We've been lucky - Sophia has always been a pretty good eater. We've had our ups and downs, but she's at least tried most things we've put in front of her. She used to eat like a house (no pun intended.) now she is mellowing out in her consumption amounts. She'll still try new things, but we've learned putting them to the front of the meal is our best bet - usually in the 2nd slot. Give her something tasty and familiar for the first course and then on to the new item, which may or may not be summarily rejected.
And as a 15-month old, she is now in the land of exerting her will. If she doesn't want it, she is most certainly going to let you know it - either with an emphatic shaker of her head, a swat of her hand, or an out and out "No." So, really, she doesn't leave you guessing. When she's done, she's done.
Unfortunately, we've also come into the "let's throw food on the floor" time. Despite every attempt to tell her "No" (forcefully, gently, you name it) she thinks it's a game, breaking into a huge smile when you tell her no. She'll happily eat, but when she hits a certain point, it's all about how much can be mashed into little pieces and then systematically dropped on the floor. It really used to bother me (though thank god we have hard wood floors- I couldn't imagine carpets!) but this weekend we've made the decision to just ignore her, hoping the novelty of the reaction will wear off.
Moms - are you running into the same thing? Any tips or tricks?
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I read somewhere that when kids start to play like that, they're done with the food and to take it away at that point. Though I guess that would mean your meal is over at that point, too!
ReplyDeleteMaybe just put some newspapers on the floor for easy clean up, lol! :)
Hi Michele, If you figure it out, let me know. We're 22 months and still in the "dropping food on the floor is funny" stage. I usually just take the remaining food away and say "all done". Still, True continues to drop food and thinks it's pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteGayle - that's good to know. I remember you writing last year about True wanting to feed himself everything and how painfully slow that was. We're still grasping (literally) to small amounts we can feed her just to make it out of mealtime in this millennium.
ReplyDeleteAbbie- we actually don't eat together - mostly because it's a full focus to feed Sophia and we don't end up eating till 8 or 9pm after she is long asleep. Eventually, I suppose, we'll eat as a full family, but with work schedules, etc, it's tough. I usually snack on something with her though.