My two and a half year old daughter has drawn a line in the sand and she is willing to suffer greatly to stay true to her decision.<br><br>She will only eat Ritz crackers for breakfast!<br><br>Nothing else. No bacon, no eggs, no cereal, no yogurt, no waffles, not even chocolate marsh mellow filled pop tarts! Ritz. She will starve before she even touches that other crap. This has been going on for weeks.<br><br>And because I worry about the poor little child fainting from hunger mid morning at her pre school, I have been slipping her a few Ritz on the way to school.<br><br>Am I re-enforcing obstinate behavior or teaching my daughter to stick to her guns in order to support that which she believes?<br><br>Everything is better with a Ritz.

How did this start? It seems odd.<br><br>Maybe you can get some peanut butter on them at least.

She began sneaking them from the pantry during breakfast.<br><br>Good point about the peanut butter, be good to get some vegetables early in the day.

There are some good Healthy Handfuls that might make an easy substitution. or carrots, for that matter. I guess if you can figure out whether she likes the salty, buttery, or crunchy part you can target in on a good replacement.<br><br>What I read last night said that it's the foods you don't let kids have that they'll crave forever and the foods you force down their throats will be the ones they'll reject for life.

Hey, be careful with the peanut butter if she hasn't already been exposed. The new rule is not until age 4. Ug-remember when we all had PB&J by our 1st birthday?<br><br>Well, I hate to admit it, but I can't stand the folks who say when they're hungry enough they'll eat. Toddlers have an amazingly strong will & my son would easily starve before eating something he doesn't want. Truth is, I would cave & give her the Ritz too. It's a phase like evrything else. As long as she's eating some other foods throughout the day, I'm guessing she'll be just fine. Just try everyday to give her something else & one day she'll eventually eat something other than Ritz.<br><br>My son tends to not eat anything until he sees me or Dad eating it first. And, especially not if it's offered in the high chair. He must be mobile to try any new food. LOL. Then, I act as if it's so good that I won't share, then give him just a taste. Once I get him hooked, I plop him into the high chair & give him a big old meal of whatever it is. Give it a shot. It surprises me how well that works.<br><br>(Reverse psychology 101!)

Excellent ideas. But Dude, your kid is weird! I'd also be sure to not give her Ritz any other time. (Unless she agrees that the next breakfast will be something different.) Example: So you might have Ritz as an afternoon snack, but she can't have any, unless she agrees to cereal for breakfast tomorrow. But then you also have to stick to YOUR guns tomorrow. (oops, we ate them all yesterday sweetie wink wink nudge nudge)

Yeah, I think I'd probably consider running out of Ritz crackers. Hide them or throw them out or whatever after she goes to bed so there won't be any to have in the morning. For ourselves, we purposefully don't keep anything that would be considered a treat in the house. That way we actually have to get off our bums and get in our car to go get something if we feel we MUST have it. It keeps us from eating junk any time we feel like it because it's right there in the pantry.

Actually, I really do agree with the when they're hungry enough, they'll eat approach. Survival instincts are bound to trump willpower at some point - the child will not starve. And a little rumbling tummy will almost certainly ensure that he/she will be all that much more receptive to whatever is offered at lunchtime.<br><br>But I also agree with the sneaking in a little peanut butter or cheese with the crackers and I like the idea of running out to force other options to be considered.<br><br>I guess I'm all for giving a child options and supporting those preferences to help encourage some individuality and independence - but only to a certain point. I worry that if you don't retain a fair degree of authority, the free-wheeling will bleed over into other, non-food-related areas and then you'll really have your hands full.<br><br>But then again, I'm a newbie, so maybe I'm full of it...