Toddler advice thread #3

[Definitelyme]

As I’ve said before, 3yo just won’t eat dinner. No matter what I give him. I thought he was getting better since being back at preschool, but now he hates everything. I hear his little tummy rumbling in the morning, and it breaks my heart. I’ve always had fussy toddlers, but not like this. At least the other 2 would eat pasta!! He has THREE breakfasts every morning. Arghhhh!!

Maybe he just isn’t hungry so much then. Personally, I hate lunch and almost never eat it because I just don’t feel big hunger then. I would see if you can get a really decent snack in to him a bit earlier, and then loads of very filling and nutritious breakfast bits if that’s his preferred eating time

 

[SwizzleMalarkey]

I know each child is different, but here is what I did when potty training mine.
I waited for it to be a weekend/holiday, with no plans to go out anywhere.
I set an alarm on my phone for every 10 mins. Every 10 mins when the alarm went off I sat her on the toilet for 5 mins. After a few accidents on day 1 & day 2, she got used to it and started peeing and pooping on the toilet. Yes, it is exhausting and can be frustrating, but by day 3 she was fully potty training and on day 5 I didn’t even put a nappy on her in bed.

We tried putting him on the potty but he just got so upset about it! I will see how he goes with the toilet tomorrow.

 

[Jellybean093]

Maybe he just isn’t hungry so much then. Personally, I hate lunch and almost never eat it because I just don’t feel big hunger then. I would see if you can get a really decent snack in to him a bit earlier, and then loads of very filling and nutritious breakfast bits if that’s his preferred eating time

He ended up with aldis rip off dairylea dunker for dinner. He’s just an annoying toddler. Yesterday, he said he wanted pizza for lunch, we got pizza, but he wanted his big brothers pizza, but because it had sweetcorn on (don’t ask!!) it was disgusting. He had a small pizza and had taken 1 bite out of each slice 🫠

 

[Definitelyme]

He’s just an annoying toddler.

 

[Jellybean093]

I made a really nice cottage pie as well

 

[Definitelyme]

I made a really nice cottage pie as well

Oh my gosh nothing grinds my gears more than when I’ve actually made something edible and they act like I’m poisoning them. They love pasta (obvs) with pesto. I am SICK of pesto and just want something else on my pasta. But when I make a nice pasta dish they act like I am trying to actually murder them. My life is too short so bleeping pesto pasta it is mateys.

 

[Jellybean093]

Oh my gosh nothing grinds my gears more than when I’ve actually made something edible and they act like I’m poisoning them. They love pasta (obvs) with pesto. I am SICK of pesto and just want something else on my pasta. But when I make a nice pasta dish they act like I am trying to actually murder them. My life is too short so bleeping pesto pasta it is mateys.

Love a bit of pesto pasta. My kids don’t touch anything that’s green 🫠 sometimes I can get pasta bake down them, but cheesy pasta is always a winner (not for 3yo though) fml. I hope to god baby doesn’t get so picky!

 

[Higuyswelcometomychannel]

I’ve had to deal with *so much* of my own food hang ups when they leave perfectly good food. A lot of it comes from my parents and ‘clean your plate’ stuff. I’ve caught my dad trying to force my toddler to eat food in a certain order (meat first), and had to have a word with him.

Here’s what we tend to do:
* always serve a safe food that we know they’ll eat: bread, a veg they eat, fruit
* new food in small quantities for my own sanity & not to overwhelm them
* chill the duck out about what they’re actually eating
* we’ve just introduced stricter snack times, they were going rogue with snacks and I think ruining their meal time appetite. We’re now following the same snack timings as nursery.
* what we serve for meals is what we’re having, nothing else.

We have good days and bad days, learning to trust that they know when & what they want to eat is a challenge for me, but they need autonomy & food is one of their biggest cards to play.

 

[Jellybean093]

I’ve had to deal with *so much* of my own food hang ups when they leave perfectly good food. A lot of it comes from my parents and ‘clean your plate’ stuff. I’ve caught my dad trying to force my toddler to eat food in a certain order (meat first), and had to have a word with him.

Here’s what we tend to do:
* always serve a safe food that we know they’ll eat: bread, a veg they eat, fruit
* new food in small quantities for my own sanity & not to overwhelm them
* chill the duck out about what they’re actually eating
* we’ve just introduced stricter snack times, they were going rogue with snacks and I think ruining their meal time appetite. We’re now following the same snack timings as nursery.
* what we serve for meals is what we’re having, nothing else.

We have good days and bad days, learning to trust that they know when & what they want to eat is a challenge for me, but they need autonomy & food is one of their biggest cards to play.

The only safe foods we have with the 3yo is weetabix, sandwiches and bananas. He does like food, I’m just not sure why he’s all of a sudden turned against dinners…
They used to snack loads, but we had to knock that on the head as all of them weren’t having dinner. I don’t like them eating past 2, as I find that really affects their eating

I know Instagram isn’t real life, and actually, some threads on here, where I see people comment on kids eating poorly, but their kids ‘eat well, altogether at the dinner tables and the same meals’
I saw someone say on one thread how the kid was always eating dunkers, and I’m like that’s the only thing I can get down him

 

[Higuyswelcometomychannel]

The only safe foods we have with the 3yo is weetabix, sandwiches and bananas. He does like food, I’m just not sure why he’s all of a sudden turned against dinners…
They used to snack loads, but we had to knock that on the head as all of them weren’t having dinner. I don’t like them eating past 2, as I find that really affects their eating

I know Instagram isn’t real life, and actually, some threads on here, where I see people comment on kids eating poorly, but their kids ‘eat well, altogether at the dinner tables and the same meals’
I saw someone say on one thread how the kid was always eating dunkers, and I’m like that’s the only thing I can get down him

Slap some sliced banana on his plate with whatever he’s eating! And a slice of bread!

 

[Jellybean093]

Slap some sliced banana on his plate with whatever he’s eating! And a slice of bread!

So, offer what we are having plus banana and bread?
Pretty sure Mr B picked the greenest bananas yesterday, so will take a while to turn yellow

 

[Higuyswelcometomychannel]

So, offer what we are having plus banana and bread?
Pretty sure Mr B picked the greenest bananas yesterday, so will take a while to turn yellow

Yup! Takes the stress off you all, they’ll eat something & might try the other stuff too. Play it cool if they try the new stuff, play if cool if they don’t.

 

[Definitelyme]

I’ve caught my dad trying to force my toddler to eat food in a certain order (meat first),

The older generation are wild. Meat first indeed I remember writing a very long letter to my eldest’s teacher years ago when she came home upset that she didn’t get a star that day, because she hadn’t finished her lunch. This woman was giving out stars to kids who cleared their lunchbox. I actually despair sometimes.

Love a bit of pesto pasta. My kids don’t touch anything that’s green 🫠 sometimes I can get pasta bake down them, but cheesy pasta is always a winner (not for 3yo though) fml. I hope to god baby doesn’t get so picky!

We have red pesto, the green is even more vile

 

[WhatABore]

The older generation are wild. Meat first indeed I remember writing a very long letter to my eldest’s teacher years ago when she came home upset that she didn’t get a star that day, because she hadn’t finished her lunch. This woman was giving out stars to kids who cleared their lunchbox. I actually despair sometimes.




We have red pesto, the green is even more vile

My 4yos teacher does this. I hate it.
She'll often come home with star stickers and I ask what they're for and she says for finishing her dinner.

 

[Jellybean093]

Yup! Takes the stress off you all, they’ll eat something & might try the other stuff too. Play it cool if they try the new stuff, play if cool if they don’t.

Thanks so much. Will try this tomorrow!

The older generation are wild. Meat first indeed I remember writing a very long letter to my eldest’s teacher years ago when she came home upset that she didn’t get a star that day, because she hadn’t finished her lunch. This woman was giving out stars to kids who cleared their lunchbox. I actually despair sometimes.




We have red pesto, the green is even more vile

I’ve actually never tried red pesto might give it a bash!

 

[Definitelyme]

My 4yos teacher does this. I hate it.
She'll often come home with star stickers and I ask what they're for and she says for finishing her dinner.

I probably still have the letter somewhere if you want a copy she told me afterwards she’d never really thought about it that way (as In I told her she was encouraging obesity, and rewarding children for eating past their natural point of fullness, and they aren’t responsible for how much lunch is packed so why should they have to eat it all) and she stopped

Then when 7Me was in her class…she was at it again.

 

[WhatABore]

I probably still have the letter somewhere if you want a copy she told me afterwards she’d never really thought about it that way (as In I told her she was encouraging obesity, and rewarding children for eating past their natural point of fullness, and they aren’t responsible for how much lunch is packed so why should they have to eat it all) and she stopped

Then when 7Me was in her class…she was at it again.

I hate it.
She came home crying the other day because she wasn't allowed a cookie because she didn't like the dinner.

 

[Definitelyme]

I hate it.
She came home crying the other day because she wasn't allowed a cookie because she didn't like the dinner.

And schools are supposed to be promoting healthy lifestyle… then they do crap like this.

 

[WhatABore]

And schools are supposed to be promoting healthy lifestyle… then they do crap like this.

Yep!
They're constantly telling them to learn the healthy foods. (which I hate anyway as we try to encourage all foods are healthy in moderation)
And then they have a cookie club where the 2 best behaved kids from each class go and have cookies.

 

[strawberrysunshine_x]

I hate it.
She came home crying the other day because she wasn't allowed a cookie because she didn't like the dinner.

My nursery has done similar things when he was on packed lunch if he didn’t eat his sandwich or fruit they wouldn’t let him have his crisps or biscuits so sometimes he never had anything for lunch. He’s on school dinners now cos he was always starving and dropping weight if I make him a picnic he more often than not eats the biscuit or sweet thing first