-natured variety), but there are two things in particular that worked for us: 1) Try every single food on your plate (every single meal) and 2) You eat what’s prepared for you. As much as I love to cook for my family, I’d drive myself crazy trying to take requests from a seven year-old every single night (not to mention that our weekly menu would consist of little more than chicken tenders, pizza and cheeseburgers).
As a result of our two really simple mealtime rules, we have a child who will eat almost anything for supper. I think the key is to start early with the expectation of eating well-rounded, healthy meals and to be consistent with that expectation. We definitely have ongoing challenges in terms of our parenting, but thankfully mealtime isn’t one of them. This mama is very grateful for that.
But whether your kids eat well or not, it seems like every phase of a child’s life requires putting together a whole new parenting puzzle. Right now, for example, our little guy is doing a great job getting his homework done in the afternoons, but keeping his room clean is another thing entirely. We’ve finally reached a point where he keeps it tidy enough to keep the peace, but I can’t seem to figure out how to help him be organized. Maybe it’s one of those qualities that you either have or you don’t (and truth be told, I struggle with the organization, too), but I know his life will be so much easier down the road if we can cultivate some good habits now. I just can’t seem to figure out how to get those good habits off the ground.
I’m learning to take my victories where I can find them. Today, for example, has been a pretty good day as far as his room is concerned.
I can live with a few pillows in the floor and a bed that hasn’t been made up yet. I just don’t fare so well when the floor looks like a lake of books and action figures.
So what about you? Care to share your parenting secrets? If you’d like to be entered to win a $200 Visa gift card courtesy of BlogHer, tell us one of your best parenting tips in the comments. How do you teach your kids to be organized? How do you manage homework? How do you get them to eat well? How do you handle bedtime? Chime in on one or all of these topics – I can’t wait to read your suggestions!
Be sure to check out the BlogHer.com exclusive offers page – you’ll find other bloggers there with even more chances to win.
For great tips from moms just like us, sharing experiences, ideas and advice on how to get kids to eat better, visit Club Mum. Club Mum is the perfect resource for moms to learn helpful hints on a variety of topics, which can be applied to their own family. Club Mum is also on Facebook with daily tips, recipes, articles, questions and a terrific and active community!
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I am all about picking my battles. Matching clothes? Not that important to me. A clean room? Very important. As for food, I don’t let them have unhealthy things at home very often, but do let them have it (like juice, fruit snacks, cookies) when they are at a party or restaurant. I think making some foods 100% off limits sets them up to go overboard when I”m not around.
I wish I had the success you do with food, but I have two very picky eaters on my hands. My daughter will sit at the table until time to go to bed rather than put one bite of a vegetable in her mouth – ughhhh! The best parenting tip I have is to teach them to drink water at a young age. Of course, mine drank plenty of milk, but NEVER in the car! They know that they may only have water in the car and they’ve found that they actually like water and request it other times as well :)
I pack all the kids lunches the night before – and I never refuse my inlaws when they offer to help.
My kids aren’t very picky eaters…thank heavens! But one thing we’ve done since they started eating table food is make them try at least a bite of everything. My daughter wrinkled her nose at spinach and artichoke dip b/c she was just sure she’d hate it…now it’s one of her most favorite things!
my children would always eat when the food was interactive…baby carrots with ranch dip, tacos that they put together, meatloaf that they could chose a topping for. it seemed to let them feel in charge of their own meal.
ignore temper outbursts
Parenting tip – to get kids to eat healthy, mis in veggies into your pasta sauce!
be consistent with discipline. Kids need consistency
My kids always went to bed at 8:30, because they didn’t know there was an alternative. This was something I would never negotiate, and they didn’t waste energy whining to stay up later. When no means no, kids understand that boundary.
Thanks for a great giveaway!
make sure that the consequece immediately follows the behavior, otherwise it is ineffective
It’s okay if your kids don’t always like you, they’ll thank you for your parenting later on in life. I know I did.
Practice what you preach
My parenting tip is is to keep a schedule. Kids need routine, and they need to know what they can expect. It takes away uncertainty and insecurity.
Hmmm….i used to make them pay me a quarter if I had to empty a pants pocket or turn a pair of grimy socks right side out for the laundry. That worked out well. They were required to drink milk with meals and could have juice or koolaid with snacks. I think that contributes well to the fact that they are 29 and 24 and have never had a broken bone or cavity. There was never much bargaining about eating – you had to eat right to be healthy, be glad you have food, eat and be done with it. I learned just to not cook the gross stuff, like brussel sprouts or things nobody liked. Just cook the stuff everybody likes, and make sure it’s not just pizza and macaroni every night.
Tweeted you!http://twitter.com/Ida_Sessions/status/17028123644133377
I can’t hear a whiny voice. Simply cannot hear it, will not be provoked by it, or respond to it. If it escalates to a fit, that fit will be taken to his room without the benefit of my attention. It takes a lot of consistency to make this work, but it does work!
Choose your battles. From food, to hairstyles, to clothing choices, just remember–this too will pass!!!
The book “Delicious Deception” has some great recipes in it for “hiding” vegetables!
I sat here pondering for a short while because I really wanted something profound to add. All girls 20, almost 18 and 4 and you’d think I’d have SOMETHING profound to say.
This is simplistic but I believe oh so profound. Be consistent. In our discipline, our eating, our priorities. We really need to get this. I’m still a major work in progress but if I learned by error only, I’ve learned that our children need us to be consistent.
Bribery tends to work wonders.
it’s okay to get them out of bed when they won’t stop screaming…and give them chocolate. But what do I know I’m just the auntie. ;)
Like several others, I am in need of hearing tips! I feel fresh OUT of them myself. I have 5 children but 3 are grown and out of the house now. I have a 13 and 17 yr old still at home. Times have sure changed since the firstborn! I really really miss the pre-technology days. : ( I wish people would relate more with people and less with electronic gadgets of every sort.
SIGH.
Humor. If you can’t laugh through this you are lost. I am fortunate to see things through a different perspective. My oldest was ten when my other daughter was born. Then SHE was 11 when my granddaughter was born so I have gone through hell and back with my oldest to find that at the other end is a closeness I only dreamed of. And I realize as I go through it with my younger daughter that it will pass. I am lucky to be at different stages with each girl…close to my oldest, DEALING with my youngest and reveling in my granddaughter. But through all the stages there is love and laughter. It means a lot to my teenager that sometimes I will stop and laugh at MYSELF and the ridiculous things that come out of my mouth when fighting with her. More often than not we both laugh and apologize to each other.
http://twitter.com/miriama59/status/17099343425175552
I get my kids involved in the cooking/preping process so they’re familiar with and have fun with the food before meal time. Now, my 3 yr old son gets excited whenever he sees sweet peas in the fridge! He loves to pick out the stems for me! :)
I puree veggies and put them in my gravies and sauces. Out of sight…. No fights:-)
Grow your own vegetables. My oldest helps plant, pick and cook. Squash is her favorite food.
I don’t give my children any breakfast choices during the school year. Right before school starts, we make a ‘breakfast menu’ and decide what to have every Monday (oatmeal), Tuesday (cereal), etc. Then I’m not a short order cook every morning and they know what to expect for breakfast each day.
My big secret is not to stress too much, because before you know it they will be gone and you’ll wish you had these issues again. But for eating I just make sure there is very little junk food in the house, so they have no choice but to eat healthy.
Patience, lots of patience. Being a mom is not always easy.
I have them help with the prep as much as I can. It’s much easier to get them to eat something they’ve made.
I try to use turkey meat instead of hamburger whenever possible. If you spice it right, it makes a great turkey burger and they’re non the wiser!
No secrets here! I figure every family figures out what works best for them. :)
Awesome blog and thanks for the giveaway!
Would love, love, LOVE to win this!
Happy holidays!
=]
With a teenager in the house, I try and practice in picking my battles. It’s taken years of my own mom encouraging me to do this with my child and she’s right – it does make a big difference, especially now that she’s maturing and spreading her wings a little bit.
Knowing that little taste buds are different from ours is a big step!
We’ve always been a big reading family. Our trips to the bookstore are as much fun, if not more, than to the toy store. We make funny voices and point out interesting illustrations to make the story even more interesting.
I just continue to offer healthy foods and ask that the kids at least taste each food on their plate. Eventually it seems that they like a larger variety of foods. As far as bedtime goes, I think a bedtime routine every night helps.
The kids have planners on the fridge…it lists things they have to get done and they get to check it off when they’ve done it. They like seeing what they’ve accomplished.
Dinner time at my house is always fun – my kids have to try at least one bite of a new food before they can say they don’t like it! This hopefully gets them accustomed to trying new things.
you can add veggies to any/everything if you chop it fine enough
My kid’s favorite recipe is Chicken Broccoli Cheese Bake! I get them to help make the meal, then they’re much more invested in eating healthy!
Bedtime is easier if there is an hour before that is “quiet time”. During that hour there’s a warm bath, glass of milk and books or music, no TV, no video games.
dchrisg3 @ gmail . com
Tweeted
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dchrisg3 @ gmail . com
Bedtime always followed baths and was accompanied by being read too. I never had any resistance by any of the children to this program.
Baths, bed, and being read a book seem to have been the correct approach for my children as there were no complaints.
My best parenting tip is to be very careful about using rewards to get the kids to do the things you want them to do, such as eating veggies, going to bed on time, finishing their homework, reading, etc. I always accompany any reward with a discussion of *why* the activity itself should be rewarding (e.g., that going to bed on time will make them feel healthy and strong the next day) to avoid the trap of them starting to think they’re only behaving well to get that reward!
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/guettel78/status/17576012711727104
I taught my 7 year old how to clean his room. I know it sounds weird, but as parents, we “tell” our kids to clean up, or put your toys away, or clean your room, but I never stopped to think “maybe they don’t know how”. Hence, the half assed attemps. So, I showed him how to do it (at least how to do it to MY standards of clean) and after two or three times of showing him, he does it on his own now.
Oh, he doesnt KEEP it clean. It’s a total mess, but if I tell him to go clean his room, he can clean it up spic and span easily.
Being a single parent for 11 years now I have to say that getting on my knees everyday and asking for guidance is the best parenting tip I can give. My 23 year old gave me a huge compliment the other day. He thanked me for “not teaching him WHAT to think…but, rather, teaching him HOW to think”. The best that we can do, as parents, is prepare them for the world that they must eventually enter and live in.
My daughter is very picky but at the age of 6 she understand that even though she dosent like it, she has to eat it because its good for her. sometimes she protests but mostly just eats what is on her plate. I have always made her try everything even if she said just by looking at it she didn’t like it. She is a good kid (most the time)
-misty
mommy2skie@yahoo.com
Routine is key. My 10 month old is asleep by 8pm SHARP after a bath, some play time, some storytime, a bottle if needs it and then lights out and place him in the crib and he’s out. I don’t do the night light thing. If he awakens and it’s dark, it signals his body that it’s still sleepy time.. not playtime.
The answer to all of your questions is “Be the parent, not the friend.” If you set the boundaries and requirements from the time they’re very young, they expect nothing less. If they argue, stand firm. “No” is a very easy word to say.
Luckily my kids aren’t too picky with their food. If they don’t want it I make them try one bite & then decide if they like it or not. Lots of times once they’ve had the first bite.. they love it.
Teaching kids to be organized starts very young. Even before they walk, carry them and the toy they were playing with into their room as you put the toy away and talk to them about what you’re doing. As soon as they can toddle, have them carry the toy in and tuck it into its place when they’re done playing. The trick is consistency, always have them do it to get into the habit of picking up after themselves.
oinkmoobaa (@) yahoo (.) com
I get my children to eat healthy by having them help me with the cooking. If they help to make it I find they are more willing to eat it.
My kids and I will sit down each Sunday and make a schedule for the upcoming week. We write down what needs to be accomplished and who is going it. It really helps them to be accountable for chores and errands. It also helps me keep very organized to reduce my stress.
When I was younger we would come home from school and do homework and chores right away. that way we had the whole night until bed to do other things and play with friends!
tishajean@ charter.net
Tweeted too
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tishajean@ charter.net
I let my kids pick a “healthy food” to try each week. Last time my 3 year old pick Mangoes. It’s made them more adventurous about eating and we have found some new favorites.
Our family eats healthy but we have one “treat night” per week, almost always on Fridays. We rotate who gets to choose the treat each week–Mommy picks something this week, next week it’s my son’s turn, then my husband’s, and so on. That way my son learns it’s important to take turns, and it’s a nice little reward after we eat healthy food the rest of the week.
For my meal saving strategy for picky eaters, we don’t have any junk food in the house. I always have fresh fruits and veggies cut up for quick easy snacks with a yogurt dip, which they seem to love. When there isn’t sugar or salty snacks around, they will eat the healthy stuff.
When my kids were younger, I worried a lot about getting them to eat a good breakfast. Finally figured out that letting them choose what they wanted was the way to go. That meant anything from last night’s leftovers to cold pizza (yuch!) to green eggs and ham or pink pancakes. mcgillrmcgill(at)charter(dot)net
let you kids have a voice and an opinion, let them know you are listening to them. when they say they don’t want to do something instead of starting a standoff with a demand that they do it ask them why they don’t want to, then have a conversation about the why and why not , believe me opening the conversation door when they are young will make it easier to talk to each other when they reach their teens
We get everyone to eat well by not providing junk food in the home from the start. Good and wholesome only! Thank you for the lovely giveaway.
sewmuchstuff at ymail dot com
Tweet:
http://twitter.com/SewMuchStuff/status/17774665053241344
sewmuchstuff at ymail dot com
I try to get them organized the night before so we don’t spend time hunting things in the morning
tweeted Latest: https://www.boomama.net/chef-boyardee-healthy-eating/ giveaway less than 5 seconds ago
All foods cooked for the kids have to be tasted – three bites makes a taste. If they still don’t like it, then they may eat something else on the plate but food will not be cooked especially for them.
I communicate with my triplets… I talk with them as if they were adults and there are many things that I tell them that just is. No, it’s not to be debated, this is why and I do explain…I am very open minded and reasonable. I don’t have any problems out off the trio.
evrywoman@yahoo.com
I put my girls to bed by laying wtih them until they fall asleep. My oldest is too old for this now but I still do it with my youngest. I figure they are only little once and it goes by too fast as it is. I’m going to give them that little extra comfort that they need to get to sleep. I also love the extra cuddles and I’m going to really miss them when they get older. Thanks for the giveaway!
We wanted the kids to know that they could always tell us the truth, so we started “dead man’s talk.” They could come to us at any time and “confess” anything that they needed to tell us, with out punishment. Not sure if this would work for everyone, but our kids used the power judiciously.
I love to try new things–I celebrate it when we go out to eat we each order what we want but then we try and order one dish that we’ve never tried before and we all share it I’ve instilled this joy into my children-and they are fearless! I also got them helping me in the kitchen as soon as they could stand–children are much more likely to want to taste something that they helped make.
kakihararocks@gmail.com
homework: we have a schedule, after school, its time for homework. no play til its done and if that means, no play that day, to bad there is the weekend for lots of play.
Encourage good eating by exposing them to a wide variety of foods early on. Keep the interest going by cooking together!
tweet http://twitter.com/#!/LuckyJinxy/status/17827622012583936
My best parenting advice, patience, patience, patience! I always have to remember that I was that age once and it’s just fun!
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/Auriette/status/17837186980253696
One of my best parenting tips to to not sweat the small stuff and try to find laughter in daily life. If you laugh together life will be fun and you will enjoy each other!
tweet-http://twitter.com/jillyrh/status/17843291840053248
Thanks
For bedtime, we simply set an alarm clock to go off and they know it is time to start getting ready for bed. We still have a few ups and down, but for the most part, they start getting ready all on their own!
hazel
uniquecritiques@gmail.com
No kids. But my organizing tip is to do as much as possible the night before to get a jump start on your day.
Thanks for the contest.
blogged: http://slehan.blogspot.com/2010/12/win-200-visa-gift-card-club-mum-and.html
Always know who your children’s friends are and where they are going or are at and let them know you are the Boss and they are to obey you.(Parents know Best, just like Father knows best). Be firm but kind in delivering this message to them in their life
emmaspeel(at)gmail.com
I think the best way to get kids to do what you want is to make things easy..if you want them to be organized you need to show them exactly what you want them to do and if you can provide some fun containers this will help! As for picky eaters, I think the best thing is just to make food fun and choose very ‘plain’ things like chicken and rice, kids seem to prefer that :D
I have my kids set aside one hour any time before bed their choosing when they want to do homework
My best parenting tip is to let each kid BE WHO THEY ARE and realize they are all different. Teach them your morals and values and then let them explore the world and have the freedom to try new things.
http://twitter.com/dddiva/status/17903000030806017
My mom always made us do our homework as soon as we got home from school. She would sit down with us at the table just in case we had any questions. I think this was very good and something I plan on doing.
I involve my little man in every decision that way he doesnt feel like he’s being dictated to
jdmimi at gmail dot com
Little kids love books and having stories read to them, so when they are little (and we have a barely three-year old in the house who does it too) we have them pick out a book or two, and they know that’s their cue to start getting ready for bed. They love the book time so much (and choosing the book they want read) that the actual idea that they’re going to bed gets lost in the activity. It sets a good habit and my tween still even likes her story time, though she does much of the reading these days and usually it’s from chapter books. If you’re consistent it’s an easy way to have a stress-free bed time.
my son loves bedtime..hes 8 and when its time he gets ready..no repeating..he just does it. hes a joy in everything i got real lucky!
If you turn everything into a battle, then kids don’t listen to anything you say.
None of my kids like vegetables.. yet all are thin, active and healthy. I have friends who are fat and vegetarians so I don’t push vegetables on my kids.
We don’t have much junk food in the house and always have fruit.
Let your kids help with the meal preparation, then they will be more inclined to eat something that they made. Even a small child can help by getting items out of the refrigerator, rinsing off veggies, handing you some utensils. Older children can do more, such as peeling vegetables, and even chopping them if they are old enough.
Homework is easy — TV doesn’t come on until EVERYONE’s homework is done..it warms my heart to see the helping that goes on.
I let my son choose one of the two veggies for dinner. Kellyeandjosh@aol.com
Routine is key for me, but flexibility and spontaneity are also needed.
cjwallace43 at gmail dot com
http://twitter.com/cjwallace43/status/17962767529021440
cjwallace43 at gmail dot com
I have learned to stop saying no so much but instead offer other alternatives to what they originally wanted.If they ask for candy I may offer a piece of fresh fruit or cereal bar instead.Thanks!
lstanziani(at)yahoo(dot)com
If I think something is going to be a problem, I discuss it with my child ahead of time. Then they have a chance to get used to a unpopular situation
bepoia(at)hotmail(dot)com