Eating on the Run -Literally

Hi S....
What he is doing is called Grazing and completely normal. My daughter and son would never sit in a high chair for me once they were mobile, they were just far too busy for that. I started putting healthy age appropriate foods out areound the house and when they were hungry they would take something. A great tip is too fill an ice cube tray with anassortment of things. Also, if they were the Living room I would go in with a jar off food and they would come over and get bites here and there.
This was all reccomended by my pediatrician and he said its very normal for busy toddlers.

Hi S.,

It is normal for little boys to eat that way. My son is 2 and he has been eating mostly on the run for months. Some days he eats alot and some days he eats a little. As long as he is healthy and active and getting healthy food he is doing great.

Allie

every kid goes through this. there have been nights when I was HAPPY my kid ate all of her ice cream cuz that was all she ate that night! they have phases, just try to put out the most nutritive things you can, and that hell eat. good luck

I have a 2 1/2 year old who is quite the picky eater and depending on the day eats or not eats. He is actually a grazer- a little here and there most of the time. I see no problem with letting them eat on the run. I think they are too young to understand sitting at the table and eating a meal now. And as long as they are getting food into them, its not a problem.

Hi S. - My opinion is that your allowing him to eat on the run is setting a horrible precedent for him, not only for eating, but for other things in life as well.

Eating is to be done in the chair, at the table. He won't starve - he'll eat when he is hungry.

I could say more, but... it could be construed as offensive! So I'll just leave it at that you are the mother, and you are in charge. In many cases, it's simply training...

Good luck.

I dont see anything wrong with what you are doing so that he will eat well. The only thing is, with him eating on the run, he might get into that habit then never want to sit in a chair to eat which down the road may pose a problem. Say if you were out to eat, or at someone's house to eat. Or if you want to eat as a family. So that is just something to consider.

It is not wrong, and I'm sort of disgusted by a previous response. Dr. Sears calls it grazing, and it's how toddlers eat.

Dear S.,
I am going to weigh in with what I sense is an unpopular view point here, but it's one I feel strongly about and have some experience with. You are on the right track with trying to keep the big picture in mind - your son won't starve if he doesn't eat for a day or two, and ALL toddlers go through periods of eating more or less for days on end for any number of reasons. Your job as a parent is to offer your child a variety of healthy foods at regular intervals ( about once every two hours for busy toddlers) through out the day,and then relax and back off,and let him choose how much he will eat. As long as he is growing,and gaining weight there is no need to worry. If you can't help but worry,ask your doctor to recommend a good chewable multi- vitamin ,and keep a food diary noting what and how much your son eats each day for a week. You may be surprised to find how much he eats even on a fasting day! It is true toddlers often graze- meaning that they eat small amounts of food quite frequently,and this is not a problem , but I strongly recommend NOT allowing your child to eat on the run for several reasons: One, it's not safe and he could choke. Two, he is now developing the eating habits that will serve him for life, and you want to help him to develop good habits. Three, and this is most important- by insisting your son slow down, sit down, and focus, you are teaching him to tune in and listen to his body,and his hunger signals. This is SO important for young children to learn to help them avoid eating issues later in life ( either over or under-eating). On fasting days, try to offer foods you know your son really likes,and offer only a very small amount at a time,and let him ask for more ! Too much food at once can be overwhelming to toddlers. Also watch his liquid intake, and make sure he's not filling up on juice and other liquid nourishment in place of food. Hope these ideas help. I know it's not easy to let go of your worry, but if you can, it will help both you and your son to avoid a struggle around this issue. L. S

My son is three and did the same thing... he doesn't like to eat meals, just snacks on stuff during the day. Whatever works right now to give him nutrition, but be aware! We had a transition to the table not long ago because he is older and we wanted to be able to enjoy a family night out at a restaurant, not an easy thing to do with a toddler who won't stay put lol.

You are describing my daughter to a T. She's 4 now and happily sits and eats at the table, but when she was little it was a major challenge. So we took the "whatever works" approach on the advice of our pedi who said to not make food into a control issue. So we gave her lots of yogurt smoothies and stuff she could carry around. As she got older (between 2 and 3) we started mandating sitting at the table, but had a goal of getting dinner over in 15 minutes because it was all she could sit through. So we made sure that every element of her dinner was ready and sitting there before we called her to the table. It was hard at first because I felt that, in not allowing her to eat on the run, that I was somehow starving my child. But my mom reminded me that there's not a kid in the world who voluntarily will starve. Kids eat when they are hungry, so if she's hungry enough she'll sit and eat. Which she did. At this point, I'm just so glad we never made food a control issue. Some of our friends did, and I feel for them now because mealtimes are battles.
Good luck!

i've struggled with my own son, now 3 1/2, with eating somedays and being too busy (an literally fasting) the next. A bunch of people told me not to let him eat on the run, because of safety issues and that it becomes a habit-- but my response was, what else am I supposed to do?? Let him starve??? Then a nutritionist recommended the book How to Get Your Child to Eat by Ellen Satter, and it was amazingly helpful-- a very quick read (what mom has time to read??) and great for solving eating issues. He is doing much better now, and I am much less stressed. I can't recommend this book highly enough! I bought it used on Amazon for less than $10 including shipping....

Good luck!