Indiana Babies
toddlers and dinner time
Sugarplumwife's post below about eating out with a toddler had some similar responses - several of us said that dinner time is especially hard.
I'm just curious - how many of you have LOs that don't eat a ton at dinner, but rather get most of their calories during the day?
I know this is pretty common, from what I've read, but it's always nice to know you're not alone. 
Ella is really difficult at dinner, especially the last couple of months.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: toddlers and dinner time
Elli's largest meal is probably breakfast however sometimes that isn't even a very large meal.
I would say she gets most of her calorie intake from her snacks. She just grazes all day. Dinner time though is very hit or miss for her. There are days when she eats a really good dinner and then other days I wonder how she survives.
The bissest problem we have at dinner though is that she seems especially cranky at dinnertime. So if we are eating at home she will NOT let me cook or get anything prepared for dinner. She literally hangs on my legs or just stands there and whines. I have tried putting her in her highchair or giving her tupperware or pots and plans to play with and nothing seems to entertain her. Sometimes I even ask Ashli to play with her but she whines for me the whole time. On the opposite end of the spectrum if we go out to eat she is cranky and will not sit in her high chair. I absolutely hate having her scream in a restaurant so I get her out but that seems to have created a monster. She wants down to play. I have started to dread dinnertime.
Paige is sometimes really cranky at dinnertime, but we usually get her to eat.
It's also a challenge because breakfast and lunch are pretty routine, kid-friendly things, but sometimes for dinner, I'll actually make something that we adults like to eat and she won't want to eat it. Larry can usually gently force her to eat a bite, she'll realize that she likes it, and then eat. But getting to that point can be awful.
It's hit and miss for us - sometimes she'll totally pig out (eat more than I eat) and sometimes she won't eat much (like, a few pieces of cheese and maybe a dozen grapes). If she likes what's in front of her (i.e. fruit and veggies), she'll almost always eat it all.
For some reason Jake does OK at home, but when we go out for dinner he is total wreck. If we go somewhere fast, it's Ok, but no more sit down and ordering places.
Jake's bedtime is late (8:30) and dinner is at 6:30, so maybe he still has a little energy left. He eats OK. No meat usually, but he'll eat his fruit and veggies and a starch most nights.
His teacher told me he is starting to get picky at daycare. I guess for us he's always been picky but I'm worried it's going to get worse.
We also have a grazer. If he is really hungry, he will eat a full meal, but that takes forever. I mean maybe 45 minutes in the highchair? So I watch his intake (and how much he feeds the dog) and then supplement with a snack if he hasn't had much (or hasn't gotten a food group for that meal). If he hasn't had a protein, I'll offer him some cashews in a snack trap an hour and a half later, or if he hasn't had a veggie, I will offer carrots. I try to balance it out through the day, because I know it's just a lot to expect a toddler to have enough attention span to eat a full meal at the exact time I want him to eat it!
Lately, we've had the most success when we all sit down together and eat. Before, that was WAY too distracting, all he wanted to do was talk. So I had the best success putting him in his highchair as I was cooking, and feeding him before we sat down.
~GRACIE JEAN 7-5-08~