I am so completely FRUSTRATED! My 4 year and near 3 year olds take FOREVER to eat, like 1 to 1 1/2 hours. They will tell me just before we are about to sit down that they are hungry, due to no snacking at least a hour or so before meals. So it's not like they aren't hungry and that's why they aren't eating.
Has anyone else had this issue? If so, what did you do to help get them to eat in a more timely manner, but NOT rushing them? I've thought about maybe setting a timer (I do this for helping with getting them to get the toys picked up quicker).
Thanks for your time!
Thanks to all for all the helpful suggestions and I will try some for sure.
Snacks are limited in the household, at most only given out twice a day and it's either string cheese, fruit, or maybe a small amount of goldfish. I have cut out juice during all meals.
We always all sit down together for meals. We love the conversations and believe me my husband and I have had a lot of moments where we are bent over crying laughing for the silly things they do or say but we always make it a point to settle down and state that bites need to be eaten.
Really my son isn't all that horrible but my daughter is, I guess, she's your typical girl and is just chatty. I'm actually a slow eater myself and always have been my entire life. I guess they have just got this from me! As they say...what comes around goes around.
However, I think that I will put a slight time limit to dinner especially, like a hour to a hour and fifteen minutes, and if they haven't finished then I'm just going to take the plate. If they complain later that they are hungry well then I'll just bust out the plate of dinner that was taken away.
It's so fustrating when it interferes with an activity that might be planned for the day or in the evening when it interferes with family time, espcially with daddy since he's been away all day at work.
Again, I totally appreciate your responses!
HA HA! I have the same problem with my 4 year old. She eats like a sloth! Recently, in an effort to get her to eat her meat we stumbled upon a way to get her to eat faster too.
We make meals sort of a fun race. No rushing, just to see who can finish their meal the quickest. Mom and dad just eat at a normal pace while she eats at a faster pace (fast for her normal for us lol).
Hope this helps!
Hello Tyra, Your children are eating the most healthy way of all. When treating over weight adults the first focus is re-training them to slow down their eating. Chewing more, and waiting in between bites. Don't rush your children to eat! This will set them up for obesity and food addictions. You could try offering them food more often through out the day. Veggies at noon, meat at 2pm, soup after nap, dinner, then apple sauce or cottage cheese before bed. It is good to eat smaller portions more often. Give them 15 minutes to eat, then simply remove the food. If they are still hungry they will eat at the next meal time. Don't allow food to become a power stuggle. As there are 3 things we have no control over, eating, sleeping and eliminating. Good luck.
Tyra -
I would go with the timer solution. It's easy, and they'll get used to it quickly, especially if you get into the habit of setting it every night. I have to use one on my boys sometimes, especially if we are in a hurry to go somewhere. I'd say half an hour is a reasonable length of time. And remember, they won't starve if they have to wait until breakfast to eat again. It may only take one night of being hungry to solve the problem!
Good luck
Dana
If they are not eating at meal time, why are they getting snacks? And after a set amount of time, 20 minutes or so, I'd put things away. It's a habit.
tyra; well, what is their snack ? is it a filler upper ? if kids are drinking a lot of juice they wll not be hungry, im not sure what exactly your question was, are they eating when in that hour and half ? are you enjoying a meal with them ? kids enjoy that dinner time to be family time ? its ok to eat slow , it helps in digestion, i would take out snack totally if it was given to them an hour before dinner, they may not be hungry, to say im hungry can be a learned thing, they are truly hungry when their little tummies growl, most of us dont feel that hunger, we just eat cause the clock says so, and it is good to get into a routine of when your eating and not, i would cut out the snack or push it further away, like two hours before dinner, most kids eat snacks cause they are there, not cause we need them, we feel like a good mom when we give it to them, not that its needed, i would eat with the kids, and see if that helps, if you are sitting them down by themselves, toe at, yes it can take forever, you are not there to say quit playing and eat, they feel of sense of security too when families eat together, so limit your snacks before meals, and eat with the kids and get the true sense of what is going on, thats all i have to say , not sure what you needed answered, but live happy and enjoy life, D. s
Hi Tyra -
First, I would cut out all the snacking between meals, with the exception of maybe one small snack mid-afternoon (around 3pm and then dinner like at 6 or so). I would also use the timer that you suggested. We had to that with our daughter. She would just sit and play, and talk with a bite here and a bite there. We finally got to the point where we were done and had been for quite a while, were cleaned up and she was still eating so we started using a timer. She really cried the first few times and we did have to take plates away unfinished, but it didn't take too long for her to learn that she needed to eat her dinner. That if she didn't eat when it was mealtime, that she wasn't going to get a snack later - she had to wait for the next meal.
It might be a rough week, but stick with it - you'll be glad you did!
J.
I use a timer when they are goofing around, it's more like a last resort. It's very effective.
I only have 3 snacks a day... breakfast is at 8 snack at 10 lunch 12noon.... snack when they wake up from nap...around 330 dinner 530 snack at 730 before bed..
we do not have all day snacking. so my kids generally eat their meals cause they are hungry..
I just went through this with my daughter (4) and son (3)!! I used the clock in the dining room and showed them the time, showed them how long we had to eat (usually 45 min) and showed them when the second hand gets on such-and-such a number then dinner time is over. I figured they were learning the beginnings of telling time, too. My kids would also be asking when dinner was, b/c they were hungry but then take up to 2 hours to eat. Ridiculous! They are much better now, sometimes I do have to remind my daughter to keep eating. They tend to get very social at the dinner table, which is fine, but they have to remember why we are sitting there in the first place. I figure we just have to teach them, just like anything else.
Good luck!
Give them smaller portions (like a bit at a time) my daughter is a slow eater and I give her small portions to make her ask for more...yes it is a pain getting up to get another scoop of mac and cheese every 2 seconds but I think she gets the point to eat when it is time to eat
Try drinking only water.
juice and milk can really fill up little bellies, and juice is such empty calories. They feel full, but aren't getting the actual food their bodies need.
And there should be atleast two hours between snack and dinner.
you will be amazed at how quickly actually hungry kids are. And how pleasant they are to eat with, too.
Most kids and adults can eat in about 20-30 minutes, without rushing (unless the meal is complicated to eat)
