Toddler mealtimes

[charliebear]

Couldn't decide if I should put this here or in feeding

How long does it take your toddler to eat a meal?

AJ ranges from 30mins to over an hour He just forgets to eat It drives me mad especially if we have to be up and out in the morning! I'm constantly reminding him to eat, if I don't his cereal will last till lunch!!

Cant wait for mealtimes to be over a bit quicker they're taking a huge part of our day.

 

[Baby Bean]

I can't answer about toddlers but with Ella-Rose, if I let her feed herself she takes about an hour, bless her she hasn't got any teeth so it takes ages for her to gum even small mouthfuls And it takes her ages to co-ordinate actually putting something in her mouth and then letting go of it!!!! Days when I give her purees are much quicker!!!

 

[Iriki]

I have the opposite problem!
Quinn will stuff food in his mouth and run around like a crazy thing. Trying to get him to sit still and eat - particularly if it's something he's not too keen on can be a real mission!

Want to swap???

 

[Piglet10]

depends what madison is eating, shes obv a lot quicker with finger food and just likes to mess when she gets fork/spoon lmao !! xx

 

[FebMum2Be]

My nephew sounds like your LO charliebear, does he sit at a table and eat or does he watch tv/play and work the eating in x

 

[charliebear]

He watches tv/plays and works the eating in but I try and keep him sat at his little table!
I've tried every way possible, he's just not interested in mealtimes, there is always something more exciting to do!

How old is your nephew? Have they found a solution?
I'm hoping nursery (when he goes) will help and also with his food fussiness too. x

 

[FebMum2Be]

My nephew is 3 and he too won't sit to eat, we still haven't found a solution and he would actually be quite happy to have no food if it meant he got to play, I have been encouraging him to sit with Odhran, after watching how he eats and even at restaurants or even mcdonalds he just won't sit, so from quite an early age I've had Odhran strapped in his pram or highchair with no toys or tv when its mealtime. I only done this because of seeing Conors eating habits, so far we haven't worked out what to do yet, he will put his plate on the sofa or table and just pick a bit and run again, I think its a lot harder when they're this age because they're old enough to know what they want and don't want.

Sorry if this is a bit rambly I'm on my BB, does AJ get rewards or is there consequences given if he's bold like no TV etc? If he won't sit to eat his food you could maybe say well if you aren't going to sit and eat then the TV can't be on? Something like that? Conor sat on my sofa when he stayed here on friday, ate his bowl of mash and ASKED if he could go down to play once he had finished, that was a one hit wonder though it didn't happen again x

 

[FebMum2Be]

Also Conor is very very fussy with his food, I could say he under eats, he doesn't eat nearly enough x

 

[charliebear]

AJ is very fussy too, he will only eat what he likes. I dont know why, I made homemade foods, gave him a well balanced diet when weaning and he refused then too.

AJ knows he's not allowed to walk/run when he eats, he has to sit down. Watching tv or turning it off doesnt matter.
If he doesnt eat what I ask him too, he doesnt get pudding. Not my ideal way of handling it but its working atm.
If he doesnt eat I also try and restrict snacks (OH gives in though Were defiantly not on the same page and AJ is picking up on it atm. OH will give AJ what he wants as he's eating it!?)

I really dont think AJ is a hungry boy, from the beginning I can only remember him crying for milk a handful of times as a baby.

 

[FebMum2Be]

My sister and her hubby aren't on the same page either, she'll do one thing and her OH will come in and give Conor a whole pack of starburst glad that the no pudding is working, would AJ be interested in helpinmg you prepare food? That's something I plan to do with Odhran, I'm sure it will be very messy but I read an article that we should actually let our kids play with their food because touching squeezing smelling etc all play a part in the child deciding wether they like something or not, its quite frustrating with my nephew I would love to see him eat and enjoy a healthy meal x