Tearing Just the Cheese off the Pizza

Just teach her good manners.
I have always taught my kids how to properly accept and dispose of something they don't like.
Smile and say thank you.
Eat what they like, leave what they don't.
Discreetly remove what they didn't like without pointing it out or making a big deal about it.
If she doesn't like pizza cheese, just show her how to remove it and nicely fold it up in a napkin.
It's really not a big deal.

I'm 41 and on occasion just pull the cheese off. Sometimes I just don't want the crust.

This falls under "who cares" in my house.

Practice saying to yourself over and over "I'm not going to sweat the small stuff. I'm not going to sweat the small stuff..." Make it your mantra.

When you are successful at not sweating the small stuff, you won't be worrying about everything in your life anymore. You'll feel better. Save the sweating for the big stuff, like your daughter's scripting and constant demands and tantrums. THAT'S what you work on...

It's OK. Show your children how to do it neatly and how to clean their hands afterwards, so they aren't too conspicuous doing it.

Umm...I still do that. Sometimes, I just don't want the dang crust!! Honestly, I think parents (I'm just talking parents in general) make too many issues of food. I don't see why kids can't eat how they want to, as long as they aren't causing a big mess, or being disruptive. I would HATE it, if my husband were irritated at me pulling cheese off, or separating things by color, or any of the other things I do with food. It's simply how I eat, and while some may not eat that way, it's not hurting a soul.

There are things to be irritated about with children and people, this is one I can't understand spending energy on.

Really? I eat more of the toppings vs the bread at my old age of 50.

I'd much prefer my daughter to eat what she prefers vs making her eat what parts she doesn't like.

It's a battle I would not fight because there will be much bigger battles in the future.

My daughter is 18 and on her own now in college. Just instill good habits from the get go and you'll be fine!!

I always try to be more understanding with young kids when you are somewhere else than home. Maybe the pizza tasted differently than she was accustomed to and she didn't like the cheese? You even said it was super greasy! I'd say let her peel it off and toss it if she didn't like the grease.

Kids go through phases with food. When my daughter was small (like 3 years old) she would pick off all the parts and eat them individually. Bell peppers. Olives. Pepperoni. The cheese. And would leave the crust on her plate (which was fine by me, it just made it into a salad with cheese and zero carbs, lol). Then, she got where she picked everything off and ate only the crust and some of the cheese (if she was successful in picking everything else out of the cheese). Then she would eat pepperoni and black olive pizza (no other toppings). Now, she eats pretty much everything on pizza (onions included) except she doesn't care for mushrooms.

Just let it go. She's 5. It's not like you were at home and prepared it exactly the way she is accustomed to it and you were practicing manners. You were at a party. And even kids can be allowed to act like a kid at a party. It's a once in a while thing!

My daughter eats pizza one layer at a time! She will literally take her finger and wipe the tomato sauce off and eat it, so gross!! It is so annoying, but since she is 18 yrs old and still doing it, what can I do?? You can make a choice, is this a hill I want to die on? Pick your battles, raise a well rounded kid and you win the war. Good Luck!!

Yes....my DD (almost 3) takes the cheese off and throws it in the trash while proclaiming "yuck yuck" and then comes back to eat just the bottom and crust. She used to eat the whole piece but somehow now can not stand eating anything that is mixed with anything else. Only one food at a time I suppose....

I would just brush it off. I was with my friend and her DD this weekend and her 1.5 yr old DD was licking the icing off a donut and ignoring the rest. My friend was genuinely mad that her DD was wasting a whole donut. I told her in a nice way that the world has bigger problems and perhaps her expectations are a little out of whack with her DDs age ;)

When I was a child my sister and I drove my mom nuts because she only liked the cheese and sausage and I only liked the crust. we used to take our pieces and just separate them. i ate the top she ate the bottom. just let it go. some people just don't like the crust.

Let it go.
Kids' tastebuds are uber sensitive at this age.
I would just let her do it telling her to do it a bit discreetly & putting it a
napkin.

I have one that would live on pepperoni pizza for life or turkey and pepperoni sandwiches with nothing else, no cheese, no veggies, nothing but bread and meat from Subway for the rest of her life and be totally happy.

Then I have one that hates bread. He won't eat the bun on a cheese burger, he won't eat pizza crust, he eats the inside of a sandwich too. I have likes and dislikes so I learned I don't have to be a dictator to the kids. They get to choose what they eat. I get griped at all the time but I don't care. The kids understand food is to nourish our bodies, not for a social meaning.

she tore it off to eat it by itself? or tore it off to dispose of it because she didn't like it?
guess it doesn't matter. so long as she's not being rude or making a mess, why let it be an issue? clearly there are bits of the pizza that appeal to her, and some that don't. just help her keep it neat.
khairete
S.

I wouldn't get upset about this. My son won't eat cheese or sauce at all. When we get pizza (he is 6 btw) he will pick off the pepperoni and eat it and then turn the pizza around and eat the crust only. It used to annoy me, but then I just realized that there is nothing I can do to make him eat it. He is THE most pickiest eater I have ever met. He hates bread (will only eat 1 type), cheese, and pasta. I say, as long as your daughter is eating the rest of the pizza, then I wouldn't worry about her not eating the cheese

Well I love cheese so this sounds ok to me. I remember both my kids doing this at some point, and I don't think I even gave it a second thought.

My son (3) always tears apart his pizza. He likes all parts, but he just doesn't eat it neatly or in bites. He also eats hot dogs weird. Sometimes he will just take the hot dog out and eat the bun and then some of the hot dog. Other times he will eat the whole thing.

Just ignore it.

My toddler is cheese only for pizzas, sandwiches, burgers, etc. Very much falls under the heading 'who cares'. I refuse to fight about food. I won't win the battle or the war because I have learned I can't make my son do something. Also no one appreciates a nag so I pick my battles carefully. Finally I hated eating until I was well into my twenties. I don't want to stigmatize food for my children. Good luck.

Oh and you know how sometimes you have a hankering or a fixation for certain tastes? I think kids get that in spades. Food is very much an exploration for kids.

We have always dabbed the top of pizzas with paper napkins or paper towels to get as much of the grease off as possible.

I also have found for little hands, really small slices are more appetizing to young children. . Take one slice and cut it into 2 or 3 thin slices.

When I do parties for really young children I ask the kitchen to cut the pizza into lots of slices, instead of the typical 8 slices.

My daughter peels the cheese off and only eats the crust, but when she is at a restaurant or at someone's house she agrees that it is more polite to leave it on and eat it as is. That was her decision though. I let it go, but sometimes make comments about how I think it's funny that she's just eating bread with pizza sauce.

One of mine always had to have the sandwich all made proper, then he'd proceed to completely dissect it and eat all the components separate. He'd eat the whole sandwich in the end. I could not just put the parts of the sandwich on his plate, he wouldn't eat it that way because it wasn't a sandwich. He outgrew it. It wasn't worth worrying about. At least he was eating.
I prefer taking the cheese off to insisting on eating the slice upside down, thus everything falling off. I had one that did that too. That one got to me because it was always a huge mess.
Some pizzas can be really greasy. We will do as other mentioned, taking a napkin and dabbing off some of the extra grease. We will also not eat much at the party, enough to take the edge off and be polite if we really don't care for the pizza that is served and then get something on the way home.

I went out on a first date with a guy who brought me to a pizza place (a fancy one) and then ate only the cheese and toppings. So weird - why go for pizza if you eat it the weird way??

Anyway... it doesn't matter. Just try to instill etiquette as best as you can and go from there. Especially since she's 5, not 12.

One of my daughters friends takes the cheese off her pizza all the time. Doesn't like it.