What about eating issues?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
What about eating issues?
2032
Fri, 06-10-2005 - 2:24pm

We have debated sleeping issues to death once again....so what about another one of the issues of childhood....eating and/or not eating?


My kids eat just about anything and have a pretty well rounded diet.

PumpkinAngel

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:26pm

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Don't worry .. she's lurking.


And IMing me instead of posting :)



Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color.  Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-03-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:26pm
On long weekends, long holidays where we are just home for several days straight, both dh and I have brief outings built into each day, just to get a mds break (we'd never tell him this, of course), just because day after day of him is too much. It has nothing whatsoever to do with love or caring. It has everything to do with needing a break--especially now that he no longer naps.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-04-1997
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:28pm
Of course people with whiny, demanding kids want breaks from them. And it is normal, I guess, for kids to go through whiny, demanding stages. Or generally happy kids have whiny, demanding days for one reason or another. But if a kid is characterized by being whiny, demanding, and manipulative, that sends up a red flag for me. I would at least want to know WHY my child was that way? What is he not getting out of life that makes him whiny and demanding and manipulative? My kids don't really act that way unless they are not getting enough positive time and attention from me. That's how I could tell, when they were little, that they weren't getting enough from me. Because when their needs were met, they weren't whiny, demanding, and manipulative, as a rule. PNJ's kids are getting proper sleep and nutrition. And one of them seems characterized by being whiny, demanding, and manipulative. So maybe, just maybe, there is something going on -- some cycle of needs that aren't being recognized and met, and Joey is responding the way 3 y/o's sometimes do, only instead of getting more attention by being that way, he gets less, which might just be rather confusing to the kid. Or maybe not. But if it were my kid, I'd wonder.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:31pm

<<I think you, pnj and I have boys with very similar personalities/temperments.>>


*nodding*


Yesterday was the first day of swim lessons for dd and ds. Keep in mind that ds LOVES the water. He and dd were out in the wading pool (2ft deep) in the backyard all day sunday.


He wouldn't do the lessons. I had to walk him into the kiddie pool (he was in the 3-4yo class even though he is 5) and then he sat on the instructors lap for 15 min, very quietly crying. Then, when she finally couldn't baby him anymore, he stood at the side of the pool crying for 10 min "I want my mommy". I finally get him. He wants to swim. He doesn't want to take a class.

Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color.  Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:36pm

<<I would at least want to know WHY my child was that way? >>


Some kids just ARE. It doesn't always indicate that the parent has done something wrong or that there is an issue that needs addressed. Some kids ARE just high-need kids. I could shower love and attention all day on ds and he'd still be the devil child that he is. I could ignore him all day and he'd still be teh devil child that he is. I can do half and half and he's still a devil child.

Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color.  Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-03-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:36pm

That was Bailey with swimming last year.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:41pm

Count me in the whiny-boy club. When my son was three, we had a very, very difficult time with him. So much so that we sought help from a couple of different sources. Frankly, I think my DS might have benefited from the sort of strict scheduling PnJ swears by, but I was just not able to provide that.

Fast forward a few years, and my DS is 7. He is much, much better behaved. He still has the same basic personality, but he has matured. I believe that part of the problem when he was three was that it upset him very much when things didn't meet his expectations. As he mature, his expectations are more realistic. He is also to understand better when the reason things don't work out as planned is a reason beyond anyone's control.

On the flip side, one wonderful thing about his very intense personality is his empathy. I have several times been stunned and charmed by the way he is able to put himself in another's place and anticipate what they need. I love my son, but I'll admit to needing a break from him now and then.

Dana

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:43pm

Honey, I'll admit that I've had my share of therapy. . .none of which had ANYTHING to do with my aversion to the texture of lumpy foods (cottage cheese), fuzzy foods (okra & peaches), and squooshy foods (yogurt and pudding).


I seriously doubt any psychologist would think those aversions was worth addressing, nor do I think any nutritionist would either.


But that was a funny assertion/dig from Ms. Denim-is to-scratchy.


Virgo

Virgo
 
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-04-1997
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:48pm
It really sounds as if you have a handle on who Callahan is and how best to interact with him and help him get the most out of life. My younger one has some odd ways of interacting with the world, too. He's the kind of kid that teachers tend to call "interesting" and "challenging," while noting his many good qualities as well. When he was little, I read something that challenged me to put a positive spin on his negative qualities -- so that instead of describing him as "obstinate," I began describing him as "determined." Or instead of saying that he was "argumentative," I began thinking of him as "sure of himself." I did this all the way down the line, with whatever behaviors were problematic. It sounds stupid, but it really has helped me to see that a lot of the qualities that are just plain frustrating in a three year old are the exact same qualities you want in a leader. And the challenge became, not to change my child's basic temperament, because you can't anyway, but to find ways to recognize the positive sides of that temperament and channel his energies productively.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-03-2003
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 5:50pm
We often say that if Bailey survives to adulthood, he'll surely conquer the world. Or kill himself trying.

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