Perfection Pending

By Meredith Ethington

  • My Books
    • The Mother Load
    • Mom Life: Perfection Pending – The Book
    • Free eBook: Sometimes Motherhood Sucks
    • How To Grow Your FB Following
  • Motherhood
    • Inspiration
    • Encouragement
    • Childhood
    • Humor
    • Parenting Memes
    • Friendship
    • Marriage
  • Kid Ideas
    • Recipes
    • Practical Tips
    • Babies & Toddlers
    • teens and tweens
    • The Elementary School Years
  • Mental Health
    • Mental Health
    • Anxiety
  • About
    • Favorite Posts
    • My Portfolio
    • Privacy & Disclosures

Chandler

I Discovered the Key to Getting My Kid to Eat

  • Share
  • Tweet

Feeding my kids has never been my favorite chore parental responsibility.  And, with every child, there has been a challenge of some sort in the eating department.

Cute little Avery used to store food in her cheeks for what seemed like hours. It was probably just minutes. But, with those fat, chubby cheeks she had, I was never sure if she had food in there or not. Then, I would realize I over-stuffed those cheeks, and it would all come spilling out.

True first kid love right there. I was so caught up in the feeding her organic only, and non-sugary foods, that for her first birthday, she didn’t even know what to do with her cupcake. What is this thing? Guess I’ll face plant into it.

©fakingpictureperfectmonth12 064

With Kyle, well, there was a problem with eating from day one. That evolved into FPIES, and then texture issues. I remember the thrill of the day when we trialed eggs. And he LOVED them. And we had a new food to add to his very restricted diet.

The joy when he was eating those eggs said it all. And, that joy was only a fraction of the joy I was feeling at the time. It was like he was thinking, “Finally! Eggs. Where have you been all my life?” He still loves them to this day. And, while the first two years of his life were like an extreme sporting event in eating, we survived it. And, for the most part, he is totally normal when it comes to eating. Aside from the occasional episode like in the car the other day when he got grossed out by some peach fuzz on his peach, and I had to toss him a sandwich bag that I luckily had handy while driving down the road so he could gag/spit into it. Glamorous. Enjoy every moment, right?

And, then there was Chandler. Sure, we’ve had a struggle with him and food allergy issues that almost got me committed, but he’s outgrown them all. So, life should be easy right? Wrong. This kid is as much of a mystery to me at each and every meal as any of them were. Was? Are?

I never know if he is going to eat the avocado, or detest it. If he will go for whatever I made the family for dinner that night (chicken pot pie? nope. Lasagna? yes.) or if we will feed him one of his weird meals made special order just for him like a breakfast sausage link, 3 grapes, mizithra cheese rolled up in pepperoni, 6 bites of rice before he decides it’s disgusting, and a string cheese. Oh, and don’t forget the side of taco meat.

Seriously, it’s like he thinks he’s at a Golden Corral and the kitchen is his buffet. “I would like a tiny portion of every. single. item. in the pantry, please” is what he must be thinking. “Oh, and let me try the condiments in the fridge door for good measure”. By the end of dinner, we always say to each other, “Was that a meal?” and usually call it good from sheer exhaustion. Getting up from the table 52 times to “try something else” while also trying to feed two other kids is a monumental task we survive every single night.

I try letting him eat with toothpicks. Cutting things up in special shapes. Giving him stuff that I KNOW he will hate but wants because someone else has it. Drowning his waffle covered in syrup with powdered sugar too. Just to get him to eat. But, yesterday, I may have discovered the secret.

Costco.

We walk in right before lunch time, and sure enough, it’s sample time. And, I’ve decided that the kid will eat anything if it’s handed to him in a dixie cup with a spork. By a stranger.

He ate yogurt with chunks of fruit in it.

White bean chicken chili

Brown Rice and Quinoa

Grilled Cheese on 7 Grain Bread

Pizza Pockets

and

Pita Bread with Butter

Today at lunch? we were back to our usual drab meal. No dixie cups. No sporks. No strangers. He wasn’t really in the mood to eat again. But, he had to make sure to lay claim to every single nugget on the plate that I had put in between the two boys. Much to Kyle’s dismay.

©fakingpictureperfectP1040736

Not really eating any of them. You know what this means, don’t you? I will be visiting Costco everyday at 11:30 am. To feed my child lunch.

I know one day, I will look back and smile at this post. But, for now, he’s just my little boy that doesn’t want to eat, unless it’s with a spork in a tiny dixie cup. But, seeing him listening to my iPod (a new obsession of his) gives me a tiny glimpse of that teenager that he will become. I’m sure he will one day eat me out of house and home.

 


23 Comments

« Color Me Happy
Tips for Taking Family Photos Yourself. (Or What NOT to Do) »

Comments

  1. bensbitterblog says

    October 2, 2013 at 2:52 pm

    Picky eater and he listens to Ipod? You sure he isn’t a teenager?

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      October 2, 2013 at 2:54 pm

      Wait. I thought when they became teenagers they start eating a ton? Isn’t that what teenage boys do???

      Reply
      • bensbitterblog says

        October 2, 2013 at 3:50 pm

        Yeah, but they only eat a ton of certain types of foods. They are pretty picky about what types of junk they eat.

        Reply
  2. scottishmomus says

    October 2, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    I so enjoyed this. Everyone of my children were ‘normal’ eaters. The usual food fads, yes, ‘liked that cereal yesterday but not today’.
    Then came the ‘my son has a cold and will not eat’ syndrome and we offered him everything to tempt his taste buds and force a feeding reaction. Woe is me! He became the fussiest, faddiest eater of all time.
    Now over 6′, (18 years old) the tallest of all. A great cook. Still fussy with certain things but more ‘selective’ shall we say? 🙂
    It is such a trial. God bless Costco, I say. Take them all down there. A bottle of wine for yourself and you’ll feel like you’ve had a night out!
    Gorgeous pics btw. 🙂 x

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      October 2, 2013 at 2:59 pm

      Thank you! 🙂

      Reply
      • scottishmomus says

        October 2, 2013 at 3:08 pm

        🙂 x

        Reply
      • scottishmomus says

        October 2, 2013 at 3:08 pm

        *dead chuffed*
        Thanks. 🙂 x

        Reply
  3. monk-monk says

    October 2, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    This is amazing. My kiddo regularly eats blueberries and soy sausages for dinner with peanut butter crackers and maybe a string cheese

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      October 2, 2013 at 3:36 pm

      Glad we aren’t the only ones with a ridiculously weird meal going on.

      Reply
  4. zeudytigre says

    October 2, 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Eat you out of house and home – so long as you keep a ready supply of pot noodles in the store cupboard. My eldest son (15yo) is always hungry – but still hates his veg. We have reached an uneasy truce re: what he wants and what he must eat. I do wonder why our first world problems continue to resonate with feeding kids…

    Reply
  5. momasteblog says

    October 2, 2013 at 5:52 pm

    Handed to him in a dixie cup with a spork by a stranger. . . LOVE!! This really made me smile! xo.

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      October 2, 2013 at 9:05 pm

      It makes ME crazy. 😉

      Reply
  6. momsasaurus says

    October 2, 2013 at 7:16 pm

    Oh good lord. It’s like you are in my house, at my dinner table. This EXACT SAME SCENARIO. EVERY DAY. *head desk* I feel your pain. I really do. Great post, by the way.

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      October 2, 2013 at 9:06 pm

      I’m sorry you can relate so well!!

      Reply
  7. writermomangela says

    October 2, 2013 at 8:32 pm

    My daughter, the oldest, was easy. She would and does eat absolutely anything. Tries everything no matter what it is. Sushi, she loves it. Brussel sprouts, she doesn’t love them but she still tries them every time she sees them because she wants to like them. What kid wants to like brussel sprouts? My son, if it’s not chicken nuggets or handed to him thru a drive thru window he’s pretty sure he doesn’t like it and he isn’t trying it.

    Reply
  8. Kylie says

    October 3, 2013 at 11:00 am

    Hurray for no more Alimentum!!!!!

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      October 3, 2013 at 11:22 am

      Yes!! 🙂

      Reply
  9. TraceyLynnTobin says

    October 3, 2013 at 12:49 pm

    Oh god, food issues, yes. I think I know about two kids who haven’t had some kind of issue with food. My daughter, in particular, is extremely fussy. The thing is, it’s not that she doesn’t necessarily like different things, it’s just that she refuses to try them. We had at least a three week period not that long ago when she didn’t eat supper at all, any day, even though we refused to give her anything else the rest of the day unless she at least tried it. She would literally go 12 hours or more without eating, just because she refused to try one bite of her supper. @_@

    Reply
  10. ashlee418 says

    October 3, 2013 at 10:12 pm

    Isn’t it funny the things us moms figure out? I’d be at Costco everyday too! I recently discovered that if I feed my two year old her food as “treats”, like she’s a cat, she’ll eat just about anything. So you know what we’re doing now for every meal…here kitty kitty! : )

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Last Days Before Two | Perfection Pending says:
    November 21, 2013 at 1:44 pm

    […] little kid…because he’s a little kid now, not a baby. He tests my patience everyday when I try to feed him. Or when he insists on pushing his own shopping cart at the store and if I even attempt to touch it […]

    Reply
  2. Asian Chicken Salad says:
    July 11, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    […] know, he doesn’t each much of anything that is, of course, unless it’s served with a spork at Costco. […]

    Reply
  3. 5 Tricks to Feeding Picky Toddlers - Perfection Pending says:
    November 21, 2016 at 4:59 pm

    […] Switch up the serving dish. I’ve blogged about how if you serve my kid anything with a dixie cup and a spork, he’ll eat it. Well, that’s still true. Sometimes I just have to make it fun. […]

    Reply
  4. Manic Mondays: Fourth Meal - Perfection Pending says:
    April 8, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    […] cleaning my kitchen after dinner. To see the clean counters, and to know that I’m done with feeding my kids for the day is so wonderful. Yet, it never fails that as soon as we bring up the subject of […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

The Mother Load

Perfection Pending on Instagram

Meredith Ethington

perfectpending

Mom • Author • Mental Health Therapist In Training
Grab my new book, The Mother Load, available now. 👇👇

Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

Sure, you can commiserate with a fellow parent about teenagers being the worst.

But, to be honest - they’re not the worst. They’re kind of amazing. But their problems make me tired to my core." 

Read the latest on my substack. I promise you'll relate. ❤️
So sweet. ❤️ Follow me @perfectpending and bet So sweet. ❤️
Follow me @perfectpending and better yet buy my book or subscribe to my substack to support me.
"I don’t know about you, but I don’t really wa "I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want same-ness anymore. I want messy. I want admissions that shit is hard and we don’t have it all together. I want to have a makeup free, messy bun in my sweats run in with a mom friend and not feel worried she’s checking out my un-groomed eyebrows.

I don’t want to try to give off this illusion that I’m control of my life any better than the next person. It’s a shitshow for all of us, and we continue to hide it for fear of what? Being human?"

Read the rest on my Substack. Link in profile.
WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
What if it’s right now while I’m in finals week of grad school, and have a kid that’s sick? 
I already miss so much. The gummy smiles of babes without any teeth. The squeaky voices of 2 year olds. The babbling of a baby that’s just trying so hard to say mama. The grammar mistakes my kids make when they’re talking that I don’t have the heart to correct because I love it too much. 

I miss a lot about those younger years that have already slipped away. My youngest is sick, much like in this picture, but he is too big to snuggle in my arms now when he’s running a fever. 

Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
Am I missing it? AM I? I felt a tug that maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t relishing enough, and enjoying enough, and being present enough.
But, then I realized, it will never be ENOUGH. 

Read the rest in my substack ❤️
New year, same me. 😂 #mentalhealth #anxiety #de New year, same me. 😂
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression
"I don't care" as I literally care about every sin "I don't care" as I literally care about every single thing.
I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of th I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of this. *sweeps arm generally at planet earth*

Look, I’ve never been a half glass full kind of gal. I can ALWAYS find the negative in every situation. 

But, right now it’s easy to say that I’m over it. It being.....

The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

Everything is crap right now. We joke about it a lot. We have to in order to survive. 

It’s the one millionth day of January but Spring feels so far away. 

I’m over these four damn walls that we call home. 

Yeah, I know. Even as I’m typing this it all sounds like a bunch of ungrateful whiney BS. I hear it. I don’t need you to point it out, Karen. 

But, my guess is you’re reading this right now and realizing you’re over it too. Whatever “it” is in your life.

Some days the world feels like total crap. Everything is a mess. Everything costs too much. For E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. 

Yes, even for you Karen. ➡️➡️ to keep reading.
Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mea Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mean someone loves you that much to communicate them! Love this wisdom from @wittyidiot
NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a loved one. Or loss of a child. Those things are real, and they’re heart wrenching. And, this post is certainly not to compare that loss with the one I’m going to talk about.

But, the loss of yourself in motherhood is real. And It’s not talked about enough." 

Do you feel like you lost yourself in motherhood? How? I really want to know. 

Psss - I am in grad school to become a therapist, and am not ashamed to ask that you subscribe to my paid substack. I just lowered the cost to $36/year! That's like $4/month and you'll have access to all my previous posts, and some new weekly short posts to give you ideas to help with balancing motherhood and your own mental health. I'm learning a lot in school, and will only continue to do so, so subscribe and we'll support each other. ❤️
This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣 This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣
Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon
I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and a dress with spaghetti straps and a Tshirt under it while you’re telling me I’m doing it wrong? 🤣 Life is wild. Teenagers are fun.
Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s th Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s the moral of the story friends? If you think your household is always sick - it’s because they probably are. Kids make everything more germ-y
Here’s what I do know 👇 No one knows what th Here’s what I do know 👇

No one knows what they’re doing. 
We all feel like imposters. 
Our kids love us anyway. 
We’re all going to be OK. 
You’ve got this (as much as any of us do) 😘

#momspiration #momlife #funnymoms #memtalhealth #parentinglife #parentingquotes
"By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to "By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to avoid being human." 

Do you struggle with perfectionism? Parenthood has helped me quite a bit, but It's something I've battled my whole life. I still struggle occasionally, although it's gotten better. But, let's stop trying to avoid being human and instead embrace ourselves an in turn embrace the entire human race. ❤️ I'd love to hear how you embrace being imperfect. 

#perfecționism #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #imperfect #perfectpending #themotherload #thementalload
Mood. Mood.
Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I said we only need to be getting it right 30% of the time for our kids to have secure attachments. Well I wrote a bit more about the concept of being the “good enough mother” a term coined in the 50’s by a researcher and pediatrician. Check it all out in my newest post. Link in profile.
It’s true! Researchers have found that as long a It’s true! Researchers have found that as long as you’re doing the repair after mistakes the other times - then 30% is enough! Sometimes I worry I’m not doing it right but I definitely know I’m doing it right 30% of the time! 
Probably a whole lot more to be honest. I bet you are too. #momlife #encouragement #momspiration
Load More Follow on Instagram

You might also like

The Greatest Gift Is To Watch Your Child Leave You

Mom holding baby in nursery and yawning

When Does Parenting Get Less Exhausting? Newsflash – Never.

Dad holding tired girl after trick or treating during Halloween in the 80's

Halloween in The 80’s Was the Best Ever

mom forcing a smile with fingers and blue background

Stop Complaining About Motherhood. Here Are 21 Reasons You Shouldn’t

Here’s How to Deal With Hating Being a Parent

Copyright © 2025 · Perfection Pending · Designed by Krizzy Designs

Copyright © 2025 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in