Toddler mealtimes
A friend emailed me about toddler mealtimes, both to commiserate and ask if I had any advice. Her daughter, like Sam, is no longer interested in eating at dinner time. I know that there are exceptions, as some kids are just good eaters all around, but it’s my understanding that many toddlers hit a point where they just stop eating.
The meals are totally a toddler control thing. He’ll eat what he wants when he wants and there’s really nothing I can do about it. He currently gravitates to the white foods (pasta, crackers, etc which drives me insane) and fruit. I make sure I always have something he’s likely to eat on his plate at meals along with whatever we’re eating. I give him a ton of options- small amounts of everything- so he’ll at least eat something and ask for more of whatever strikes his fancy. I figure as long as he eats protein, fruits, vegetables, and dairy over the course of a week it’s fine. If we get halfway through a week and I realize he hasn’t eaten any dairy I’ll start pushing ice cream or chocolate milk.
My rules for dinnertime are that he has to sit at the table with us and whatever is put on his plate has to stay on his plate. If he doesn’t like the look of something he can’t move it away or throw it on the floor. Some nights we make him take two or three more bites of something before he leaves, but that’s because we’ve learned that those two or three bites often turn into ten or twelve.
The biggest rule is that meals are not worth fighting over. Though some nights it’s hard for me to restrain myself, especially when I’ve made something I know he’ll like, I will not argue, poke or prod. If he doesn’t want to eat it, I won’t make him. There’s no use fighting. He’s not going to let himself starve. By offering a variety of healthy foods and letting him eat as he goes I know I’m doing my best. Just exposing him to different foods, whether he eats them or not, will help him learn about eating and nutrition.
how I get my toddler to eat
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