Finicky feeders….
They’re out there. Those little darlings who make you beg at the dinner table. “Just one little bite? Pleeeeease?? Here comes the choo choo train…wooo woooo…” Is this what you sound like at mealtime? I do.
Laila came from her two year check up last week. As it turns out, she is BELOW the 5th percentile for her weight! FIFTH! What’s a new mom to do? I’d honestly given up on the “What to Expect…” series after she was born. I thought, “Who needs a book? All kids are different. We’ll learn as we go.” And we have…except for these mealtime woes. They’re so discouraging!
I sat across the table from Luke (the hubz) watching him pull out every appealing bribe he could think of. “How about some cake? Cake’s yummy! Cookies? Take a bite and you get a cookie!” It was so sad! He was trying so hard and all Laila could do was turn her head and purse her lips.
Enough was enough! I decided to dig through the “library” and pull out our “What to Expect: The Toddler Years.” To my pleasant surprise, there were actually some fabulous tips in there; many of which I used this morning with great success! Hence, this posting. If you’re feeling my pain, read the below tips on appeasing your picky toddler.
1) Start with small portions.
This is HUGE! I’ve learned that presenting larger food portions up front is intimidating to a tot. I tested this out this morning. I made a bowl of oatmeal and offered 1/4 of it to begin with. To my utter delight, Laila ate every bit and continued to come back for more until it was almost all gone! Woohoo!
2) Minimize distractions.
I hate to admit it, but I have been guilty of letting the babe watch t.v. during mealtime. It used to settle her down long enough to get food into her tiny mouth. Not anymore. The noise and excitement is too much of a distraction apparently. Still, she wanted the t.v. on this morning. As a compromise, I turned it on, but turned the volume down very very low. She quickly lost interest and continued eating. Victory #2!
3) When your baby is done. She’s done!
Don’t force your tot to keep eating when she stops. Begging, pleading, and cajoling only pave the way for future eating challenges. Let her decide when she’s finished. This is an easy one to implement. Who wants to argue with a 2 year old?
4) Offer options!
Let your tot decide what he/she wants to eat by offering several nutritious options. This lets ‘em feel more in control!
5) Let things get messy.
I already know this is a tough one. Who wants to sit there and watch oatmeal spew over her clean kitchen floor? I shudder to think! But, we have to learn to let it happen. Bottom line, our tots don’t need to learn HOW to eat whatever’s placed in front of them at this point. They simply need to learn TO EAT!
For additional feeding tips, check out any version of “…The Toddler Years.” They update it regularly; but I’ve got an older version and find it just as helpful. We do have one used copy here.
So what about you guys? Any helpful tips??
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Tags: baby advice, feeding babies, toddlers
