Give up!

Two sweeter words were never heard. For weeks we have been working with Mason and a behavioral psychologist on his eating disorder.  We have tried everything to persuade, convince, encourage, demand...Mason to eat and nothing works.  According to Dr. Tracy, he has no motivation.  Typically you can encourage kids to eat by offering them a bribe...eat your chicken and get a French fry.  Try one new food and get a sticker.  Get 10 stickers and earn a toy, play angry birds, or go to the toy store with daddy etc.  We have tried all of these and 101 other things and nothing works.  He is perfectly happy with the foods he eats.  Since he eats a number of healthy foods (baby food) which help him meet his daily nutritional requirements, we are going to back off trying new foods.  He is stressed out, we are stressed out and he is obviously not ready. 

One success is that he has started feeding himself, but that is thanks to his Aunt Veronika and Grammy.  He will now take a shower, which is a success thanks to his daddy.  Finally, Mason has tried several new foods (cheese, bacon, and chicken nuggets) and eaten baby food pears at school.  All of which are steps forward and for that we are grateful.

Now what?  We continue with what we have started.  He doesn't eat fries or ice cream unless he eats pears or lentils. All the boys cannot have dessert unless they eat their dinner in a reasonable amount of time and if they refuse a meal, then they cannot have anything but water until the next meal.  All of these are healthy boundaries that are manageable.

  

We are at peace with this decision and feel that we have done everything possible to work through this issue. If he is still eating only French fries and baby food when he goes to college, then that will be on him.

Mary