All my kid ever wants to eat is hotdogs!
@MsControversy (446)
United States
August 26, 2012 12:21am CST
Lately my son has been on this kick that all he will eat is hotdogs, literally for every meal. He's a picky eater to begin with and it's like pulling teeth to get him to try new things. But for the past two weeks that's all he will eat, even for breakfast! I used to at least be able to get cereal or oatmeal in him but now he's refusing even that. I don't know if this is a phase or what, I tried denying him the hotdogs, especially at breakfast, but then he just won't eat and I don't want to make something else for him because he'll just waste it and I can't afford to have food wasted. But, I also feel like if I keep giving in and letting him eat the hotdogs that I'm showing him that it's that easy for him to get his way. One day last week I told him that if he wasn't going to eat a normal breakfast that he could just go hungry and that's what he did. He didn't eat one thing until lunch. And then I felt bad because I knew he was hungry. I'm hoping that he will just tire of the hotdogs and go back to his regular diet, which isn't much anyway. But has anyone else ever had their kids go through a phase like this? My daughter never did and I don't remember ever doing it when I was a kid. Of course they all have their favorites, but every day for every meal? I've had to buy the 3lb packs of hotdogs in bulk 3 times in the last two weeks!!
3 people like this
12 responses
@HomeBase (1153)
• United States
26 Aug 12
I'm sure that your son will tire of eating those hotdogs, but for now he's into them, so that's it and that's all for now. I, personally, have done this, where I ate the same exact thing for many days in a row, but I'm grown so nobody even has to know about it ;)
My son has done that where he only wants a certain thing, and I'll give it to him but put something else on the plate in addition to the "favored item." He eats what he wants off the plate and the rest goes into the refrigerator as left-overs.
When I was a child I was sometimes forced to eat things that I hated the taste of, or forced to eat all of one thing before I could have something else. I guess that made me kind of feel like I would not do that to my child, he is a teenager now, but I have kind of always let him eat what he wants to eat. I was told to judge the nutritional value of his diet by the WEEK's intake of food, as opposed to the day.
1 person likes this
@MsControversy (446)
• United States
26 Aug 12
I remember when I was a kid my parents would do that to me too. I was kind of a picky eater as a kid and my dad would make my brother and I sit at the dinner table until we finished. They either said, "you eat what's in front of you or you don't eat" and "There are starving kids all around the world who would love to have that plate of food in front of you" Lol...I don't do that to my kids either. All I ask is that they at least taste something before they decide they don't like it...But my son? Jeez Luoise, he is a tough stubborn one! I guess the best thing to do is to just let him eat the hotdogs and make sure he takes his vitamins. The kids aren't allowed to snack on junk food, so at least in between meals he will eat some yogurt or banana. Lol, I hope he gets tired of them soon because my pockets can't take much more of those bulk hotdog packages. I have four kids in the house and they all love hotdogs (not as much as my son) but they go through a pack of 24 in 2 or 3 days usually!
@HomeBase (1153)
• United States
27 Aug 12
Yes, him taking his vitamins is insurance that he is getting the supplements that he needs. I think that I would try a bit of covert action , I would not mention one WORD within earshot of any of those kids about how the hotdog situation is troubling you, next thing you know, they ALL might want hot dogs every meal (power of suggestion and all that) when really the only one who is GENUINE about it is your son.
I think that (depending on what your finances can handle) offering a wide variety of fruits and other things to eat is just great, but sometimes kids just want what they want. I saw an interview about Bill Gates. His dad said that at a very young age Bill had a strong will of his own and was very defiant towards him (the dad) and towards the mom. My point, having a strong will is a sign of character, even if it is only about hot dogs...for now ;)
@kuting (885)
• Philippines
26 Aug 12
I guess this phenomena is common worldwide. lol. There was a point in my son's life that the only food he knows and eats is hotdog. I can't really remember when the switch happened but he had been eating veggies and regular food while he was little then i suddenly notice that all he wants to eat is hotdogs! It's not easy to deny this and my heart goes out each time he avoid other foods and of course I worry about him going hungry. But eventually he opened up to the idea of trying other foods like chicken nuggets and hamburgers. Oh well, its hard to have picky eaters but I do hope that soon my son will also try other non-processed foods.
@MsControversy (446)
• United States
26 Aug 12
My son was the same when he was a little younger (he's going on 7 now). When he first starting eating table food when he was a year or so old, he ate whatever I gave him and never complained or spit it out or anything. But I would say in the last 3 years, he has gone from eating just about everything to virtually nothing! But he's never gone through a phase where it was the same thing every day, all day lol. You would think he would get tired quick, I couldn't imagine eating hotdogs every day! Lol =)
@Jshean20 (14348)
• Canada
26 Aug 12
This is a tough one, obviously you don't want him to starve but you also don't want him eating something so unhealthy all the time. I would just try to strike a deal with him and give him lots of notice on what is happening, let him know that starting Wednesday he will be allowed to have hot dogs once per day and then try to make progress from there.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
26 Aug 12
Hello MsControversy and welcome to myLot. Aren't kids fun? At least your son could have chosen a better tasting food than hotdogs. They are nasty. I have a 16 year old granddaughter that has very few things that she will eat. At least she is old enough to fix her own meals. I never had that problem with my own kids. I have read that if you want to get your kids ti eat something you need to put it in front of then 12 times in a row.
@MsControversy (446)
• United States
26 Aug 12
I've heard that too, that they need to be introduced to it quite a few times to get them to try it or at least develop a taste for it. He's going on 7 though, so I'm pretty much convinced that he is just going to be my picky eater. I was like that until I got a little older. I wouldn't even try anything if it didn't look like something I would like, even into my teens. I've gotten better as I've gotten older though. Hopefully, he will do the same! =)
@cagampan1991 (364)
• Philippines
26 Aug 12
Kids really love this food including chicken nuggets. Which is really unhealthy for their body. That's why my mom would always teach my little brother to always eat vegetable. And my brother learned to eat different types of vegetable which is really good.
1 person likes this
@riyauro (6421)
• India
26 Aug 12
Oh that is something your son really really likes and willing not to eat anything but hotdogs. yeah everyone has their favorites and one day he will be over it I guess because eating one things all the time will make him bored. I hope soon he gets bored of hotdogs.
I have seen kids not eating and mums running after them to feed them and they cry and don't want to eat. So, in that way at least your son is eating something and you don't have to pester him to eat food.
Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day ahead. 
1 person likes this
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
26 Aug 12
my kid hasn't hit this stage yet - he's not really a picky eater, so I don't know if he will do it. Right now he eats the same things we do. (In fact, if I'm eating something, he'll insist on trying it, even if he knows he doesn't like it. Toddlers are confusing).
Honestly, though, from everything I've read and heard, if your kid is a healthy kid, he'll eat what he needs to. So you could do the put food in front of him and if he doesn't eat it, he doesn't eat, and he'll eventually eat. It doesn't hurt him to be hungry for a day.
I'd find that hard to do though, so I might just do the "has to eat one bite" thing my friend does. She'll give her child the preferred food, but only after the child has eaten a bite of something else. Her daughter eventually found that she liked a couple of things, and got easier.
@MsControversy (446)
• United States
26 Aug 12
That's actually a great idea!! When I tell my son "just try it" he clamps his mouth closed and absolutely refuses to open it and taste anything that doesn't look appetizing to him. Your friend has a great idea of a good way to get her little one to try new things! I'm going to try that with him. Thank you for sharing that!! =)
@shaggin (72288)
• United States
26 Aug 12
My son had a stage where all he wanted to eat was hot dogs too so sometimes he would eat them twice a day but I would not allow him to eat them for breakfast. I would tell him he needs to eat something else for breakfast or he can go hungry. If he is hungry enough he probably will try to eat something else eventually after a few days of you not giving in.
@MsControversy (446)
• United States
26 Aug 12
I actually did do that one day, I told him if he wasn't going to eat a normal breakfast that he wasn't going to eat anything and he sure didn't! He went back to his room and waited until lunch. And I felt so bad about it because I knew he had to be hungry! LOl
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
26 Aug 12
that is their natural obsession and they want to taste it because its delicious and that taste is kind of new for them,but you should limit the intake of hotdogs eachday
@DragonflyKingdom (288)
• United States
26 Aug 12
Wow that's a lot of hot dogs!!
Well at least make sure they are made of chicken only if possible and less fillers. Many hot dogs are pork which is not healthy in large quantities. Try also putting a side dish like french fries (baked) and dice little vegetables and mix it with the ketchup or whatever topping without him knowing. Change the bread to whole grain if he eats it in bread. This will give him more vitamins and minerals until he gets over it.
@fatlex06 (895)
• Philippines
31 Aug 12
Oh. Hotdogs are really good specially if it has cheese inside. But my doctor adviced me to minimize myself from eating hotdogs because of my illness. And it's one of the reasons why I got that illness but I'm ok now. And no more hotdogs. So I advice you to let not them eat what they want but eat what they should for them to always be healthy.
