29 June 2009

Wasteful kids????

I know I just got home from a week away - wonderful - and I will blog about that later, but, on my mind today is this - How do I teach my children to not waste? I mean, really, half eaten apples, half a box of dog treats gone in one day, full bowls of milk leftover in a half eaten bowl of cereal...I could go on, but, I won't, because it's already making me crazy. Any help out there? Aaaahhhhhh!

On a side note, can I just say that I already nag my kids. That's not working. And they do have other wonderful qualities. Thrift is just not one of them....

4 screams from the fans...:

Marc and Liz Anson said...

I'm not one for 'forcing' my children to clean their plates but Rachel was becoming more wasteful in her snacking/eating so this is what I did. 1: if it was a snack, say an apple and she didn't want to eat it all, I put the rest of the apple in a plastic bag and then into the fridge. When she wanted another snack I gave her the apple. At first she copmlained that it was "dirty" (because it turned brown) but I said if you want a snack you can finish the apple you started. If you finish that and want more you can have one more little snack. Doing this has helped and she usually finishes what she starts now. 2: for dinner if she doesn't like what I made, she has to have one bite of everything first. Then if she really doesn't like it, she gets a PB&J, that's it, nothing more. Then I take the food she didn't eat, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge and she gets it for lunch the next day. I continue the 'cycle' until she eats it all. So far this has worked for us. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Sooooo... If the don't finish it make them eat it later! sounds good to me! Just get mom to agree and make it happen! JB

Unknown said...

I think I'll just scream with you. Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! I feel a little better. Do you?

Anonymous said...

I love our kids even when they don't finish their food. If they don't want it the least the could do would be to say, "I don't want it." instead of hidding it! That makes me more mad then if they just leave it on the plate. Give me a child that likes everything any day.