Anyone else have a slow eater?

[kedss]

Somehow our DS is a verrrry slow eater, somehow he thinks you even have to chew milk, LOL!

I'm a very fast eater, though I've slowed a bit, but it drives me crazy when there is someplace we need to get to and we have entered hour #2 eating breakfast-

Anyone btdt?

[mamabelle]

My dd is painfully slow and often ends a meal (b/c of time constraints) still hungry. This year she ate lunch at preschool and the kids seemed to only get 10 minutes and her pace combined with having her friends to chat with made it so she ate nothing all day and was a mess at pickup. I started sending yogurt smoothies and milk and she would at least get that down and have a liquid lunch. I start ginving her warning about 5 minutes before and hope for the best.

[kedss]

It is frustrating, I just wonder how much of it is that he is just a slow chewer and how much of it is that he knows it drives us a little batty- esp right now when I haven't slept much for a week, oy!

[DrSally]

Ds can be slow, but not that slow! It can be frustrating, DH gets more frustrated than me and tries to tell DS he's all done and take away his tray. DS starts crying and says he needs to finish eating (which he only says when he's still hungry). I don't agree with taking the tray away just b/c DH is getting impatient. It seems to happen more when we're eating together vs. cleaning up the kitchen or cooking our dinner while he's eating. I think he enjoys the company!

ETA: My highschool was huge and the lunch bell was like a cattle stampede. By the time you got your food and sat down, you had 10 min to eat. I'm a slower eater, so I just gave up eating lunch at school! DH on the other hand doesn't finish chewing before the next bite, which makes eating communal foods (like Ethiopian) very frustrating for me.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yes, though not quite in the 2 hour range. :) My problem now is that ds used to be a fast eater so I started eating fast and now that he is slow I am stuck sitting there twiddling my thumbs forever while I wait for him. If we are out to eat we often just give up and get part of ds's meal wrapped up to go. I keep trying to eat slower but he eats soooo slow and I eat little meals.

beth

[hellokitty]

Is it that he is slow at the physical act of eating, or is it that he gets easily distracted or both? My 4.5 yr old is a very slow eater. The problem is that he is not coordinated and still asks us to feed him AND he is also easily distracted and, "forgets" to eat when he should be eating (which is annoying that we constantly have to remind him to keep eating!). We are very frustrated with this and I don't see it getting any better. My youngest brother was JUST like this as a child and it would it used to irritate the crap out of me, even back then. He is still a very slow eater to this day, so I think it is part of my son's personality (his middle name should be, "slowpoke").

What really stinks is that the entire family is put on hold (my almost 3 yr old is of course a very quick eater, so it is hard to keep him entertained when we are at a restaurant while waiting for our other son to finish eating), b/c of my son's slow eating. We usually like to do some family activities after dinner, BUT b/c my son is so slow at eating, usually there isn't that much time left after he eats before it's time to get ready for bed. I worry that he will be one of those kids at school who doesn't end up eating lunch, b/c he is too slow and easily distracted. He acts really horribly too when he gets low blood sugar, so I have concerns that this can snowball into bigger problems when he is school aged. The liquid lunch, may very well be in our future too.

[kedss]

He is the master of the ten minute bite- even if he really likes something, it still takes forever, I'm trying to relax about it, as he is in the 95th% for his age, so he isn't going to starve if he doesn't finish his food, its just we try to sit down together for meals as a family, and I would love it if it didn't last quite so long. ;)

[pb&j]

Oh, good grief, I feel your pain. We've taken to setting out a little plate of stuff for him at breakfast time, and just going about our business getting ready while he grazes, and putting the rest in a snack trap for his drive to school. It's not unusual for me to put out breakfast for him at 7:45, and for DH to tell me that he was still eating when they left for school at 9:15. Snack time at school is 9:45, so he basically doesn't stop eating until almost lunch.

I always serve him dinner first, and he's still chewing away when all the grownups plates are cleared. If we go out, we order for him as soon as we're seated, and he is still eating by the time we order dessert.

He gets it from DH's grandfather who was legendary for his slow eating.

DS is also way up in the percentiles for height and weight, so if I have to, I just cut him off. He is a little slower if distracted, so I do try to keep him focused on meals, but really, he's a slow eater even when strapped in to his high chair with nothing but eating going on.

We've started M&M's for potty training bribes and you would not believe how long he can make a single M&M last. Like, he can get on the potty, get his M&M, read a book, maybe do his business, flush, get dressed, wash hands, and that M&M is still going strong.

[mdb78]

DD used to be a fast eater, but now she just gets distracted by EVERYTHING! It does get frustrating, but at least she's eating.. It doesn't take her 2 hours, but sometimes it sure feels like it! :)