Solutions for a Pokey eater??

[Pandora114]

DD is 3. And would much rather during meal times than eat.

We give her tons and tons of 1 on 1 attention especially before meal times when my DH gets home, because that's whom she's craving attention from the most right?

well. She's so busy ing during the meal, she forgets to eat. And well, DH get done within a reasonable amount of time (20-30 minutes tops) so we get up and leave and DD's still sitting there, 30 minutes later with cold food still ing away.

People tell me that she'll eat even if she's hungry. But about 30 minutes after we get her down from the table she's asking for a snack. I give her something bland, like crackers and peanutbutter, but nothing to reward her "forgetting" to eat her supper.

If we ask her to take a bite, she throws a fit. So we just let her away and we Nod and aknowledge what she's saying with very few words as possible so we are trying to enforce this is a time for eating, not ing. sure DH and I have conversations at the dinner table, we even include DD but she gets SO wraped up in talking that she totally forgets about her meal and well gets mad when we remind her it's there.

*sigh*

So how can we go about this? It's getting pretty old.

[babybugmama]

Same problem here. I just keep her plate handy so when she wants a snack I can heat it up. (not if it's food she doesn't like, but just when she's uninterested in eating at that time). Her eating "schedule" is pretty out of whack right now though too.

I figure eventually she'll model what we're doing and in the meantime just try and make sure she has healthy snacks

[Mama Dragon]

People tell me that she'll eat even if she's hungry. But about 30 minutes after we get her down from the table she's asking for a snack. I give her something bland, like crackers and peanutbutter, but nothing to reward her "forgetting" to eat her supper.

Give her the supper she didn't eat

[memiles]

I'm not big on forcing kids to eat, or even to eat faster. Think about it-in adults, eating quickly is considered unhealthy and sometimes even rude. It's natural for kids to eat tiny little quantities, to have short attention spans, and to want to eat fairly often.

My daughter ate about 3 bites of her dinner tonight, plus a whole glass of water. I figure she was more thirsty than hungry (we had just come in from playing). I expect she will say she is hungry in a few minutes or a few hours, but we have her plate in the fridge with the leftovers waiting.

[marsupial*mama]

Or feed her early so she has already eaten by the time you all sit at the table together? Then she can as much as she likes on a full stomach. She might even pick at her plate once or twice more.

[lalaland42]

I don't know if 3 is the right age for this, but in my family we each got a turn to talk and the others had to eat while the person talking told about his/her day or whatever they wanted. Maybe if there was some sort of cue (like the person with the magic walking stick) on whose turn it is to talk? I remember that having both of my parents asking me what I did today and then listened attentively made me feel special. I also remember dinnertime was a peaceful time (with 3 kids, no less) since even my baby sister got a turn. -My parents divorced when she was 3 (brother 6, me 9) so that should give you an idea of the ages.

Sorry if I am rambling, it is about 1 hour past bedtime but I am enjoying the adult only time.

[babybugmama]

Originally Posted by memiles

I'm not big on forcing kids to eat, or even to eat faster. Think about it-in adults, eating quickly is considered unhealthy and sometimes even rude. It's natural for kids to eat tiny little quantities, to have short attention spans, and to want to eat fairly often.

My daughter ate about 3 bites of her dinner tonight, plus a whole glass of water. I figure she was more thirsty than hungry (we had just come in from playing). I expect she will say she is hungry in a few minutes or a few hours, but we have her plate in the fridge with the leftovers waiting.

You said it better...that's what we do. I felt like my earlier post sounded punitive and it's not meant to be. If she doesn't like the food, which sometimes she doesn't we'll do something different. I do ask her to try one bite though (9 times out of 10 she likes it).