If you’re a loving parent, you certainly want your toddler to thrive, and that means navigating the often-turbulent waters of dinner time. My little one, for instance, kicks off her daily hunger strike around 3 PM and won’t eat again until morning. My mother recently offered the sage advice to serve “a dinner that she likes,” but I had to remind her of my own childhood when my sister would fall asleep at the table rather than take a single bite. It’s funny how memories can play tricks on us!
Here’s how to tackle the challenge of feeding your toddler in 18 lighthearted steps:
- Start with a meal you know will be a hit: think buttered noodles (hold the sauce!), chicken (but make sure it doesn’t look like chicken!), and peas (they must not touch anything else on the plate!).
- At the very last moment, in a fit of misguided optimism, you sneak a tiny piece of salad onto their plate, hoping to expand their culinary horizons.
- Place the dinner in front of your toddler and immediately regret the addition of the salad, praying to the toddler gods—Dora, Daniel Tiger, and Elmo—that your little one won’t notice it. Please, not the salad!
- Of course, they notice the salad.
- Cue the dramatic outburst. You now face two options: A) Abandon ship and salvage your sanity or B) Stand firm and teach your child that it’s not polite to declare, “Yucky! Gross! Call Grandma!” every dinner.
- You choose to be the steadfast parent. After all, abandoning ship might lead to your child growing up to be an unsavory character, like a jailbird or worse.
- So, with resolve, your toddler ends up in time-out about 20 times in the next 45 minutes, just as the rest of the family gathers to eat. Timing, right?
- You attempt to enjoy your meal while listening to the heart-wrenching sobs, which are somewhat satisfying as you cling to the hope that a lesson might be learned.
- You remind yourself that you say this every night.
- The rest of the family finishes dinner, cleans up, does laundry, and finds joy while you’re still in the trenches.
- Suddenly, your toddler announces they’re “full” and demands dessert—immediately!
- You glance at the plate, realizing they’ve consumed approximately zero bites.
- You state, “You need to eat three bites and try your salad before dessert.” Sometimes, you just can’t help but channel your mother.
- Your toddler, in a twist of logic, insists, “No, five bites!”
- Your older child starts to explain that five is more than three, but you give them “the look”—the one that says their iPad privileges are at stake.
- The family collectively avoids eye contact with the toddler, who won’t eat if anyone is watching, like a shy giraffe.
- Miraculously, your toddler manages to eat five bites (and even samples the salad!) all by themselves three hours after everyone else has finished their meal.
- And just like that, they might get a cookie for dessert because, let’s face it, you added oatmeal to that cookie, which means it’s practically health food.
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In summary, managing toddler dinners can be a challenging but often amusing experience. By preparing their favorite foods and navigating the emotional landscape of mealtime, you can help your little one learn to eat—and perhaps even enjoy—what’s on their plate.
Keyphrase: Feeding toddlers dinner tips
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