Your Child Doesn’t Eat What You Offered. Now What?

The Beige Plate Club Issue #19

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

You make a meal.
You include something familiar.
You sit down at the table, ready to connect…and your child immediately says, “No thanks,” or “I didn’t want this,” or “What else can I have?”

Sound familiar?

This moment — when your child refuses the meal you just prepared — is so common, but so frustrating. It can leave you second-guessing yourself or spiraling into a cycle of making backup meals, begging for bites, or resorting to bribery.

But here’s the truth:
This is not just a moment of refusal.
It’s a moment of opportunity.
✨ An opportunity to build trust.
✨ An opportunity to model calm, respectful boundaries.
✨ An opportunity to help your child learn to eat — even if they don’t take a single bite.

Let’s walk through what NOT to do, what to try instead, and exactly what to say in the moment.