My five-year old girl is as skinny as a praying mantis because she eats meagre portions at the rate of one rice grain a minute. She can take one hour to eat a serving that her second brother will take two seconds to wipe clean. I wish she’s a cartoon character, then I can open her mouth wide and tilt in the plate of rice into her mouth, close it shut and force her to gulp everything down. Think Popyeye guzzling his can of spinach and you’ll get what I mean.
She always has lots of excuses not to eat :
1. I’m full already or I’m not hungry. (This after two spoonfuls of rice.)
2. My hand pain.
3. My feet pain. Super-pain. (She just coined this new word – must be all that superhero stories I’ve been telling her.)
4. I got mosquito bite here. (Point to hand, leg, stomach or wherever she’s been bitten.)
5. I got stomach ache. (Followed by thumping of tummy to produce bong-bong sound).
6. My mouth pain.
7. My tongue itchy.
8. I don’t want to eat __ (whatever has been served).
9. My head pain.
And the latest in her arsenal of excuses ….
10. My panties itchy (scratching her waist).
But she’s never too full or too painful for ice-cream. Maybe I should just feed her tubs of ice-cream to fatten her up.
Hahaha. How funny! You suppose she’s been influenced by all the skinny models these days??
Don’t worry, Lydia. I was exactly the same way when I was her age, all the way up to age 21. I never even ate dinner. I was so skinny I weighed 80 pounds when I was 21.
And then, after 21, I discovered the joy of food and started eating and ballooned up to the size you see me today. Now I want to lose weight but find it so difficult to!
Be careful what you wish for. Don’t worry about your kid, she’ll find her way.
Well, Lydia, five-year-olds generally don’t eat much as they have very low metabolism rate, especially girls. So they don’t burn as much calories as boys or guys do.
Besides, you wouldn’t want your child to become obese right? Like those poor kids in China and USA who are all fattened up…fit for a hungry, kid-meat-loving witch! But then again, the witch would be too grossed out cos there’ll be more fat than actual meat…
Lydia, my son is still pint-sized and underweight for boys of his age. He is also another
s l o w eater. When he was five, my friends and sisters told me that he would grow out of that habit in a few years’ time. More than seven years later, the situation still hasn’t changed despite using a timer, trying out what Dr. Dobson wrote in his books, etc etc… When I told him to hurry up and gulp down the food with water, he answered that according to his health book, he should chew 10 times before swallowing in order to digest well. But, chewing porridge 10 times before swallowing is ridiculous to me! I am still waiting or looking for a “cure”. People still tell me that he will grow out of it in his teens.
BTW, may I link you to my blog ?
lydia, dont worry – as long as they eat and they arehealthy, it shd be fine. Itis when they dont eat and are sickly, then we should worry. My girls are all thin – they compalin abt being fat, they eat little but they eat often.
I found excuse number 10 very funny..
Such a clever girl to be able to come up with all these excuses.
My son was the same and friends used to comment that I don’t feed him well. I took him to my GP. My GP (a Chinese) told me not to worry and that children will eat when they are hungry. Don’t force feed or try to force them as it will only turn them off more. I did as my GP said. I also used to pick up from his speech what he felt like eat ing and prepare that food for him. Today, he can’t stop eating, though still skinny He will eat salad, raw mushrooms and all sorts of greens and raw beanshoots. Megan never liked food much but she eats practically everything now.
Agree with Kak Teh in her comment – as long as the kid’s eating healthy food, it doesnt matter how slow she does it. We live in a world that’s rushing to anything and everything – its good to at least take time with food!
Wwwaahhhh….my son lose out to your daughter lah. Talk about ORIGINALITY. My son’s been keeping to his ‘tummy ache’ and ‘need to eh-ehm (big business)’ and ‘i think this is junk food’ is nothing compared to your daughter’s! but it’s really tiring, frustrating and also worrying when a child of yours eats so little. can’t help but worry hor?
matrian : did you read in the papers today (or yesterday) that skinny models are out and sizes 12 and 14 are in?
Xeus, haha, there’s hope for her yet.
EW, maybe the witch likes fatty meat?
Alice, that’s it! My daughter chews too much and for way too long until the food becomes pulp. I tell her, chew-chew-chew, now swallow. But her swallowing reflex a bit slow lah.
Kak Teh, Ms J, that’s what we always console ourselves with : skinny never mind as long as healthy. We can’t say fat never mind as long as healthy, can we?
Razlin, as did we. We laughed when she gave us that line.
Judy, Garret doesn’t look skinny to me, but I guess with mums, we always think that our kids could use with some extra weight (unless of course, they’re already well-endowed like my no. 3).
Marsha, hey, I forgot to add eh-ehm in that list. That used to be her No. 1 excuse when she was younger. Without fail, at every meal she must do her big business. Frustrating more than worrying…
Alice, of course you’re most welcomed to link to my blog.
Thanks. Will link you to my blog. How about a slow eater competition between your daughter and my son? Ha ha!
Oops, sorry Lydia. I am no longer wonderalice. Changed my blog name and address.
lydia…
a mom who cares about the little things in her daughter is a lovely mom indeed…
looks like you two are having a wwonderful relationship.
idham
lol…i always luv when kids say darndest thing…its just so funny n pure i think
Alice, yes, I noticed. I think your son will win..
IdHam, thank you. Hope it gets better.
whoai, I loved Bill Cosby’s KSTDT.
Lydia, you’re right. My son will win. At 12+, he is even slower in eating than your 5 year old daughter. I always tell him to swallow down with water, and not to chew so much.
There will be a time when our children grow up and reflect on their days like Xeus. In the meantime, I sigh.
Alice, what I meant was your son will win by eating faster..
It is a fact, Lydia, cos my son even takes more time to eat than my friend ‘s 2 year old daughter the other day. “Can’t wait for Hansel to fatten up. Time to eat him up!” said the witch.
my sister used to have this problem as well.
she’d grip her lips when my mum came to feed her with a spoon.
then my mum would yell “BUKAK MULOT”
then she’d allow one or two grain of rice inside her mouth.
then goes the yelling again. and again and again until one plate of rice finished.
fifi, haha, my daughter has no problem with bukak mulot, she has a problem with TELAN.
I have a friend who eats so slow that he gets made fun of by some of the waitresses at restaurants we go to. I one time timed him and it took me five minutes to eat a hamburger and a plate of fries. I took him 30 minutes to eat the same thing
scott, you’re a fast eater! 30 minutes is not too bad.
Heyahh x Look Dont Worry! Im The Same As Her Maybe Not The Excuses But Im Very Slow And Find It Hard To Eat A Lot At The Moment Although Im 13.. Nearly 14! But My Friends Little Sisters The Same Age And Is Like That And All She Does Is Give Her Some Sweets As Well.. She Ses That If SHe Eats Her Vegetables She Can Have A Bag Of Sweets.. Skittles Or Something, If She Knows That She Has To Eat Then She Will Want The Reward, After A While Dont Give Her Sweets And She Will Eat Anyway Thinking She Will Get A Reward, Then Just Take Her Out To The Park To Feed The Ducks Or Saiink! x Hope I Helped, Reply To Me
I must say that I’m glad I’m not alone. My daughter who is turning 5 tomorrow has a list of excuses her self. From I ha ve to go to the bathroom, to I need to get something out of my room, to my stomach hurts, and even I have boo boo’s that hurts when I eat.
Oh what a vivid imagination kids have these days, lol.
I’m stressing, and at times ready to pull my hair out. My daughter seems to be healthy but very skinny. It bothers me to see her this way because I find she is small for a 5 year old.
I have also tried eveyrthing. I have prepared her any meal she chooses just so she eats. I have sat with her. I have praised her when she finishes. It’s not all the time this happens. But 95% of the time it does. I have offered her a “snack treat” if she finishes her meal within a reasonable amount of time. And this works but it becomes ahabit tto have a snack. And she likes to choose ice cream, gummy bears, etc.
Her pediatrician recommended I take her plate away after 30 minutes. But that has not worked. She just got hungry but stiill played around.
Her brother who is3 will out eat her sometimes on a 2nd plate.
I had to do a search beccause my daughter has been sitting in the kitchen for 1 hour and 15 minutes to eat 3 chicken strips.
I feel better aftering reading your comments that shower a little humor on the subject. But I hope it’s not going to take her til her 20′s to grow out of this.
Good luck. And if you would like you can email me directly.
Hi Crystal, 1 1/4 hour to eat 3 chicken strips! I empathise with you indeed. My little girl is too skinny for my liking too… but at least she’s healthy. She’s getting better at eating faster. So hang in there, your daughter will improve with age.
I’m a 19yo girl – I take 1.5 hours to eat a small portion of rice for dinner. Most of the time, the rest of the family has left the table and I’m the only one eating (I hate wastage). When I go out with friends, I take more than 2 hours. And they talk more, and eat more than me. hehe. I’m not skinny though. I wish
. My BMI is 18-19, so don’t worry, your daughter’s case is not a lost cause!
First of all to Sally, a BMI of 18-19 is skinny believe me. I guarantee you are under the 120′s weight-wise. And unless you are 4’10, anything under 120lbs is definitely skinny.
Lydia, I think you are way too concerned. I’m terrified that my child to be will become a fast eater/binger/hoarder/etc. like I was growing up and still am to a certain point today. After 28 years, I am trying to retrain myself to eat slower and think about my food instead of just gulping it down. I have many digestive problems from all of the foods I’ve consumed in haste over the years. I’m 100% sure that’s the reason I have them. I am a constant belcher from swallowing too much air. So as you can see, many problems arise from being a fast and unconscious eater.
Even the NY Times wrote the other day about how we need to become more “mindful eaters” to avoid obesity and health problems. Do a search on mindful eating, and you will find tons of info on people trying to slow down and enjoy their food. I think the kids have it right, and we eventually succumb to peer pressure and hasten our eating to “fit in.” Please don’t encourage your child to do the same.
Respectfully,
Ashley
After reading all ur experiences,m feeling relieved..I too have a 4 year old son…fussy eater.takes hours to finish his meals..I have tried everything,nothing works…I hope with time he will improve…as I have read somewhere that slow eating kids r many but slow eating adults are few…sooo being positive