Mealtimes for 16 month Yr Old

[carang]

"My friends back in Thailand never had a high chair (or any other baby stuff) for their 2 rambunctious boys. When they got to the running around stage, Mom basically had to wait for them to fly by to shove a spoonful of rice in their mouth. It looked pretty hectic, and one ate better than the other, but according to Mom, it was working out all right. As well, when they were really hungry, they ate more at one time. "

i'm guessing they never went to a restaurant then... am i right? personally, i'd rather teach my child how to sit at the table so that we, the parents, are still able to enjoy the odd meal out without running after our children.

 

[Matty]

I think most kids go through this to some degree.
I've always been pretty tough when it comes to feeding, as I refuse to chase my children around to feed them.

When my son started doing this, I would let him get down, and if he didn't want to eat then that was fine, but if he was hungry he had to get back in his chair to eat.
There have been plenty of times when he has eaten nothing at a meal, but I don't get stressed about it, he'll make it up at the next one.
He knows the deal, if he wants to eat, he sits at the table.

I remember seeing an episode of Jon and Kate plus 8, (the Discovery series with the family that has twins, and sextuplets) and someone asked Kate how she managed to get 2 6 yr olds and 6 2year olds to all sit down and eat the meals she cooked.
She basically said, there are no alternatives, they have to sit and eat or the go hungry.

Children wont let themselves starve.

 

[sherwes]

Hi, I am also going through this with my 18 month old boy and don't have any magic solutions sorry!

To the extent that it might help you here are the "rules" I apply:
- give my toddler the choice between sitting in his high chair or sitting up at his little table and chairs set,
- try not to attempt to feed him when he is tired,
- keep a lid on how much milk he is drinking so as to ensure he is hungry for his "real" meals,
- if he hasn't eaten much of his meal and comes looking for a snack 30 minutes later I offer him his meal again rather than a different snack,
- I try to offer him a variety of foods (the Annabel Karmel cookbooks are brilliant!),
- if he gets out of the high chair that's the end of the meal - I will not chase him around the room offering him food,
- finally, as he generally only lasts about 10 mins in the high chair I shovel the food into his mouth as fast as I can!!

I honestly wouldn't worry about the amounts he is eating. If he is hungry he will eat. No baby who is regularly offered a good variety of healthy food is going to suffer from malnutrition. I repeat this to myself as a mantra as I struggle through meal times.....

 

[monte]

I'm a bit of a freak about this woman, but I really love what Ellyn Satter says about feeding kids. She has a couple of books, but really it boils down to her idea of a division of responsibility. Parents are responsible for the what, when, and where of feeding, and kids are responsible for the whether and how much of eating. This really helps me relax about my 14 month old, who is just starting to act more like a "toddler" with his eating--pickier, eating tons one day and none the next, wanting to play, etc. Basically she says we have to trust kids to get what they need, as long as we offer healthy choices it's up to them to eat it. Hard to do, but I think it makes sense. I really recommend her books!

foodsmith.wordpress.com

 

[southside852]

am glad to see i am not alone! our son is definitely acting like a little toddler as he runs, jumps and plays through meals. i've reduced milk intake - 1/4 of it at the start and the rest after he takes his bath with his dessert. so far so good....

thanks everyone!