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Comments:
Halo Askew - 2007-03-05 08:36:28
Oh man, this was a funny entry. For a second I thought you were going to say that Andrew shoplifted a mixer and I had to wonder how he managed that one under your ever-so-watchful eye (ha!) But now that he's figured out how to lift Tic-Tacs, I'm sure it's only a matter of time.
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Larry - 2007-03-05 08:44:19
Bob!
Don't force feed your kid! They've done studies on kids' eating habits, and found that when you let them eat what they want, they tend to end up eating a fairly balanced diet, although each meal tends to be a little strange. I can't believe you found a "therapist" who force feeds!
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Lori - 2007-03-05 09:29:59
A "force feeding" therapist? I bet she practices at home on geese and loves pate. Watch out when she brings the funnel to a session - you better grab Andrew and RUN!!
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Chris - The Original Chris - 2007-03-05 10:17:32
I'm totally with halo, I was trying to imagine how your pint sized kiddo got a hand mixer stashed somewhere!
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B - 2007-03-05 10:23:01
My mom used to force feed me bananas when I swore I didn't like them. Turns out I am alergic to bananas as well as several other foods. I wish my mother would have listened to me about the bananas, I'm still mad at her for that and I'm 39. My daughter doesn't like any squishy food (peanut butter, mashed potatoes, hot cereal, etc) she doesn't like the way it feels in her mouth. We found non-squishy food she will eat and she is the healthiest kid I know. Think of dieting when there are foods you are "supposed" to eat it just makes the "bad" foods more appealing. Please don't force feed Andrew, he will grow up with a weight problem.
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Katie - 2007-03-05 12:47:13
Picky kid myself, I worked at a summer camp three years and never did what was suggested to us at mealtimes (send a kid on a guilt trip if they didn't try at least three bites of everything), but I did suggest if it was something they hadn't had, they might want to try it. Also, if I didn't eat it, nobody else had to either. The last summer we also had a particularly bad cook staff: eating some of that stuff just wasn't advised. But, still, there are some kids who won't eat anything- we had an eight year old one summer who came with her own food because if it was anything else, she would not eat it, and she ate so few things she'd starve herself. Like the severe peanut allergy, this is more and more common in kids of the current generation and no one knows why, suggesting that it's a nature not nurture thing- so you could be fighting genetic foibles. Anyway, I find personally that knowing exactly what goes into food, where it comes from, and helping make it helps me eat it. I tend not to eat things with vegetables unless I make it myself. This doesn't help with bananas, but if (for example) he eats nuts but not peanut butter sandwiches, making a connection between them might convince him. My personal take would be to feed him exotic jelly bellies; if he likes the mango flavoured ones, convince him that's all a mango is, just in a different shape. If texture's his problem, the desire for flavour might convince him to deal with it. (Might not try it with the Pina Colada flavour, who knows what you might start.)
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sooboo - 2007-03-05 16:31:40
Man, the list of things I would not eat as a chld was longer than your arm. No one really forced me to eat. It would have just pissed me off. I was super thin, but grew out of it when I discovered pot during my sophomore year of high school. So, he's got that to look forward to.
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Natalie - 2007-03-05 17:15:17
I'm with Halo as well. I could just invision little Andrew with a huge mixer jutting out of his pants pocket. Priceless!
Great entry!
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Mellie - 2007-03-05 17:36:06
Oh no! I'm with everyone else on the forcefeeding - please do not go back to that therapist. Yes, she'll get him to eat whatever it is, I'm sure, but you'll pay way more in therapy for the emotional problems caused by force feeding. My husband was force fed as a child to the point where he threw up, and by the time I met him, his food phobias were out of control. He's gotten to the point where he will try more different kinds of foods, but it's useless to try and get him to eat a banana. And when it comes down to it, there is no good reason why he should have to.
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Cosmic - 2007-03-05 19:16:05
Just my opinion and not worth much, but I would find another therapist. Were it me, an it's not, I would get rid of the "bad" food he insists on eating. When he is hungry, give him a choice between 3 or 4 healthy foods. If you don't buy the junk food, he can't eat it. He won't starve himself. granola bars, suggar free fruit roll ups. There's tons of choices. Forcing feeding just seems a little like a throwback treatment from the Shock treatment era.
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Squeakzilla - 2007-03-06 08:28:05
Everyone's preference in food changes as we age. There were many foods I hated as a kid, that I absolutely love now (cabbage and asparagus both come to mind). There are also things I loved as a kid, but would be repulsed with now (hotdogs with Ketchup, sugar sandwiches). Save your money UB, all kids eat weird. Andrew will grow out of it, give him time. Also, all this talk about turning cranks, beaters, mixing up batter and things jutting out of pants is starting to sound really creepy to me.
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r - 2007-03-06 10:24:19
so did andrew still get the tictacs? if so, that doesn't seem to really teach him a lesson..
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Sandy - 2007-03-06 13:53:34
This is my daughter's complete diet:
Toast...burnt and hot.
Fries...crispy and hot.
Milk...very cold.
Yogurt...off and on.
Juice and water.
Any type of cracker.
Rice cakes.
That is it. I kid you not. I have seen two doctors, two therpists and all have told me to leave her alone and she will outgrow it. One did tell me that it is an control issue. I personally could not watch someone to force feed my child...it sends the signal that an adult can do stuff to their bodies that are unpleasant. Andrew is a good kid. I hope you spoke to other parents who have taken their children to this therpist and gotten follow-ups on how things are now.
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kc - 2007-03-06 20:47:35
yes, let the six year old tell you what he will and will not eat.
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darius - 2007-03-07 06:13:32
I'm just wondering what the obsession is with getting the kid to eat bananas... are you prepping him for Catholic school?
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M - 2007-03-07 12:22:24
My daughter had sensory issues that included eating and texture and tactile issues. Her neurologist and pediatrician both said she was healthy and not to force the issue, but to offer a few healthy choices along with her old standbys. She ate when she was hungry enough. She HATED bananas, actually any type of fruit and most veggies; only ate corn or peas maybe once a month. The girl lived on fruit juice, cheese, chicken nuggets, crackers, noodles and cookies for the first 8 years of her life. Slowwwwly she began to try different foods. Now at age 17 there is NOTHING the girl won't try and has done a complete 180* turn and she is the FIRST one who wants to try some new funky cuisine or restaurant.
My 2 cents: unless there are health issues at stake here, try to stop worrying and don't set yourself or Andrew up for anymore power struggles. Lose that therapist...Hitler got results too.
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Chunk - 2007-03-07 17:21:58
The problem isn't with Andrew, it's with you UB, you're trying to be his friend...when you should be his parent. Start by chucking the crap food away so the only option is the good stuff. And don't force him to eat it... he'll eat when he's hungry.
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IV:XX - 2007-03-08 10:23:48
I've got to throw my 2 cents in. Whenever one of our kids turned their noses up at something we removed the offending food from their plate and divided it amongst everyone else. No fanfare, no fussing, no begging. Oh, and no replacements or substitutes, either. Our thinking was that "We provided you with nutritional food. If you're hungry it's your own damn fault."
My oldest son once balked at everything on his plate. First he didn't want one thing. OK, gone. Then it was another. Alright, it's out of here. Finally it was the only thing left. You sure, little buddy? Boom! It's gone. He ended up watching everybody else eating his dinner. He didn't do that again. (I did give him some toast before he went to bed that evening, although it did cross my mind to let him starve for one night.)
That is how we handled our situation, and while apparently not as bad as yours, we now have 3 kids that will eat anything. Last year on a special night out my 10 year old, without prompting, ordered an appetizer of ahi tuna 3 ways with caviar, an entree of roasted lamb chops and had butterscotch cr�me brulee for dessert.
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anenigma - 2007-03-09 04:36:11
My cousin went to eating therapy for sensory issues, turns out he was diabetic. I'm with everybody else. Don't buy stuff that you don't want him to eat.
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shoshana - 2007-03-09 09:16:58
Why is it so important that Andrew eat bananas?
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Nina - 2007-03-10 02:08:17
I was forced to drink milk for breakfast as a kid. By a mother who hates milk. Go figure that one out. Anyway, I used to be afraid to get up in the mornings, not because of school or anything, but because of the milk.
Turns out, I'm lactose-intolerant. And to this day, just the thought of drinking milk, even lactose-free, makes me nautious.
Sure, you can't give in to everything a child wants or doesn't want. But insisting on eating particular items the child absolutely won't eat...not a good idea.
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pootler - 2007-03-10 14:51:19
I have a VERY picky three year old who eats about 10 different foods. We've tried repeatedly offering new foods to him and he just refused to eat them. So now we do what we thought we never would. We bribe him with a reward of something yummy or with extra computer time or whatever for every bite of a 'yucky' food he takes. With really yucky foods he gets a reward for just putting it in his mouth - he doesn't even have to eat it. He's very surprised when he actually likes something. We still have to bribe (or reward) him to eat it a few times but eventually he eats them because he likes them, not because he is getting a reward. We don't make a big deal of him not eating them, but praise him up when he tries something new.
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Nikki - 2007-03-16 18:43:03
I'm mom to a boy with Asperger's Syndrome and sensory issues. I will tell you from experience that forcing something on a kid with sensory issues is setting yourself up for failure.
Trev was weird about foods for awhile and I let him alone, on the grounds that he was eating other things and was healthy, therefore must be getting what he needed. I did try forcing the issue on a certain vegetable and he still hates it and has himself convinced he almost died while eating it (never happened). *sigh*
We don't really know for certain what it is that's making them avoid whatever it is they're avoiding (with Trev now, it's loud noises and clothes that aren't cotton or that he thinks are too tight around his neck). I can only imagine what sorts of scenarios my boy comes up with in regard to things!
I'm sort of wary of a therapist who will forcefully feed a child food like that.
Just my opinion and I hope that you find some peace with this situation.
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random - 2007-07-28 20:12:30
Just a comment on the "are you going to cut my hand off thing" I was trying to get my nephew to stop pointing at people, it is rude and his daycare teacher said he would point at kids while yelling at them and that was just not right. So I was sitting there and he got mad and started pointing at me (doesn't sound like much but the way he did it really made you want to smack him for being a smart-ass) So I tell him that if he points at me again I am going to cut off his finger. So as he is walking by me to the bathroom he tries to point at me without me seeing. But as he is 4 it doesn't work out so well. So I send him to the bathroom and have him come straight back, (because he is four and if I had stopped him we would have had more problems on our hands) Then when he gets back it goes like this, Me: what did I tell you not to do. Him: ppppointt at youuu (he is all blubbery) Me: and what did you do? Him: I pppointted at youuu, Me: So what should I do? Him: Ccccuttt off my ffffinger.
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