Toddler advice thread #3

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Struggling also with my toddlers eating. He’s 2 in March! He had his first lunch at nursery today, he ate the jelly & banana but not the main. He tried it but spat it out! I’m just pleased he tried it tbh.
when he’s at home he doesn’t eat a full meal, he’ll snack throughout the day, but occasionally he’ll surprise me and attempt a meal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him finish a whole plate though.
when I weaned him he was offered everything, so what we give him now shouldn’t be new to him but it certainly feels like it.
Is it normal for him to spit food out? He willingly opens his mouth when I put the fork in his mouth but then spits it out, almost like it’s a game?
he was born premature so he’s a petite baby already, but I do worry a lot about him being underweight.
And his sleep is so bad. One night he falls asleep nicely & right through with no wake ups. Then the next night he’s fighting sleep and when we finally do get him to sleep he’s awake every couple of hours ! I have to take him out in the car to get him to sleep sometimes & I don’t like doing it too often cause he relies on it!
Anyone else do this? I feel like I’m a failure when I can’t even get my son to sleep or eat!
ToddlerMe is almost 2 as well and he hates eating (unless it’s crisps or chocolate).
Have you tried letting him feed himself?
TMe didn’t eat anything but a handful of cheese for dinner, and it was pasta which he normally does like. He quite often eats nothing at all, I honestly don’t know how he survives (breastmilk I guess).
If he put something in his mouth he didn’t like he’d also spit it out, I would ignore that totally.
We just keep offering him normal family food, and nutritious snacks, and try and let him choose what he wants. But it’s hard, and as the girls on the new baby thread know, sometimes I do get really down about it
 
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ToddlerMe is almost 2 as well and he hates eating (unless it’s crisps or chocolate).
Have you tried letting him feed himself?
TMe didn’t eat anything but a handful of cheese for dinner, and it was pasta which he normally does like. He quite often eats nothing at all, I honestly don’t know how he survives (breastmilk I guess).
If he put something in his mouth he didn’t like he’d also spit it out, I would ignore that totally.
We just keep offering him normal family food, and nutritious snacks, and try and let him choose what he wants. But it’s hard, and as the girls on the new baby thread know, sometimes I do get really down about it
Yeah my son Is the same, he will eat alot of ice pops. He constantly asks for them from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to bed! He also has a lot of milk (cows milk) we tried to cut down, but as he wasn’t eating much he asked for it more. But I couldn’t refuse him cause if he didn’t have his milk he’d have absolutely nothing at all. We’ve tried watering his milk down gradually but he soon notices and refuses it, he has his milk at bed time & nap times now which is good but he just doesn’t eat enough in between.
oh it’s such a worry isn’t it, I find I worry about one thing one day and then something else the next. I’m exhausted from it all!

The first year of life food should be supplementary, and milk should be his main source of nutrition.
my lo is a preemie too and she didn’t sleep through the night until she was 2.5!
I know it sounds cliche, but everything is a phase, and I went through these exact worries. Let your child guide u, children can tell when u r tense or agitated around mealtimes. There r some great accounts on insta, I follow Biglittlefeelings as I really appreciate their chilled approach to all things children. They give really nuanced and logical advice.
If ur worried about weight, just make sure he doesn’t fall down percentile lines, and in the meantime Google how u can add extra fats into his meals to help with the weight gain.
Also bear in mind being at nursery is a big change for children and it can take time to settle. My lo barely ate there so I had to send a packed lunch most days.
you got this!
It’s funny you say that kids pick up on you being anxious, cause if I ask him ‘is it nice’ or ‘why don’t you try abit and see if you like it?’ He just gets silly and starts throwing his plate or refusing to eat, I think he senses when I want him to eat his food. I just try and give him encouragement but I think I might try and just leave him too it and if he needs my help I will.
He is independent so he knows what he’s doing.
It was his first day back after Christmas (4 week break) and he was so upset when I dropped him off so I don’t think today he was in the mood for anything. The staff said he’s been clingy most of the day and quite emotional.
 
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Yeah my son Is the same, he will eat alot of ice pops. He constantly asks for them from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to bed! He also has a lot of milk (cows milk) we tried to cut down, but as he wasn’t eating much he asked for it more. But I couldn’t refuse him cause if he didn’t have his milk he’d have absolutely nothing at all. We’ve tried watering his milk down gradually but he soon notices and refuses it, he has his milk at bed time & nap times now which is good but he just doesn’t eat enough in between.
oh it’s such a worry isn’t it, I find I worry about one thing one day and then something else the next. I’m exhausted from it all!
You could try making him some ice pops and loading them with fruit and other good stuff. He’ll probably chuck them on the floor and demand his normal ones, but we can only try!
 
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Argh mine was up 3-5 am 🤮🤮🤮. I got him back to sleep at 5 am and I had 50 mins my alarm goes off at 550 😖. Little bugger was so giddy. I think I need to try a later bed time now he’s nearly 4. As you can guess he’s fast asleep now snoring and looks so peaceful
 
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FINALLY got A to eat some toast this morning. I’ve bought her milk roll and she had a slice before swimming 😂 nursery said she eats bread no problem🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
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FINALLY got A to eat some toast this morning. I’ve bought her milk roll and she had a slice before swimming 😂 nursery said she eats bread no problem🤣🤣🤣🤣
Omg don’t get me started on bread. Mine will only eat certain types. Warburtons especially the toastie. And he likes it in different ways. Sometimes he likes it just cut in half. Sometimes he wants me to fold it before he eats it 🤨🤣
Nursery say he butters his own toast. Does he do that at home. Does he duck
 
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this is my toddlers fav bread

0B6224AE-E67A-4DB6-862C-A25CFA5238E4.png


if i walk through the door with anything else he just goes ‘No’

also he dropped a pencil before and said ‘bleeping heck’ 😭 i said to my fella ‘dunno where he’s got the heck from cos i say bleeping hell’ 😂
 
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this is my toddlers fav bread

View attachment 1874210

if i walk through the door with anything else he just goes ‘No’

also he dropped a pencil before and said ‘bleeping heck’ 😭 i said to my fella ‘dunno where he’s got the heck from cos i say bleeping hell’ 😂
I say duck sake a lot in the car when driving / parking / road rage and mini A goes SAKEEEEEEEE I’m like yes keep saying sake 😂😂😂😂
 
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Had to jump on this thread as I’m having a difficult time with my toddler. He will be 3 in March and he had started playgroup after the summer where I leave him to get him ready for being left when he starts school nursery (after the summer). He was upset the first couple of weeks but settled in by the third week and has made friends which he talks about and can’t wait to go and play with. The last few weeks when I have been going to pick him up I have been getting negative feedback from one of the teachers about his behaviour be it him throwing a tantrum or not sharing. I spoke to him at home and explained this behaviour isn’t good and he must listen to his teachers who look after him (one of them he’s more fond of than the other). His behaviour for a bit had got better and when I picked him up Monday I was told he was absolutely fine by the teacher he likes all class but today the one teacher he clicks with was off and it was the other one and I was told how he had misbehaved again. I’m at my wits end with how to deal with it if anyone has any tips/experience (I’m in no way blaming the teacher)
 
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Had to jump on this thread as I’m having a difficult time with my toddler. He will be 3 in March and he had started playgroup after the summer where I leave him to get him ready for being left when he starts school nursery (after the summer). He was upset the first couple of weeks but settled in by the third week and has made friends which he talks about and can’t wait to go and play with. The last few weeks when I have been going to pick him up I have been getting negative feedback from one of the teachers about his behaviour be it him throwing a tantrum or not sharing. I spoke to him at home and explained this behaviour isn’t good and he must listen to his teachers who look after him (one of them he’s more fond of than the other). His behaviour for a bit had got better and when I picked him up Monday I was told he was absolutely fine by the teacher he likes all class but today the one teacher he clicks with was off and it was the other one and I was told how he had misbehaved again. I’m at my wits end with how to deal with it if anyone has any tips/experience (I’m in no way blaming the teacher)
please don’t worry about them not sharing, my daughter had comments weekly about her tit sharing.This is coming from a child who’s been at nursery since 7 months. Don’t worry😊 once he’s settled into it more (I’m taking 6+ months) and once he knows his friends better he won’t be as bad. Don’t over think his behaviour and ignore the comments, kids don’t learn sharing properly until they’re 4/5 anyway. If he was getting comments like “hitting and biting” I’d be very worried.

You aren’t a bad parent cos your nearly 3 year old isn’t sharing, or throwing a tantrum. That’s normal behaviour xxx (my daughter is 3 in 2 weeks and the comments are normal - I got them for a good few months 😂)
 
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Had to jump on this thread as I’m having a difficult time with my toddler. He will be 3 in March and he had started playgroup after the summer where I leave him to get him ready for being left when he starts school nursery (after the summer). He was upset the first couple of weeks but settled in by the third week and has made friends which he talks about and can’t wait to go and play with. The last few weeks when I have been going to pick him up I have been getting negative feedback from one of the teachers about his behaviour be it him throwing a tantrum or not sharing. I spoke to him at home and explained this behaviour isn’t good and he must listen to his teachers who look after him (one of them he’s more fond of than the other). His behaviour for a bit had got better and when I picked him up Monday I was told he was absolutely fine by the teacher he likes all class but today the one teacher he clicks with was off and it was the other one and I was told how he had misbehaved again. I’m at my wits end with how to deal with it if anyone has any tips/experience (I’m in no way blaming the teacher)
I would actually be blaming the teacher. He isn’t even 3, that is all totally normal behaviour (albeit not the most desirable). Working with that age group they should have LOADS of strategies to put in place for kids with hitting. Not sharing is totally normal at that age as well.
Seems to me he and one teacher don’t click and the teacher isn’t handling it well, causing him to feel frustrated and act out.
Have you asked what they are doing to work with him? You can’t solve the issue from the outside, they need to take the lead.

ETA: I misread throwing a tantrum as hitting somehow! Toddlers throw tantrums because they are frustrated, and that is so very normal. Your son is displaying 100% normal behaviour and his teacher isn’t handling it well. I would be saying “we are working on these things at home - what procedures have you put in place here?”
 
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Had to jump on this thread as I’m having a difficult time with my toddler. He will be 3 in March and he had started playgroup after the summer where I leave him to get him ready for being left when he starts school nursery (after the summer). He was upset the first couple of weeks but settled in by the third week and has made friends which he talks about and can’t wait to go and play with. The last few weeks when I have been going to pick him up I have been getting negative feedback from one of the teachers about his behaviour be it him throwing a tantrum or not sharing. I spoke to him at home and explained this behaviour isn’t good and he must listen to his teachers who look after him (one of them he’s more fond of than the other). His behaviour for a bit had got better and when I picked him up Monday I was told he was absolutely fine by the teacher he likes all class but today the one teacher he clicks with was off and it was the other one and I was told how he had misbehaved again. I’m at my wits end with how to deal with it if anyone has any tips/experience (I’m in no way blaming the teacher)
Kids don't even understand/grasp sharing until at least age 3.
They should know this!
So please don't worry about that ❤
 
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Thank you for replies just to add a bit more it is always my child that this one teacher keeps reporting back on bar behaviour but when he’s good she avoids me and it’s the other one who gives feedback. When I returned today I got I will speak to you in a minute. At home I have been taking the time to deal with tantrums etc and explaining to him he has to share although it’s a working progress as most of you have shared it takes a bit for them to understand and he has gotten slightly better over time. His problem with the tantrums is he goes from 0-100 and doesn’t know how to calm himself down and sometimes he will push you away if you try to go near him. His health visitor didn’t have any concerns about his development etc she just said he’s still learning to control emotions which is normal and when he’s upset/angry he self soothes by playing with his hair or my hair if I’m here. I don’t have any concerns with his behaviour as my friends kids who are same age behave similar to him, it’s just sometimes feels out of the 12 kids it’s always my child who has seems to be misbehaving 🤦🏼‍♀️
 
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Thank you for replies just to add a bit more it is always my child that this one teacher keeps reporting back on bar behaviour but when he’s good she avoids me and it’s the other one who gives feedback. When I returned today I got I will speak to you in a minute. At home I have been taking the time to deal with tantrums etc and explaining to him he has to share although it’s a working progress as most of you have shared it takes a bit for them to understand and he has gotten slightly better over time. His problem with the tantrums is he goes from 0-100 and doesn’t know how to calm himself down and sometimes he will push you away if you try to go near him. His health visitor didn’t have any concerns about his development etc she just said he’s still learning to control emotions which is normal and when he’s upset/angry he self soothes by playing with his hair or my hair if I’m here. I don’t have any concerns with his behaviour as my friends kids who are same age behave similar to him, it’s just sometimes feels out of the 12 kids it’s always my child who has seems to be misbehaving 🤦🏼‍♀️
Just remember that you dont see what goes on during the day, you also don't see if/when any other parents get spoken to either 😊
 
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Thank you for replies just to add a bit more it is always my child that this one teacher keeps reporting back on bar behaviour but when he’s good she avoids me and it’s the other one who gives feedback. When I returned today I got I will speak to you in a minute. At home I have been taking the time to deal with tantrums etc and explaining to him he has to share although it’s a working progress as most of you have shared it takes a bit for them to understand and he has gotten slightly better over time. His problem with the tantrums is he goes from 0-100 and doesn’t know how to calm himself down and sometimes he will push you away if you try to go near him. His health visitor didn’t have any concerns about his development etc she just said he’s still learning to control emotions which is normal and when he’s upset/angry he self soothes by playing with his hair or my hair if I’m here. I don’t have any concerns with his behaviour as my friends kids who are same age behave similar to him, it’s just sometimes feels out of the 12 kids it’s always my child who has seems to be misbehaving 🤦🏼‍♀️
Please don’t think he is misbehaving. He isn’t, he is being a toddler! Some are just better at controlling emotions than others, but not being able too isn’t bad behaviour.
It really sounds like an adult issue (the teacher, not you!) rather than a child issue x
 
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