Over the past couple of weeks I have had to remind myself of how important mealtime structure is, especially for my two-and-a-half year old. See, we had a baby two months ago and let's just say, we've let things slide a little bit due to being in the trenches of the newborn stage. We've noticed some bad habits forming so are planning to re-establish some structure around feeding and eating in our house…
As parents, we sometimes put our “short-term lens” on when it comes to feeding, especially with young kids. We’re often in a rush and want our kids to eat something NOW, or we feel frustrated that they've only eaten the pasta or bread, and left everything else (especially the green stuff).
There’s nothing quite like spending time prepping, cooking, and serving a meal, only to have your child turn his nose up to it and push his plate away. Ugh, I’ve been there so many times and know how frustrating it feels. What I’ve learned though, is not to take it personally (which is hard) and that there are several common reasons why this happens.
Here are the most common reasons why your child is refusing to eat at meals, and what to do about it:
It's 5:00pm and you have to get your son to soccer by 5:45pm. You're rushing to get food on the table and trying to get your kids ready and fed in 20 minutes so that you can get out the door on time. Every minute is accounted for. And then, after plating your kids' food (and as you start to scarf your own meal down), you peek over at your toddler who is casually poking and playing with her food, maybe picking away at the dinner roll or piece of bread only. You remind her to eat quickly because you don't have much time. Again. And again.
I know first-hand how challenging it can be to have a picky eater at home. My two year-old rarely touches her meals these days (mostly lunch and supper), because she decides that it's yucky before she's even tasted it. She has a select few foods that she loves and gobbles up happily, but beyond her safe repertoire, she's just not interested. But I'm able to take it in stride and rest easy knowing that it's just a phase (albeit a frustrating one).
We've all been there. In the car, in the grocery store or on a playdate, our toddler or young child asks (or whines) for a snack, sometimes only half an hour after a meal. When kids beg or whine for snacks or treats at random times, it may seem easiest to give in and immediately break out the crackers or fruit snacks. I see it all of the time - little ones saying "I'm huuunnggrryyy Mom!
If you spend any time at all reading mommy blogs, scouring Pinterest for kid-friendly recipe ideas, or reading up about how to deal with your picky eater, you've probably noticed that there is lots of buzz around certain feeding trends such as introducing solids via "baby-led weaning," making absolutely everything in a muffin tin, and letting go of some old-school feeding techniques such as the "3 more bites" rule.
There is a reason why I brace myself before we call the kids to the table every night for dinner. Actually, there are several reasons. Family meals with young kids, for the most part, aren't peaceful or overly enjoyable.
It's like clockwork- every evening when I start preparing dinner, my kids run into the kitchen hungry and whiny. Requests for snacks are rampant and there are little fingers dabbling in dinner ingredients all over the place. Not only does this make it harder for me to prepare dinner, but it is also a patience tester (big time!).
