Is this a normal toddler phase?

proudarmywife08

DD is driving me batty with her eating habits. She refuses to eat sitting down lately and she would prefer that I feed her off the fork or spoon. I'm so frustrated. Iwant her to learn to sit and eat at the table but all I get is a screaming tantrum and a hungry kid. Any advice?

luvlieK

What have you allowed previously?  

From the beginning, if C is eating he has to be at the table.  If he wants to get up and play, then he comes back to eat. 

We gave him a fork and spoon starting a 1.  I think we even started giving him a (really dull) knife then too. 

proudarmywife08

luvlieK:

What have you allowed previously?  

From the beginning, if C is eating he has to be at the table.  If he wants to get up and play, then he comes back to eat. 

We gave him a fork and spoon starting a 1.  I think we even started giving him a (really dull) knife then too. 

Before, she was always strapped into her booster chair but I've been letting her eat at the counter with me lately where she can get up and down freely. She doesn't come back to eat if she goes and plays either (well not for at least an hour!), she just completely forgets. The thing that bugs me the most is that she is capable of feeding herself with her fork and spoon and has done so in the past very successfully but is refusing to do so now. 

luvlieK

proudarmywife08:

luvlieK:

What have you allowed previously?  

From the beginning, if C is eating he has to be at the table.  If he wants to get up and play, then he comes back to eat. 

We gave him a fork and spoon starting a 1.  I think we even started giving him a (really dull) knife then too. 

Before, she was always strapped into her booster chair but I've been letting her eat at the counter with me lately where she can get up and down freely. She doesn't come back to eat if she goes and plays either (well not for at least an hour!), she just completely forgets. The thing that bugs me the most is that she is capable of feeding herself with her fork and spoon and has done so in the past very successfully but is refusing to do so now. 

Yea, I wasn't sure if you meant she wants to use it or if she wants you to do it.  I would say she wants to feel like the "baby" again.

I have always gone by, he will eat when he is hungry.  He has a stokke trip trap and I have long since taken off the baby rail, so he comes and goes as he wants. 

TCsbride

We've had this problem since DS outgrew his booster seat as well. We are very big at sitting at the table as a family for meals and tv is off, we just talk as a family. But he dances around the chair and stands up and cannot concentrate on eating. Every meal seriously takes like an hour or more. We've never allowed this and yet we're going on over a year of this happening. He's actually a very good eater, but it takes him FOREVER. We try to make a game out of it and my husband is much better than I am, but he still takes forever. (Using names like sponge bob pie for quiche.....calling spinach popeye power punch.....doing the whole plane into the hanger game). That's about the only thing that works.

crackerjackprinter

We also believe that they will eat when hungry.  DD has gotten very picky lately.  She tells us when she's done and we let her down.  We need to be better about her waiting til we're done but besides that she can be done whenever.

As far as the wanting you to feed her, I agree that it sounds like she wants to be babied.  Can you channel that into another activity like swaddling her in a large blanket for fun or encouraging her to "mommy" her dolls/animals?