12 Yr old fussy eater

picturehangup

Hope this is in correct place, new enough here.

My daughter is 12, and is eating very poorly indeed. Her menu currently consists of some sort of chocolate cereal; Pizza, some chicken, rice and steak, cream crackers and cheesestrings. She has no energy and I am very concerned about her limited diet. She has been eating like this for about four years. I don't know how she is in the land of the living. Have any of ye folk had similar issues, and how did you deal with it. Would love to hear some opinions.

picturehangup

CookieMonster.x

What about buying her a cookbook and letting her help with preparing meals. I know I will try things more if I've made it myself!

Cerulean Chicken

Stop buying things like chocolate cereal and cheesestrings maybe?? If she only has healthy options at home eventually she will have to eat them when she is hungry enough. While you can't control what she buys at school/with friends you most certainly can control what you buy and keep in your house. I was only ever let have Weetabix, porridge, or toast and fruit for breakfast, I asked for Frosties so many times and was told no. She's 12, it's up to you to provide decent food for her.

Aoifums

Cerulean Chicken wrote: »

Stop buying things like chocolate cereal and cheesestrings maybe?? If she only has healthy options at home eventually she will have to eat them when she is hungry enough. While you can't control what she buys at school/with friends you most certainly can control what you buy and keep in your house. I was only ever let have Weetabix, porridge, or toast and fruit for breakfast, I asked for Frosties so many times and was told no. She's 12, it's up to you to provide decent food for her.

I was a fussy eater at 12 and I'm a slightly less fussy eater at 20. If the food I want isn't there, I'll still go without. Not buying the foods I liked meant I would just have eaten less.

Don't let it become a power thing. I know I started eating a wider variety of food when I started cooking for myself at 15. But I still ended up eating an awful lot of pasta and tomato sauce. It was a really slow process. I second buying her a simple cook book. Ones designed for children or students were the ones I started off using.

picturehangup

Thanks for the replies.

Cookiemonster and Aoifums: Yes, I like the idea of the cookbooks for children, so will make a start on that over the Easter Hols, when we can both relax into it. And yes, it has become a power struggle and not worth it. However, I cook lovely homemade stews and casseroles etc, which she turns her nose up at. Soul destroying. Maybe cold turkey and tough love is the key here.

picturehangup

miss no stars

picturehangup wrote: »

However, I cook lovely homemade stews and casseroles

Lovely to you! Personally I HATE stews and casseroles, I'm not that fussy an eater but I definitely would go hungry rather than eat a casserole or stew so saying that what you're preparing is lovely is a bit pointless. It's only lovely to people who think it's lovely - if she doesn't then it doesn't matter what it is - she doesn't like it and saying "oh but it's lovely" is actually attempting to invalidate her tastes. Whilst a 12 year old may not be able to articulate that, they're perfectly capable of feeling it.

Always offer her the option of the main family meal, but don't let her go hungry. Maybe try to get an agreement that she eats a tiny "taster" portion of whatever the family meal is and after that can eat what she likes and you won't give her any hassle? She's getting to the point that surely you could explain in more of an adult manner to her that her body needs nutrients, she's getting to a point where her body will need a LOT more iron and vitamins etc and that you don't want to nag about the food, you're just worried about her.

Boardnashea

There are lots of cook books for younger people but for 12 and early teens I would recommend Hugh Fearnley Whitwhat's Family cookbook or Donal Quiff Skehan Kitchen Hero. Added benefit of being able to watch on telly too.
Maybe start with some treats from these before getting down to the main course.

Janey_Mac

I wasn't quite that bad but I was pretty close to it at her age- I'd eat raw veg but never cooked, for example.

What cured me was going to the Gaeltacht.

1. I had to eat what I was given or go hungry, the bean an tí wasn't going to leave me raw veg.
2. Peer pressure as everyone else was just eating so I felt like I should go along with it.
Those two combined to make me at least try things I'd normally turn my nose up at, leading to:
3. I tasted something I actually didn't like (as opposed to things I just wasn't too gone on) and finally understood the difference between "I don't like it" and "not every bite is an unmitigated pleasure".

Stepping Stone

I was a fussy eater at that age too. My entire family love stews and casseroles but I have always hated them. Even now in my 30s, they smell turns my stomach. Once my mother worked with me to figure out what I liked, I developed a love for trying new foods. I still won't eat 99% of what the rest of the family eat, but I can cook for myself.

She gradually introduced me to new foods like corn on the cob, delicious, sweet, good for me and kind of a novelty. I sampled raw veg as she prepared it for stews, tried new breads (not the usual sliced pan stuff), new cheeses, different crackers, cereals, etc. I gradually figured out what I liked and hated and now I love trying new stuff.

Have fun with it and get her involved with the cooking!

Xidu

Try to make her feel hungry by doing a lot of sports?
Try yogurt drink