Loading... Please wait...Toddler Tips for Mealtime Success
Parent Tips
Lately, we’ve been learning a lot about life with toddlers. Stephanie Wood’s article, “Testing Your Limits” published in Parenting.com has gone over many common yet difficult-to-handle toddler scenarios, and Daddy Nickell has added his “five cents” worth of advice into each conversation. Today we’re talking mealtime.
Again, Wood discusses her own experiences in saying, “The kitchen table is anathema at my house. Both of my kids would rather do anything than sit still for an eternity of ten minutes. Anthony acts as if he’s being poisoned unless he’s fed standing up and doing three other things.”
It might sound like a mad-house, but when you have toddlers at home, you understand how wild it can sometimes be. In explaining what’s actually going on within your toddler’s mind at this point in time and how to handle situations such as this one, Wood claims:
What’s really happening ‘It’s hard for a toddler to stop and eat. His main developmental task is to do — to find out what things are and how they work,’ says Kurcinka. Sitting at the dinner table is exactly what he doesn’t have in mind.
How to handle it You should never force your child to eat, but you do want to encourage his coming to the table and being part of the family, says Kazdin. To promote this process, set a kitchen timer for five minutes and explain to your child that he has to sit down with the family and spend some time together even if he’s not hungry. During those five minutes, be sure to engage him in conversation. Then when the timer goes off, he can return to whatever he was playing with.
‘This is the age when you’re shaping approximations of behavior,’ notes Kazdin. You’re establishing a family ritual that he’ll come to enjoy as he grows older. And if you’re lucky, he may even swallow something.”
Daddy Nickell says:
My hat is off to Mommy Nickell for mealtime. She has it figured out. Both boys love mealtime and eat well. At home, she has solid regular items that they like to eat, and if we are out at a restaurant, she has the “defcon five” diaper bag, with all sorts of back-up items from fruit in a cup, to cold corn, to cheerios.
Our 27-month-old has progressed through each phase, and is now able to sit and use a fork or spoon and enjoy his mealtime. However, we are just beginning with our 9-month-old, so we’ll see if we get a sequel or an entirely new film!
Just like Wood says, the important part is that they’re at the table participating and engaging (for a short duration of time anyway) as they will be developing their future behaviors and “family rituals.” Mealtime should be enjoyable and spent with family sharing smiles, chatter and much laughter – keep that in mind. Talk to your toddler, the more they understand about what we are all doing together, the more they start to believe it has always been this way.
Stay tuned next week to learn about another popular and difficult toddler scenario.
Until then,
Daddy Nickell’s Daughter
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Tags: advice, Daddy Nickell, Daddy Nickell's Daughter, Parenting, Parenting.com, Stephanie Wood, Testing Your Limits, The DaddyScrubs Blog, tip
