Hi all,
DP and I have DSS every Saturday, and every other weekend he stays over from Friday through to Sunday. I've known him since he was about 3, and throughout that time he's always been an extremely fussy eater. We have only been having him to stay overnight for the past 2 years due to his nightmare mother and when he first started to stay with us his mum gave us a list of foods he liked, which consists of about 10 things, very few of which make up a particularly good meal. For example, he likes hotdogs (but not the buns), rice, gammon (specifically in a honey glaze), southern fried style chicken pieces, alphabet letter chips (but not potato waffles or chips!!), tomato soup, fish fingers, carrots, swede, sweetcorn (tinned not frozen). That is pretty much it. It means that on the weekends we have him to stay I have been very limited on what I can cook unless I cook something different for him and for DP,DS(21m) and I.
We've been trying to get him to expand his range but he is so resistant. He either gets upset and cries at the table (not because we're telling him off or anything, but just because he doesn't like the look of something), or just doesn't eat it and accepts that he won't get anything else. It never seems to bother him that he doesn't have much to eat. He's very thin, and its been noted at school that he doesn't have much in his lunch box.
DP is of the opinion that enough is enough and we should start taking the hard line and he gets what he's given, whether he likes it and is willing to try it or not. If he doesn't eat it then tough. While I'm not dead against this I do find it hard to manage when we have him for so little time and we have no control or even visibility of what goes on when he's with his Mum. I worry about the inconsistency, and also I don't want DSS to feel like he doesn't want to be here because of it.
So I was wondering whether anyone had any advice at all? My son is just a toddler, so i have no experience of 9 year old boys! I find it difficult to understand how he is still so fussy at this age, it seems to me that it's more of a control thing. Or am I being harsh and unsympathetic?
Any suggestions gratefully received!
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Step-parenting
DSS(9) and his fussy eating
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JeewizzJen · 14/04/2013 21:19
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