Eating Dinner

[jellibeans]

We are having some issues with my daughter. She is 2 and used to eat everything. I know that this is common to become picky. Anyways, she won't eat meat. So for example, last night we had a broccoli, chicken thing that I baked. I put it in front of her and she started saying "no no no". Now, I realize that she doesn't like chicken. But now she has started not liking broccoli and crescent rolls? I don't like to give my kids anything else if they don't like what we have but should I really let my dd go to bed at night without having eaten anything since a snack(yogurt, crackers, or fruit) around 3:30? Also, has anyone had a troubled eater at age 2 and then as he/she got older, started eating everything? We have always given all of our kids everything that we eat, from steak and fish to veggies and potatoes.

[sariana]

My DD also is 2, and she definitely has hit the "no" stage. It may not be about food likes or dislikes at all, just about your DD's declaring her independence.

I wouldn't worry about her going to bed without dinner. She likely will not let herself starve. If you start to notice a drop in her weight, contact your ped. But this is pretty typical behavior for a child of this age.

If she is getting a healthy snack in the afternoon, she is fine. If you really want to emphasize the importance of eating dinner, you could try reducing the size of the snack.

My DS is 5, and he still is not a fan of dinner. I do have a policy that he is allowed to finish as a snack whatever he did not finish at school. He has a long school day, and so I pack a large snack/lunch combo. Often he does not eat much of it, so he is eating it at 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. Naturally he is not very hungry for dinner at 5:30 or 6.

DD also is starting to turn up her nose at dinner. She used to eat almost anything, but now she is more particular.

I think you should keep doing what you're doing, serving DC the same foods you are eating.

[khalloc]

I wouldnt make her something else. She'll eat if she's hungry. And alot of kids at that age only eat 1 good meal a day. Maybe that is breakfast or lunch for your DD? Another thing to think about is that alot of countries have their big meal in the afternoon, not at night like here in the US. I'm sure those people arent overly hungry at night.

My DS is almost 2. If he doesnt eat his dinner then thats it. I dont worry about him. I know he eats loads of food for breakfast, lunch and snack time.

[misshollygolightly]

DS is almost 2 (well, 21 months), and tends to cooperate much better for lunch and afternoon snack than dinner. I've started making lunch the meal I try to introduce new or less-popular foods at rather than dinner, as he's usually more interested and hungry then. I agree with pps that refusing foods at dinner is often less about whether or not the child actually dislikes the food than about asserting independence and expressing other feelings that may or may not be related to food (i.e. DS is tired or doesn't want to sit still at the table or whatever). If DS doesn't eat much at dinner but still says he's "finished" and wants to get "down", I let him leave the table but I keep his plate handy so he can come back and grab a bite or two while he's playing. DH and I will continue to offer him bites from his plate from time to time until we're done eating and the meal is officially over. DS usually ends up eating a good bit more before its all said and done, and it's less frustrating for all of us than trying to force him to keep sitting at the table and eating when he claims he doesn't want anything. It's almost like by letting him feel like he has some control over mealtime he stops being so distracted about getting his way and realizes he's actually somewhat hungry and really does want to eat, at least a little. Hope that helps!

[wellyes]

I am astonished how little my DD eats some days. There are rare days when she does eat a ton - once pretty much a whole BOX of macaroni & cheese - but more freuqently she can't be getting more than 600-800 calories. But ped says so long as she's gaining it's fine and it does even out.