scottwilson
New member
My son is 17 and is 6’2”. He’s tall and needs a lot of food to sustain. YET! The kid doesn’t take any responsibility for making sure he is fed, and I suffer from it. When he doesn’t eat, he’s an absolute pill and can be quite mean. When I’m able to identify this and feed him it can be a 10-15 minute turnaround in mood.
Thus, I cook for him and often ignore when he says he’s not hungry, because I know he IS, and then will eat if I put food in front of him. But not otherwise. Unless he recognizes the hunger (which is rare), but in that case he will eat only cereal or protein bars (like 6 of them) which is find wasteful/expensive, high in sugar, and these don’t really fulfill his needs.
THIS DRIVES ME CRAZY! He’s 17. I feel like I’m tending to a toddler. I’m tired of cooking for him all the time and I’m tired of dealing with a bitchy attitude because he doesn’t do self-care. We’ve talked about it a lot, I’ve gotten better at buying frozen things that he can easily heat up, but he seems to either not identify that he’s hungry or lack the motivation to do much about it, 99% of the time. It means I don’t feel I can go out after work or get up early and go on a hike because I’ll come home to an angry kid, etc., and it’s not worth it. I’m tired of worrying about this for a child who is nearly an adult.
He’s perfectly capable- he makes pies with lattices and has roasted a chicken on his own- it’s NOT a skill deficit.
I’m wondering, do your kids make healthy eating choices as teenagers? What do you see your kids make for themselves at this age? Any suggestions for moving the responsibility into
his court while avoiding suffering the wrath of his lack of self care?
Thank for your input.
TLDR;17 year old doesn’t take care of his food intake needs and is then untenable. Im tired of cooking, lack of accountability, and his hanger. Asking for suggestions and what other teens his age have for eating habits.
Thus, I cook for him and often ignore when he says he’s not hungry, because I know he IS, and then will eat if I put food in front of him. But not otherwise. Unless he recognizes the hunger (which is rare), but in that case he will eat only cereal or protein bars (like 6 of them) which is find wasteful/expensive, high in sugar, and these don’t really fulfill his needs.
THIS DRIVES ME CRAZY! He’s 17. I feel like I’m tending to a toddler. I’m tired of cooking for him all the time and I’m tired of dealing with a bitchy attitude because he doesn’t do self-care. We’ve talked about it a lot, I’ve gotten better at buying frozen things that he can easily heat up, but he seems to either not identify that he’s hungry or lack the motivation to do much about it, 99% of the time. It means I don’t feel I can go out after work or get up early and go on a hike because I’ll come home to an angry kid, etc., and it’s not worth it. I’m tired of worrying about this for a child who is nearly an adult.
He’s perfectly capable- he makes pies with lattices and has roasted a chicken on his own- it’s NOT a skill deficit.
I’m wondering, do your kids make healthy eating choices as teenagers? What do you see your kids make for themselves at this age? Any suggestions for moving the responsibility into
his court while avoiding suffering the wrath of his lack of self care?
Thank for your input.
TLDR;17 year old doesn’t take care of his food intake needs and is then untenable. Im tired of cooking, lack of accountability, and his hanger. Asking for suggestions and what other teens his age have for eating habits.
. This almost grown child won’t even microwave her plate of leftover dinner after practice. She will just not eat or eat candy stored in her room if it’s not done for her.