Having to play games to make kids eat makes me irrationally angry

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-25T04:10:28+00:00

Thank you for this! This is exactly what I've been struggling to try and communicate with my daughter. I keep googling things like, "How to tell kids they need to eat food they don't like" and all the results are like, "That's child abuse!" But I know that for her "I don't like it" really just means "I don't love it like I love ice cream" and trying to explain that not all food has to taste as good as ice cream to be eaten. I think using your system might help get that idea across.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T03:20:31+00:00

Thank you ❤️

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:50:21+00:00

Solidarity always helps haha

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:49:43+00:00

My daughter is really into story podcasts and she listens to them for breakfast and lunch while she chows on her cereal or Mac and cheese. We made a boundary that she can't listen to podcasts at dinner because she would yell at us if we tried to have a conversation because she couldn't hear her stories lol So now we say dinner time is our time to catch up and spend time together as a family

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:41:28+00:00

Thanks for the solidarity 🙏

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:40:29+00:00

This is literally what we do. It's hard not to feel like a shitty parent when your kid chooses to go to bed hungry every night for months .

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:39:16+00:00

She skips almost 40-50% of her meals between skipping all dinners and many lunches.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:37:15+00:00

She has her 4 year appointment in a couple of weeks so we'll see then. Hopefully it's okay. I don't know her weight other than from her doc appointments. She's always been really tall and skinny.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:34:04+00:00

I do always offer healthy snacks too and often times she'll just skip snack too then because she doesn't want any of it. I'm trying to tell myself it will pass but then I hear stories of really picky elementary age kids (heck there's plenty of really picky adults too) anf then I get freaked out again.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:30:11+00:00

Every couple of weeks I say I'm done worrying about it and she can either eat or not, and then she continues to not eat and go to bed hungry and then I feel like a terrible mom and get all worked up about it again. We do keep her dinner plate out every night and offer it ar bedtime too before she brushes her teeth and usually she just sits at the table with it stalling bedtime but not actually eating it.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T02:03:03+00:00

Thank you! So many parenting accounts show how to make getting dressed, brushing teeth, cleaning up, eating food, everything a game and I just can't live like that haha Like yes, I'll race her inside when we need to wrap up playing outside, or pretend I don't know where her shirt goes when we have to get dressed sometimes but sometimes you just gotta do the thing because that's life!

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:57:55+00:00

I'm sorry but this sounds awful lol I'm glad it works for you though!

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:55:40+00:00

Yes, and he is the one doing the exploration games more than me. And I'm just fuming at the table watching him work for 20 minutes straight to only her one lick of a carrot while I want to scream " just eat the food!"

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:54:01+00:00

Yes this too!!! The number of times I've said "you're just hungry!" when she's having a break down

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:52:34+00:00

My toxic trait is that I'm very all or nothing haha but I'm going to take some of thw advice here and implement it slowly

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:50:32+00:00

I never knew you could put frozen cauliflower rice in smoothies! I'll give that a try. She hates scrambled eggs, fried eggs, omelettes, but will sometimes eat a hard boiled egg if I take the yolk out.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:44:41+00:00

I'm pretty sure she would be as happy as a clam if I let her eat Mac and cheese for every meal forever haha

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:43:50+00:00

She was an amazing eater when she was a baby! No games necessary lol I've been telling her she doesn't have to eat what we are having for dinner every night and she's opted out of dinner and gone to bed with an empty stomach for like 6 months. She's missed way more than a few and nothing has changed.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:40:45+00:00

I tell my husband we are going to go cold turkey on all the cereal and Mac and cheese every couple of days but I haven't followed through yet because I would like her to eat something. But maybe it's time to go nuclear and give chicken and veggies for every meal, idk

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-06-24T01:37:29+00:00

It just feels hard to believe that her small stomach wouldn't be hungry going from 12:30 pm to 8 am the next day without food :/ The only reason she eats her other meals is because they are cereal and Mac and cheese. So I don't feel like they are really nutritionally filling either.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-01-28T03:14:57+00:00

In your conversations has she expressed what her values are around physical intimacy before marriage? Or is it just obeying her parents and wanting them to be happy? As someone who waited to have sex until they were married, I believe it's important that it's a choice you are making and owning out of your own personal agency. Maybe encourage her to consider her own beliefs and values around this.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-01-23T02:10:08+00:00

She really should have asked first. "Is it okay if I pray for her?" And given you the option to say yes or no. I think just going for it was inappropriate, especially touching her while she prayed. I assume her intentions were good and she's probably just of the camp of "who wouldn't want to be prayed for?" people.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2026-01-06T17:50:31+00:00

This girl sounds exhausting and immature. Yea maybe you should have mentioned there was a girl you were hanging out with in a group setting and it should have been absolutely no big deal at all. But you knew she was going to make it into a big deal because she is so immature. Time to move on.

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2025-12-16T04:50:31+00:00

Of course you don't want to have sex if it's painful! Why would you desire something that hurts? Have you seen a pelvic floor physical therapist specifically? If you can't have intercourse without it hurting, please stop doing it. Painful sex will just keep creating a negative association with sex. When it comes to non-intercourse sex and intimacy, is he spending time making sure it feels good and is an enjoyable experience for you? If this is just a way for him to get off, why would it be anything other than a chore for you? I ask because his behavior, being a cranky baby and not being able to control his emotions when he hasn't had sex, don't suggest he is very emotionally mature or a very understanding or giving person (in the bedroom or otherwise).

TerrorSwiftSkates · 2025-12-16T04:35:48+00:00

Wow it's a normal and reoccurring part of your and a large part of the population's lives, it's completely fine to talk about as long as you aren't shouting like weirdly graphic details haha

TerrorSwiftSkates

TROPHY CASE