10.14.2009

The Starve Out

There comes a time in your child's life when you must use the starve out method.
What is the starve out method you ask? well read on readers...read on!

It started on Tuesday...the last straw. It was dinner time once again. I pulled out my Paula Deen Children's cookbook and made a yummy Parmesan cheese pasta dish and biscuits for my kids. I set it all on the table, a little proud of myself for pulling through this sickness long enough to make a wholesome meal for my children.
After announcing dinner my children came running to the table like bulldozers...only to announce, "That's yucky!" I completely tuned out their rude remarks attempting to get through the dinner prayer...i won't lie, i slipped in a little: "heavenly father, please let my children appreciate this food". Anywho they refused to eat. They kept singing "it's so yucky..yucky yucky yucky..it's sooo yucky". They sang how yucky their food was. Because i wanted them to eat something for dinner I made them something else for dinner, which they refused to eat.

So my mom called, and among other things pointed out to me, "I have never heard of a kid starving themselves to death. I have heard of someone starving a kid, but not the kid starving themself. cut out the snacks" So i'm smart enough to realize after 5 kids...my mom knows what she is talking about. She had a point there: my kids wouldn't starve to death if they missed a meal. So after doing one last call for dinner I dumped their plates. low and behold little ms. missy and her sidekick came whinnying to me about how hungry they are, and how starved they are. My daughter informed me, "mommy, i'm as hungry as a hippo" in which case I said, "No, your not. If you were hungry as a hippo would have eaten one of the two meals i made for you."

Basically i sat my kids down and gave them the business. I informed my children that the kitchen was closed and if they are hungry they can eat 2 servings of breakfast in the morning. I told them that i am no longer making a variety of options for them to eat. There will be no more meal 1 and backup meal 2. There will just be one meal..and it will be what everyone in the house is eating. If you don't like it, you can go to bed hungry. They didn't really care about what I was saying because after the glorified speech I gave they continued to whine about NEEDING dinner. My children went to bed hungry that night. It's not like they are 1 and I need to cater meals to them.

So today (Wednesday) when I finished making dinner and my children informed me that dinner looked "disgusting" I said, "that's fine, but that is your dinner. There are no other options tonight" So they skipped away from the table like two children who knew mom would break down and whip up their fav. PB&J. I stuck to my guns. I left their plates on the table. 6:30pm rolled around and they were talking about how "starved" they were, I reminded them their dinner was on the table, and i went on about my business. About 15 minutes later they were both at the table wolfing down carrorts, pasta and a side of meat(well one of my kid's ate the meat, the other is a vegetarian). I was a proud mama! I won! In your face! Who is the queen of the castle!!!? Me, Me ME! so anyway, I'm a little proud of myself..that's right, i went on ahead and put myself on a peddle stool.

13 comments:

  1. I saw her on Rachel Ray the other day, I want that book soooo bad!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good for you! You don't need to make more work for yourself by preparing more than one meal!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm with you girl! I'm tired of all the time taken to prepare two meals...and why should we?!?! Stick to your guns and in no time they'll be eating most everything you put in front of them. Marcus still sometimes picks out onions, mushrooms and the like, but eats the bulk of what you put in front of him. And we also use the rule of not getting any dessert unless he eats everything presented to him.

    Now...if only i could get the 18 month old to cooperate!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good for you Frenchell!!! I did this when my kids were little and they learned real fast to eat at meal time. You'll find that sticking to your guns works in other areas as well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You cracked me up. I used to have the biggest meal time problems! Son, now 32 wouldn't go near anything green but believe it or not was at a neighbors house eating chitterlings and another neighbors house eating Kimchi! Daughter was just a mealtime snob LOL. I like the way you handled it. It didn't work on me as a kid but it did work on mine LOL

    ReplyDelete
  6. I should try that on my husband =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. i think u've done a good job! and that's a good training to kids too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You were cooking two meals? Oh. No. My kids tried that not eating crap with me, but guess what? You don't want to eat your breakfast? Okay, you will see it again at LUNCH! Don't eat it at lunch and you will see it again at DINNER. After a day of this, all was good in the kingdom:)

    Hugs and Mocha,
    Stesha

    ReplyDelete
  9. Stesha...oh no girl, you sound just like my mom growing up. If we didn't eat dinner, she would wrap it up put it in the fridge and reintroduce it to us again for breakfast and lunch..there was no shaking that. We were not given the option to be picky eaters. You ate what she made or you just didn't eat.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good for you! As you said, they won't starve to death and we'd drive ourselves crazy (not to mention turn them into demanding brats) if we catered to their every whim. That cookbook sounds great, btw!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lol! That's right, down back down!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I do a version of this. I let her get down but, when she is hungry again, I whip out what I made for dinner. She is 2 so, I don't let her be hungry. She is learning though and I have had to take away snacks if they get in the way of meals.

    ReplyDelete
  13. WOW, I will tuck this away for when that time comes. Glad you won the battle!!

    Thanks for stopping by!! Cute blog!
    ~Mary

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails