LaborLooks: Mommy Monday: Dinner Time

Monday, October 17, 2011

Mommy Monday: Dinner Time

I have been having a hard time getting my girls to eat their dinner.

Like, it takes us almost an hour to get them to eat.

We have to get them to eat or else they wake up multiple times in the middle of the night begging for food. When we say no, they cry and wake up the other one.

So I turned to my facebook friends: (thanks guys! Fabulous ideas!)

I don't get why eating dinner is the biggest fight of the day for my girls. I swear we have tried everything to get them to eat. It always ends in tears and us forcing them to eat. Not to mention it takes and hour to get them to eat all of their dinner. Any suggestions?

· · 2 hours ago via BlackBerry

- Emily Sometimes when kids help make the meal they are more into it???
  2 hours ago · · 1 person
- Kelli We set a timer on Lola. If the timer goes off and she hasn't eaten then she gets nothing to eat until the next day. Mean, I know!
  2 hours ago · · 1 person
- Diana Kelli - good idea! I'll have to remember that one! We're still in the picky eating wars too. Right now we're doing "2 bites of everything to get up from the table, and half of dinner to get dessert," but I know we could do a lot better.
  2 hours ago ·
- Laura I am fairly mean. Dinner is dinner, eat in a specific amount of time or go hungry. There is always a 'back up' meal if needed, a slice of toast. We use the back up when they need the nourishment. Now my kids eat what we give them and do it quickly. hehe
  2 hours ago ·
- Heather My best friend is going through the same battle with her two boys.
  2 hours ago ·
- Doreen I agree with Laura here we have only one small snack after school and thats it eat your dinner
  about an hour ago ·
- Courtney Try letting them be interactive in the making of the meal, serving etc. Even at a young age, kiddos know what they want and need. To an extent, yes, dinner is dinner, and they need to eat, but a lot of parents make the mistake of OVER feeding, help the kids make an appropriate size plate thats not intimidating. It also helps them have a sense of control, and encourages self decision making. And a HUGE thing to remember is that sometimes, we dont like things. Im not a fan of the "its on your plate, eat it" rule. We all have things we dont like, even as adults, and having to choke down a food you dislike is not going to help. Its worked so far, my 8 and 5 year old are huge fans of salads, swordfish (my sons fav), rice and stir fry veggies and all sorts of things. We save the mac and cheese for lazy days :)
  about an hour ago ·
- Shannon My mom always had us take two bites. If we didn't like it we could have a pb&j sandwhich...if we wouldn't eat at all then that was it. Bed and a bath. My uncle always says kids won't starve themselves? So?? I will probably ask you what worked when peytee gets there!
  about an hour ago ·
- Bonnie Right on Laura! They need to at least try everything, but if they won't eat what you know they like in the time that the rest of the family is eating, or are climbing down and around the table instead of eating, they should be removed to their room or somewhere out of sight of the rest of the family that's still eating, and their food put away until the next meal. Then bring it out again, reheat, and put it in front of the child until they eat. Shannon's right. Kids won't starve and they "get it" pretty quickly. My daughter was having a heck of a time with her 3 year old and it only took a couple of tries and she's eating like a champ. We do bribe a little with promise of dessert too... :)
  about an hour ago ·
- Debbie My Pediatrician said feed them what they will eat while they are young....their taste buds will grow. He also said....never make them eat everything on their plate....your forcing them to eat...which leads to overeating as they get older....but if you give them what they like and they still dont eat.....no snacks after the meal.
  about an hour ago ·
- Alison I go with the "eat or don't eat, it's your choice, but I'm not making anything else" approach. :) One hungry evening and they may rethink the battlelines.
  about an hour ago · · 1 person
- Kristin My rule (soft) is once they leave the table, the meal is over, which is fine. They'll just eat more the next meal. I agree that kids won't starve themselves. Just have to avoid the snacking later and hold out till the next meal or it won't work.
  about an hour ago ·
- Cory ‎3 meals a day. 7:35. 12:15 and 6:35. That's it. If he Dean doesn't eat he goes hungry.
  56 minutes ago · · 2 people
- Cory If he is late to the table he gets 1 ounce less per minute.
  56 minutes ago · · 2 people
- Alicia That's how my house is every night too
  29 minutes ago ·
- Karen Don't make them! No treats, etc... If they don't eat but a PBJ in the fridge OK!
  22 minutes ago ·

1 comment:

Cori said...: I think that's a question and problem that all parents deal with :D You're definitely not alone! Love your FB responses!!

I'm your newest follower!; October 19, 2011 at 12:24 PM

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