How do you get your busy toddler to sit down and eat?

Honestly? With ds, very spirited, strong willed and high-strung, I often fed him meals in the stroller or car. No judgments, please... For us, it was a matter of his refusal to eat at the table leading to low blood sugar and out-of-control behavior, further preventing any eating, etc. A nasty cycle. We needed to get protein into him however we could, to avoid the outbursts that would otherwise ensue. Once, a well-intentioned pediatrician informed me, "Healthy children won't starve themselves. Hold out, don't offer foods except at mealtime at the table, and he will eventually eat." Four days later, NO food whatsoever and only milk (he was three at the time) he was a hysterical, crying mess ALL day and I really thought he was literally going crazy. Anyway...sorry for the unnecessary details. I think that while the concept of a family dinner is valuable, as long as you and DH spend quality time talking and playing with your child daily, at this age nourishment without struggle is more important than the "family meal."

I often resort to just handing her something as she runs by Seriously- as long as something makes it to her tummy

Sometimes I find myself chasing my 16mo around the house with a spoon ... : He doesn't seem to understand that it's helpful to stand still while I'm trying to feed him, so he'll just run around eating and then open his mouth wide when he's ready for another bite.

How do I get him to sit down and eat? Umm, not very well. We do ask him to sit down with us to eat dinner, but he doesn't last much longer than 10 minutes max at the table. We gave up on keeping him sitting during dinner, but we are still fighting the good fight to insist that mommy & daddy will not get up to play until we have finished our dinner. He's not happy with that limitation either, but it's one that we feel comfortable with!

For some reason, ds loves to stand at the kitchen counter on his stool to eat, or to have his food on his stool in the kitchen and he eats there. So, that's where he gets breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Doesn't bother me, it's easy to clean up and I'm just happy he'll slow down long enough to eat something there.

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My DD and your son could be twins. I do the same thing too.

I don't mind doing it this way. My biggest fear is DD choking on a piece of food while she's running around. I try to get DD to stay still but it's a struggle. She's always on the move.

Breakfast is eaten at "their" table - my 3 year old and 16 month old sit together at a little wooden kids table we have (she sits because big brother does and she wants to emulate EVERYTHING he does! ) Lunch and dinner are eaten at the kitchen table as a family, DD in the high-chair. I think we switched DS to a booster when he was around 2.