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Parenting
Hooray2005
member
Poll: 2.5-3 y/o and meal time ?s
Hooray2005
member
in Parenting
How long does it take your DC to eat lunch or dinner?
How much "help" do they need (how often do you have to redirect them to take a bite, how often do you end up "feeding" them b/c they won't do it, etc.)
Do they stay at the table while eating, or is it a battle to keep them sitting?
DS is driving me batty b/c he seems unable to focus on eating and needs constant redirection and focusing. We bought a restaurant high chair to keep him at the table (otherwise he was all over the place), but he's still not able to focus on eating, and it can take an hour to feed him. I'm going batty
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Re: Poll: 2.5-3 y/o and meal time ?s
My son is darn near 2 1/2 now.
We JUST moved him to a booster seat, so he sits with us at the table. He also refuses any kind of bib though he constantly drips and spills on himself. He is the weirdest kid because he is ultra clean! He insists on a napkin and wipes his mouth after each bite and if a little bit of yogurt (or whatever) falls on the table, he'll wipe it up. Its cute but it makes the meal last pretty long.
My struggle is getting him to eat vegies and protein. He does fine with pasta, bread, crackers, yogurt most of the time, and fruit. He tells me when he's done and I let that be. I do leave his leftover food on the table and if he wants it later, I let him climb back up to the booster. I won't let him walk around with food (anymore).
And yeah, there's lots of redirection. Lots of encouraging to TRY the vegetable or the chicken, or whatever. He will end up eating what he wants! He's pretty independent.
Good luck to you!
I'm going crazy because he constantly wants to snack!
I don't have issues with Jack. Sorry. I know you were hoping for a better answer. Maybe ds is going through a phase? I hope he gives mommy a break soon.
I know they say to end the meal if your child won't fly right. I don't see how dealing with a starving child at bedtime is really going to help. I hope you get some good answers and solutions!
LOL - sadly, I'm hoping everyone says they DON'T have problems, so I can actually have a reason to ask the pedi about DS's behavior - I'm almost at the point where I don't want the "oh, that's just normal toddler behavior" answer (b/c then there would hopefully also be additional help for him!) Sigh...
Eating is a battle, period. I no longer give her snacks, and limit juice/water an hour before meal time in hopes that she will be hungry for her meal.
The only thing that remotely works is bribery. She loves popsicles and bandaids.
How long does it take your DC to eat lunch or dinner? Dunno - less than 20 minutes? Probably less than 15?
How much "help" do they need (how often do you have to redirect them to take a bite, how often do you end up "feeding" them b/c they won't do it, etc.) None, but in our house either the girls eat or they don't. I don't really do much to "make" them eat. The only rule is that DD#1 has to stay at the table in her seat until everyone is done. She can tell us about her day or munch or whatever. I don't help her eat anything. I haven't helped her in probably a year. I rarely help DD#2 eat. She's trying to learn to use spoons/forks but not quite there yet so I do help her eat yogurt, apple sauce, etc.
Do they stay at the table while eating, or is it a battle to keep them sitting? Mostly DD#1 stays at the table. If it's not a meal she likes or if we take too long, she can get antsy. If she's really acting up and/or trying to climb on me or whatever, I'll ask if she wants to go to bed. Our rule is in her chair or in bed during dinner time. Mostly, though, she sits there happily enough eating and chatting about her day.