do all 3 year olds not sit during meal time?

luvmybaby28 · October 2011

my friends daughter is almost 3 and we have eaten with them a lot lately, at restaurants and at home. She does not sit in her seat for even a second, she is running wild and grabbing a bite here and there. Is this the case for all 3 year olds? Does it vary depending on temperament or discipline style? My lo is not yet 1.5 and always sits well during meals and I want to do everything in my power to keep it that way! They do not tell her to sit down, I don't know why.

*sallymad* · October 2011

DD isn't quite 3 but pretty close. She will sit for meal time, because she has to or we take her food away, but it can still take her FOREVER to eat. She's soooo sllloooowwww. I really think it depends on the kid (and parents).

luvmybaby28 · October 2011

*sallymad*:
DD isn't quite 3 but pretty close. She will sit for meal time, because she has to or we take her food away, but it can still take her FOREVER to eat. She's soooo sllloooowwww. I really think it depends on the kid (and parents).

thanks for the reply, I think she grazes through the day and never seems hungry at meal time so maybe witholding her food would not phase her.

MaxandRuby · October 2011

My almost 3.5yr old typically sits for a meal. If in a restaurant he is on the inside so there is not getting out for him and at home he may get restless towards the end but he isn't allowed to eat anywhere but at the table.

My SIL's kids freaking eat and run, back and forth from the table. It annoys the ever living shiit out of me. That is one of the main reasons why DS1 is only allowed to eat at the table. I do not want him thinking it is ok to get up and down up and down up and down, etc.

luvmybaby28 · October 2011

MaxandRuby:

My almost 3.5yr old typically sits for a meal. If in a restaurant he is on the inside so there is not getting out for him and at home he may get restless towards the end but he isn't allowed to eat anywhere but at the table.

My SIL's kids freaking eat and run, back and forth from the table. It annoys the ever living shiit out of me. That is one of the main reasons why DS1 is only allowed to eat at the table. I do not want him thinking it is ok to get up and down up and down up and down, etc.

this is exactly what I am afraid of, it annoys me too and I don't want my ds to start thinking it is ok to behave that way.

Lisichka · October 2011

*sallymad*:
DD isn't quite 3 but pretty close. She will sit for meal time, because she has to or we take her food away, but it can still take her FOREVER to eat. She's soooo sllloooowwww. I really think it depends on the kid (and parents).

This is my DD as well. We've taken her food away a few times and now she sits at the table. Sometimes, when she's just not hungry, she'll let us know and then she's allowed to leave the table. But she also has set mealtimes during the day, so there's no grazing (she's allowed to eat her fruit not at the table during her snack time though)

ImAnRN · October 2011

my DS used to sit still, not anymore. He was doing so well, we stopped using a booster and now we'll have to buckle him back in... he never stops!

Emcat1980@yahoo.com · October 2011

We are pretty strict about mealtimes. He always sits in his booster chair during meals at home and we expect him to last about 15 minutes. At a restaurant we definitely don't let him run around, but if he's been good and it's not a super crowded restaurant, we'll let him stand next to the table or up in the booth for a bit if he really wants to. If he gets antsy, one of us is more likely to get up and take him outside for a bit rather than let him roam around.

Sawyerplus1 · October 2011

My DS is not the most well-behaved 3 year old (under-statement

) and he's not a very good eater, but he manages to sit through a meal. We don't have to fight with him to do it either. But as soon as he's done he wants down, but we're trying to encourage sitting nicely and waiting until we're all done. So no, I'd say not all 3 year olds eat that way.

Mrs.V · October 2011

Our rule is that no one leaves the table until we are all finished eating. It's important to us so the boys never fight it because they've never been given the chance to leave early. For snacks, sometimes the boys get crackers, etc. in bowls that they can carry around while playing but for meals, they are always in their seats.

Wally3 · October 2011

DS usually sits but sometimes he doesn't. We are stricter at family dinner time but he can ask to be excused once he is done. At a resturant he is pretty good about sitting we take him to the bathroom while waiting for the food, to kill time and break up the wait.

As for your daughter - just keep enforcing that different families have different rules and stay at the dinner table is a rule for your family.

KathrynMD · October 2011

To me, this is a "Pick Your Battles" situation.

We don't have a lot of rules for mealtimes, but you need to come to the table and either sit or kneel in your chair and eat at the table, no feet on the table, but beyond that, its pretty flexible. My DD doesn't wander around eating most of the time, but if I have friends over, I might want to focus on them more than hyper policing my kid at every meal. Maybe the kid is just excited you're there, you know? I'm more concerned w/ my kid not throwing or spilling food on purpose or yelling, etc. I think that's more disruptive and obnoxious to others.

momtoRaegan041008 · October 2011

At home, yes, in public, no.

boo-bitz · October 2011

Madi knows the rules. Sit in your chair. Eat what is on your plate. And if you are done eating and you want to go play, but everyone else is still eating - ask to be excused from the table to go play.

Madi is one of those kids that servers like in a restaurant because she does not move from the table lol

bim38106 · October 2011

keep in mind that a Kindergartner's attention span is only about 10 minutes! Which is why teachers switch things up about every 10 minutes in a lesson plan.... now a 3 year old, you're looking at maybe 5 minutes.

That's not to say that you can't work on them sitting still for longer then that, but of course it has a lot to do with that child's temperament, and it can also have to do with parenting style as well.

DD1 will be 4 in Feb. She used to be great at sitting still for meals. She went through a phase around 3 where she wouldn't sit still at all and it drove me crazy! Now she'll sit still at home for a good 10-15 minutes, long enough to eat her food and wait to be excused. At restaurants, she'll sit still until the food comes, unless it takes too long. And then she'll sit and eat. But after that, it's HARD to keep her sitting in her seat. And it's normal. DD2 is better about it, but she's also younger and has a much different (more easy going and laid back) temperament. DD1 has always been very active, high energy.

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