Tips from a seasoned mom...

[@juliequates9529]

I find that if we discuss other things and engage the kids in real conversation it distracts them enough to get them to just eat. Great advice not letting them focus on dislikes

[@katiebrower5552]

My grandparents grew up during the depression and sometimes all there was to eat was a potato. They were very frugal and raised my mom to be as well. With that being said growing up we heard many times that food doesn't need to make you happy. We were always well fed homemade food and if we weren't in love with the meal in front of us then hopefully the next one would be more of a hit. We weren't allowed to be picky this has been a huge blessing to be raised this way and one that I am passing on to our small family. (We don't purposely eat weird food but if a recipe doesn't turn out great we will still eat it and take note for next time not to make it.)

[@karinjudge7277]

Just read your post. You know I told my son one time years ago. You aren’t going to think every meal you eat is the most delicious. You will have those meals but not every meal will be that way. Lol So true ! Lol

[@aloras405]

What do you classify as weird food?

[@hartleyfamily5451]

@@aloras405 In our home a "weird" food might be liver & onions, steamed eggplant, zucchini quiche, steamed kale. I know it's not my comment, but my thoughts are along the same line :)

[@tiffanynipp4992]

Love this! Solid advice. And I love how you mentioned that it’s good for the parents to set examples and not make a big deal out of the meal. Well said overall!

[@ouroilyhouse]

Thank you 😊

[@meggo6673]

Agree with all these tips 100%. We have 5 kids (aged 5-15) and we’ve always eaten this way and they love all kinds of healthy food. And even better- they do not overeat sugar, they actually don’t like the taste of store bought cakes and many packaged foods. When they go away for camp or things like that, they are always so excited to come home to “mom’s real food.” ❤

[@wendyhoward2699]

I love your videos. Blessings.

[@jodieh4739]

These tips all work great if you start when they are young. My kids actually got WAY pickier when they were older and spent more time out of the house and could make their own choices. We didn't have a lot of unhealthy snack foods around. So now that they have access it's a whole new game! Once they can make their own choices, there's not much we can do. I am happy I at least gave them a good, solid foundation. My oldest has come back around and now makes his own healthier choices at 21.

[@pamelathompson37]

Laura I think you are doing an amazing job with your kids I love how you are teaching them to eat. 👏👏 .All them little children look so healthy and happy you keep up the good work I wish you had been around when I was raised my two sons you would of been such a huge help.

[@ouroilyhouse]

Awww thank you so much 😊

[@Jess.E.17]

Helpful advice and such a beautiful family. Thank you for sharing!❤

[@cherryrichley1935]

I totally agree good old common sense perfect well done good parenting xx

[@SheHoldsDearly]

This is really good, Laura! Thank you for this!

[@ouroilyhouse]

Thank you so much 😊

[@19590]

Very interesting video. Filled with very helpful suggestions ! Love the filming of the children enjoying the garden.

[@serenagomez3864]

Your meals are beautiful- blessed family!

[@francinemilette8535]

I totally agree with you, you have the best recipe in feeding your children.

[@ouroilyhouse]

Thank you 😊

[@kaylenevictorio6036]

I absolutely love what you shared and can back you up 100%. Best tips for Mom’s with picking eaters: Only keep the food in the house that you want your kids to eat and only serve foods that you want them to eat. If they havent tried nuggets or chips or mac and cheese then they can ask for it. Keeping a healthy fridge and cupboard has been helpful for me as an adult bc I can’t go stress eat anything unhealthy if its not in my house. Same with my kids. Inbetween meal snacks: apples, nuts, oranges, cheese, banana oat bats(made with smashed bananas and oats)…

[@katieheidinger4635]

Totally agree with everything you have said , Well done!!!

[@jkp62]

All these tips are great ones! My children were started on table foods that I would either purée or finely dice up when they started solids, the food was what we ate. Everything was and still is made from scratch and as they were able they brought their plates or bowls to the sink and when they want to wash the dishes, I made sure the non-breakables and safe items were what they “washed” and had the mop at the ready. Their high chair was right next to me as I prepared our meals or made cookies or a cake and that segued into them helping me cook and bake by 5 years old. I had a schedule where we had 3 meals and 3 snacks, spaced out (breakfast at 7 a, snack at 9:30a, lunch at noon, quiet time, snack at 2:30p, dinner at 5p and snack at 7p then bed at 8p for the kids), we’re there times they said they were hungry between the meals and snacks? Yes, they would get a small glass of regular full fat milk which has enough protein and fat to tide them over between the meals and snacks. There were a vegetable or two each either “hated” or would rather not eat, I always had a second veg out so they had one alternative option and every dinner had a salad and my kids still love salads (they are 39, 38 & 36 now). When they were teens they definitely went the junk food route but we never kept it in the house so they had to use their own money to eat at fast food places or buy candy and soda, our son is the only one who has a major sweet tooth and lives on junk at 38 years old though he has had to change that some since he has a 9 and 6 year old! We never pandered to pickiness from the get go, we were a struggling family and food was a precious commodity but it was plentiful since we hunted, fished and when able had a garden (husband was in the military until the youngest was 6). Start them young and if they refuse to eat a meal, they won’t starve to death, allow them to feel that little gnawing pain in their tummies and they will eat the next meal (unless they are strong willed like our youngest, she went a full day of not eating at 4 years old and just getting water before she finally decided she would eat her meals instead of screaming for cookies we had baked that first day- and yes, I spoke to the pediatrician about it and he said it was fine and she was healthy and active and it wouldn’t harm her). Keep up the good work Laura and you other moms out there!

[@nevingood3938]

You are a wise mama!! Keep up the good work! ~Charlotte

[@AM-bm2xw]

My elder son will eat almost anything I put in front of him, but my younger son is a snacker -- and then always says he "FULL" after a couple bites of a meal... so I definitely need to rein in the snacking! Thanks for the video Laura!

[@AnnieDash]

I agree with all of these tips, Laura! We have 5 children and cook from scratch for our meals too. We don't have any issues with pickiness. Thank you for sharing! I wish you and your family a blessed New Year.❤️

[@ouroilyhouse]

Thank you so much! Happy new year!

[@ozarkview928]

Wonderful tips ! Your meals look amazing ❤ I’m a grandma but my kids were like yours they ate whatever cooked , can’t remember any complaining except that there wasn’t enough sometimes 😅

[@aheartysliceofmommylife4949]

I found this video to be very encouraging. My kids are 5 and 7 and when they were younger they ate everything I gave them. It was such a pleasure to watch them eat and enjoy food. As they started getting older I noticed they said they didn’t want things or that they didn’t like things they have eaten and enjoyed before. It has been very frustrating. My son doesn’t like certain textures and my daughter has gotten on the no green specks train. Mealtime is very stressful and my husband and I admittedly say a lot of the things that you and other experts say we shouldn’t. It has been hard to change that because we just want to go back to the days when mealtime was enjoyable for us all and it was one stress we didn’t have. I would love to see you or other similar you tubers do a series on this. Getting kids to help in the kitchen, safety, tools that are good for them to help with and other advice. I know i need to let go of some control in the kitchen and not worry about the mess they will make but also i am concerned about them getting hurt. I feel very inspired watching you and your kids helping. So thank you and if you find the time to add more content like this I would be so grateful. I love to cook and want to go back to it making me and my family feel good and not how it is now.

[@jendyson6729]

I bought my grandkids these kid knives on Amazon when they were younger than your kids to help me chop and prep dinner while I babysat them. They are safe and actually cut pretty well. I wouldn't let kids your age deep fry and certain things like that but other than that I bet they could do lots of things in the kitchen with you.

[@pamelagay3303]

My grown kids are 50 and 43.

[@fabioladiaz7383]

Thank you Laura, I found your channel and your sister's at a time that I wanted to nurture my family instead of just feeding them. My kids eat pretty much everything as well, no snacking, but definitely 3 home cooked meals.

[@vintagebeliever5023]

Wonderful tips

[@susanrud2162]

I totally agree with you on this method. I had other family members that would only eat pizza, chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly. I did not cater to my 3 sons. They ate what I prepared and grew up to be very adventurous eaters.

[@tml3982]

Great advice! I also realized that children will fill up on juice if they are allowed to drink that when they are thirsty. Most store bought juices are full of sugar - some worse than soda.

[@ouroilyhouse]

Very good point!

[@aloras405]

I make my own juice by blending up the whole fruits and veggies and add a little water. It helps get in the wholesome foods and no added sugars.

[@megroux]

Thank you for these tips. I have an autistic child and meal time has always been a major struggle for him. Texture is the issue mainly and consistency.

[@ouroilyhouse]

Awww I'm sure that is tough!

[@jessicaj8148]

The French fry salad looks so good. I need to make this

[@ouroilyhouse]

It is definitely a fave!

[@deborahbavas6514]

Good job! Love this video!👏❤️

[@HosiePosie13]

I feel like I really screwed up at the start with making sure my kids ate what was put in front of them instead of catering to them. Now I have a very picky 5 year old and 3 year old. What would be some tips on reversing these bad habits?

[@ouroilyhouse]

I would just start now! They will adjust!

[@valerieleblanc8066]

Super tips! We do pretty much most of them! We have 7 kids but I would say, mine are still picky. I still make them eat a smaller portion of the meal instead and they still need to learn to be respectful. If they liked it or not they still need to say thank you to God for the food he provided and to the person who made it. If they didn’t like it, they need to learn to hold their tongue; if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say it! ;) It is a habit for sure and some kids will have to practice the virtue of eating what is presented to them the hard way, wether they enjoy it or not. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a bribe but a recompense haha ;) sometimes they just need a little incentive. It’s pretty courageous of you to share, thanks!

[@wendysplace3867]

You do very well. You have a growing adorable family. Thanks for sharing.

[@ouroilyhouse]

Thank you 😊

[@jordynferrari4161]

Awesome advice thank you!

[@bobbysandycam9677]

Great tips. I see some of these things in my two grandsons who are 5 years apart. The second one loved salads and vegetables when he was younger, then the older one would say things like, "Yuck! Vegetables are nasty!" and he stopped eating them. Now he won't touch a vegetable other than starchy ones.

[@LoveIsInTheHouse]

I think this is a very good video and I totally agree with it 💯.. my grandparents grew up on the mission field and they believed in eating all the food you had but there’s was a bit extreme so I don’t agree with the way they did it.. but I survived so..

[@TrueTruthin66books]

These are excellent suggestions, Laura. In the larger context, it is a disservice to children to raise them to believe that a parent’s job is to please them. Children should believe that they should strive to please their parents. If they understand the principle of respecting and pleasing their elders, they will be more likely to understand the concept of service to others, and respect for authorities over them. This understanding starts a foundation for being a good sibling, parent, spouse, and a good employee. The world needs more selfless,grateful, people, rather than selfish, ungrateful, people.

[@hydrangeababy768]

I’m 22 and I agree. It’s unfortunate how people don’t seem to realize how coddling children ends up being such a negative choice.

[@botanicalbecca8443]

Love this! We only have four kids, but they all have such different likes and favorites. One thing they ALL love is Mexican food. Even my "picky eater" loves anytime I make Mexican rice, refried beans and some type of taco meat, especially venison. Ironically, her favorite food is venison. (I believe her having antibiotics as a toddler changed her microbiome to the point she became a picky eater) We also don't force them to eat things, but highly encourage trying everything at least once. Excellent tips! 💗 Happy New Year to you and your family!

[@yvettewalshe9130]

Happy New Year!!!!!!! God bless

[@lorenenath6002]

Great tips, all of them.thanks for sharing. Happy new year to you and your family!!

[@kimberlyprice2]

I love these tips!

[@lindasmith5190]

Enjoyed.

[@dolorescantu8303]

Thanks for the great suggestions!

[@melindalachapell4478]

That’s a great point about snacks. If they truly are hungry between meals, they should be open to eating fruits/ veggies/ cheese or nuts. I have way too many snacks in the house.

[@brectoa]

Love it 👏🏼

[@barbarapeterson8030]

Hey Lauren; Shared To The Burgh!

[@amyoudenhoven9356]

This was such good advice!

[@jo30104]

Hi I love your channel, can you please do a video/tutorial on how you wrap the baby to your body? I absolutely love it and have been trying to duplicate it unsuccessfully!

[@ouroilyhouse]

Yes, I already have one that I made when my last baby was little! You can find it on my channel 💗

[@jo30104]

@@ouroilyhouse Thanks I will check it out😍

[@yardenrice]

Thank you!

[@normamccomas9272]

Agree!!❤xo

[@BootsandBountyHomestead]

My husband was a very limited pallette eater when we got married and he refused to try anything new. I wanted the change our eating habits as my mom was a soul food cooker and it was effecting my health, but he was not on board. I adjusted to some things he would eat, some things I wanted to eat and it worked. Well, we had a son together (my third child, his first) and his eating habits rubbed off on him because he was very vocal about his choices, which has "ruined" our child's eating habits. He refuses to eat certain things now...but now dad has changed his eating habits to match a healthier version with me and it's difficult again. My husband didn't realize how much of an influence his vocalization was until now because He's fighting the same battle I was back then. If I fix something and my son doesn't want to eat or at least try, he either has leftovers or cooks his own food. I'm not making two different meals and definitely not making junk food all the time just so he will eat. He has opened up occasionally to try a bite but it's not often. Thanks for sharing your tips and tricks.

[@karenholthaus2328]

How would you handle a situation where one of the children is allergic to many foods? would you make that child separate food or have the entire family adjust and eat what the child with allergies can eat.

[@ouroilyhouse]

We dealt with this for a couple years and I just made something we could all eat.

[@thatbudgetmama]

Any tips for an extremely picky husband? My son’s pickiness stems from him! He sees him turning away lord of foods, so he does the same.

[@sierracox928]

This is helpful! I have an (almost) 2 year old, 9 month old & another on the way! My toddler eats great breakfast foods, fruits, yogurts, oatmeal’s, eggs etc. but lunch & dinner are more of a struggle. If he refuses a meal, I don’t want to just make him something else (a pb&j or chicken nuggets for example lol) but I also don’t want him to be hungry. But this is motivating to try harder with meal time! Also he’s a huge “snacker” which I’m trying to cut down on.

[@Haley_Wozniak]

I hear ya. While I don't make a separate meal for my kids, I always serve something I know they'll eat with the meal. Something I only do at dinner time. It's something many feeding therapists recommend.

[@ouroilyhouse]

Awww congratulations!!! Glad you found this helpful!

[@katietsykal4053]

We home cook 90 percent of the time, the problem I find is that with food allergies in the family (to good things --like avocado, banana, coconut, egg, milk), it becomes difficult to create that variety, sticking to "safe foods " (meat/veg/starch) We are supposed to avoid eggs for at least another year. It's really hard

[@ouroilyhouse]

Allergies definitely make things hard!

[@itsxjenn2093]

I’m on the same boat. One of my sons is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts. So hard to come up with a variety of meals😭

[@jenn4860]

Didn't you make a video on your potato fries? Link?

[@ouroilyhouse]

I just linked the fry daddy we use in the description box!

[@ncl-ibelieve8421]

When my daughter was still a small child she ate more foods, but now that she is almost 17 years old there are certain foods she does not care for. I guess when children are younger it's easier to get them to try different foods.

[@emrykids7941]

Can you make a video about fertility. Did you ever try anything while ttc? Or are you just naturally so fertile

[@pamelagay3303]

Ha. Talk about a seasoned mom. My kids are age 50 and 43. I am also a Retired RN

[@brendaquinones59]

My kids ate what I cooked.never bribed or offered another choice.they do the same with their kids

[@103Catherine]

Did u grow up this way?just wondering

[@thesimplelifewife3]

Great points. I don't make my children finish their plates until they turn three. I've heard that they are pretty good self- regulators until then. But even the little ones have to try everything. I think there is this wrong thought that some kids are just picky, but the reality is it takes parenting to not let them be picky.

[@karinjudge7277]

Good ideas. Thanks! I was raised in a family of 11. And we were poor. We had a rule or a way of doing things. It was called take it or leave it. We ate what was on the table or nothing at all. Too often kids have too many choices. Not just for food but with everything. We went to bed without supper at times. That was a form of punishment. Which is wrong. Forms bad eating habits. Gosh I haven’t thought about that in years. :( I have a Grandson now who is already forming bad eating habits. To be fair so many Mom’s work outside the home so they want food that’s quick. I was both a homemaker full time and some years worked outside the home. But really doing some food prep really doesn’t take all that much time. And you can have healthier choices:) God bless :) Btw..I follow your sister( farmhouse on Boone). Funny watching you both amazing women !

[@michelleutter8521]

Bribing is giving someone something for dishonest behavior. There is nothing wrong with giving a reward for accomplishing a task.

[@parnellbeth]

I am 60 years old, this idea of letting kids dictate the families life is a foreign concept to me.

[@vintagebeliever5023]

Just curious, how are the children dictating? The old days of ' eat everything on your plate, there are children starving" was not healthy for our children. I am 62 and realized this later in life. 😊 Kudos to this mama

[@jannier9766]

I know a few young families where the mom’s end up making different things for the different kids. She makes the family meal, but the kids whine and the mom gets up and makes chicken nuggets, pizza puffs, etc. That never happened in our home. Those options were not even in our home. Our nephew’s daughter definitely dictates, but the parents should never have allowed it to begin with. It isn’t a matter of “eating it all/cleaning your plate “, but disrespecting the mom’s work of providing healthy meals and lack of gratitude.

[@vintagebeliever5023]

@@jannier9766 I agree but I don't see this mother letting her kids dictate 😊

[@ajoyfullsound]

If you feed your kids healthy food from the start they will like to eat these kinds of foods.

[@lorieann8522]

Oof. I really enjoy your channel but some of these comments make me cringe. Kids with sensory needs or Autism won't just eat if hungry. There is a real, valid, medical reason they won't eat. It isn't healthy to force the food you cooked on them and will lead to more problems. And ask any nutritionist that some people and kids need smaller for frequent meals and snacking for some, as long as healthy as you can do, is a okay. Every family unit is different. People need to get off their high horses and stop putting down others who do things differently. You do what works best for your family. And stop judging. Signed mom of 2 medically complex teens with Autism +

[@ouroilyhouse]

100% agree! This is why I stated, at the beginning of the video, that this is what works for our kids.

[@ethelliott5083]

I don't think she is advocating forcing kids but what is good in general for kids. Kids with special needs, need special consideration when planning meals.

[@lorieann8522]

This is why I said the comments. Not her video. The comments made me cringe.

[@Sister_song]

The comments are so judgmental and I even read one that said children manipulate their parents with food😭😭😭

[@vintagebeliever5023]

I don't see people judging just saying how they did or do it. 😊

[@gingerrogers5062]

I’m confused. If a child doesn’t eat lunch because they don’t like it, then that’s okay. They’ll just eat more of whatever you have for dinner. Then you say that at dinner the kid would then be “made” to eat the (unliked) lunch instead of the dinner, which is more agreeable to them. Seems contradictory. I listened twice. Did I miss something?

[@ouroilyhouse]

I don't force them to eat anything, I just take a laid back approach and assume if they don't eat then they aren't hungry. My kids rarely miss a meal! If we have something I know they don't love (we all have preferences) and they don't eat it at one meal, I'll offer it at the next. Almost always they will eat it.

[@Anna-gy9wx]

think it just meant that if they skip lunch, they will be more inclined to eat more at dinner even if its still not their favourite/preferred food as they will simply just be more hungry. and don't we all just become less picky about food if we are hungry?

[@thesimplelifewife3]

I don't think it's bribing to give kids an incentive. My kids don't get dessert unless they eat their food.

[@Anna-gy9wx]

That's bribing to me - eat your dinner so you can have a dessert, otherwise you won't get a dessert. it teaches the children to overeat, just so they can get the reward (dessert). This forms bad eating habits in life later on. newest research shows that serving dessert alongside dinner and not making a big deal of it, not making children eat dinner first to get rewarded with dessert is a lot healthier for them, as if they don't see the dessert as reward, they might not crave it as much as we think, if its always accessible to them. those children tend to naturally choose healthier options as they have never been taught that dessert=reward and to them dessert is the same as any other food, and they don't build up this "drive/passion" for it as its just the same as a vegetable to them.

[@hollyjobitner3285]

I had to stop watching this video, because it upsets me to no end. I am a retired person and am still extremely picky. Many meals for me as a child were torture. “Try it, try it”, was the constant comment from my parents. That didn’t change me, only reinforced my tastes. I am extremely grateful to have a loving husband who tolerates me. 💙

[@jendyson6729]

some people have food sensitivities to texture etc. One of my sons (who is now grown) has never been able to eat certain textures and consistencies I recognized this when he was young (he would gag) and never pushed it. As an adult he eats a wide variety but I would never expect him to eat these certain things. You're an adult and you get to eat what you want ~ Too many rules and pressure around mealtimes can result in eating disorders later on.

[@tarayounts5071]

If ever we see that any meal is torture, may we remember that the majority of countries in this world are full of people in famine. Teaching kids to appreciate what they have and not take for granted how blessed they are is not a bad thing.

[@hollyjobitner3285]

@@tarayounts5071 Don’t you think that I wasn’t constantly reminded that children in other countries were starving? That doesn’t mean I should be forced to eat things that I didn’t like, even after I had eaten a full meal. Bye

[@jolene8460]

Oh my gosh she literally said she doesn’t force her kids to eat anything. You totally took this video out of context and filtered it through your own history

[@bobbiek2960]

Before my mother left me at my grandparents house. I was forced to eat tomato soup. She forced the spoon in my mouth as I was throwing it back up. Because I didn’t like syrup, she put it on my pancakes and I was forced to seat at the table with the pancakes until my dad came home from work, probably around 8 hours. At 62, I still don’t tomato soup or syrup. I never made my kids eat something they didn’t want to and both are great eaters.

[@MegaBreyergirl]

Farmhouse on Boone much?????copycat

[@candycandyissodandy]

Lisa is her sister 😊 lol

[@EA28RN]

Jealousy doesn’t look pretty!

[@aloras405]

She and Lisa are sisters. Lol! They share similar content all the time. I don’t see a problem.

[@vintagebeliever5023]

Wow...