Grazing

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Just checking if any one has experience or advice for controlling grazing.

My Chloe would rather graze all day long than sit to eat a meal. We have even gone to the extremes of putting a lock on the fridge and latches on cabinets. I know this may sound cruel. But she will endlessly stand with the doors open. And not only removes items to graze on. But will dump stuff out.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Could it be, that the meals are done in a bad way for her? Did you ever ask her why she dont want to have meals instead of eating on her own?

Maybe she doesnt like, that there are so many people around her during the meal. Even more if she is forced to listen or talk to them. For this I have to fully concentrate on it, and its as if you would ask Schumacher to eat relayed a meal while driving a Formula One Race. So I hate invitation to big events in restaurants, because you get served a good meal, but then you are not allowed to eat it because you are told that you are rude when you are not listening and answering the others, then you haste a few bites in between every 10 minutes until its cold, and as punishment they force an discussion on you, why you didnt eat. -.-

The other Idea would be, that maybe some food are a problem for her digestive system, without her really knowing herself. My mom cooked separate stuff most of the time, so nothing special for me, but she was used on her own to not mix the food. As example there was flesh, there was a sauce in a sauciere, there were some pees extra and so on... If its mixed its too much different taste for me. So I usually eat them separate. Its not that I dont eat much different stuff, but never mixed. So today for midday meal it was an apple, a kiwi, two whole grain breads with cheese, a cooked egg and a salad of cucumber with garlic, pepper and yoghurt. If there are additionial flavor enhancers, i dont like it, because the taste normally gets too intensive for and tastes weird anyway. Same goes for too much fat, that also enhances taste. So cooked and mixed meals can be a great problem for me.

What did your daugher answer why she is prefering to eat on her own out of the fridge, instead of the meals?

Some people are naturally grazers. If the issue is about doors being open and food being left out, then why not just let her graze, and have food available to her at all times?

She is currently non-communicative. She want answer "WH" questions.

And I do make an assortment of things for her to eat. She may be into eggs or carrots or whatever the day suggests. So I typically make her a kind of sampler plate for her to choose from.

We can try different environments for eating. That is something we had not tried in the past.

Thanks

Last edited by bssage on 13 Feb 2013, 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

We do to a certain extent. But she has been getting heavy. And she has a knack for just dumping stuff out on the floor to see what it looks like.

That's my boy. He prefers to eat almost constantly rather to three meals- frankly, it's exhausting. Mostly because the only food he will eat generally takes preparation - he refuses to grab a banana or apple, and I refuse to give him quick and easy processed food like potato chips.

I am hoping now that he is at school, this will assist in getting him more into a routine for eating.

My son was a grazer for a long time. He has settled down now that he is seven. I do think having to eat at regular times at school helps that. I think he did better as a grazer and it is more natural for him, but it is not an option at school.

I have always handled it by having the heathier options he likes out, and not having a lot of junk food out. My son likes to look in the fridge, too, but other than the juice and stuff he is not apt to take anything. He just likes to look-a lot. It drives my husband nuts, but is not bad enough to have to lock the thing,

If you are worried about weight, try to think of the healthier, lower cal stuff that your child likes. In my son's case that is fruit (sweet, but still healthy) --if your child likes baby carrots and that kind of thing, that would work, too. If your child is more into carbs (mine likes carbs, too) then Cheerios or something like that, that is not too sugar laden might work for you.

Yea we do that to. But she like what she likes. He lack of ability to allow outside stimuli influenced her likes: is both refreshing and a PITA.