2.5 yr old not eating or napping

sarbieb

My daughter hardly eats. She says she's not hungry and doesn't want anything most times. But She eats everything I pack her for daycare lunches 2x a week. But doesn't wanna eat meals home!! She's also fighting naps and saying she wants to be up and eventually goes d

sarbieb

Oops wasn't done! She goes down 2 hours later than usual nap time and it's a CIO situation. Then she wakes around 5pm and doesn't wanna go to bed until later. I have to break the cycle!!! Help! Anyone else having these issues?

kgs0505

I agree with everything TAS1883 said.  Keep the schedule, keep offering food, and definitely eat with her.  Make sure she's not filling up on snacks instead of meals too.  My son eats big breakfasts and decent dinners, but hardly touches lunch.  he definitely eats a better variety at daycare than he will for me, but we keep offering.

CopperT0p

With DS his name is always at the same time every day, whether he's at daycare or at home.  We also keep the meal times pretty consistent.  One rule in our house is that if you don't eat your meal you don't get a snack between that meal and the next.  We save the plate and if he asks for food we offer that food from the meal he didn't eat.  Doing this has really reduced his picky tendencies since he knows he's going to eventually have to eat the food. The funny thing is that when he comes back and eats it later he usually starts going on how yummy it is even though his original reason for not wanting to eat was it was yucky.  

I put this back to being a toddler and trying to make their own decisions.  He gets decisions he can make about food such as sandwich toppings or salad dressings on salad, but he cannot choose to not eat the protein in the meal or the veg. 

For nap time since you're already ending up with CIO, why not put her to bed at her regular time rather than waiting 2 hours? By then she might be over tired which can cause more fights.  I also suggest you call this her 'quiet time' rather than nap time.  Let her have a book in bed but say she has to stay in bed and read quietly.  Even if she doesn't nap much, the down time is what they often need. 

sarbieb

Thanks!! Great tips!! I will curb her snacking and stick with the nap and meal schedule.