Talk to me about dinner with toddlers

[thiswillbe]

What are your rules around dinner? We are having a terrible time a) getting them to the table, and b) keeping them there.

Re: getting them to the table-- They're not in boosters any more, so even if we were to physically wrangle them to the table (NOT our style), they can (and Little Man sometimes does) just get right down again. I don't want to have a battle of wills about coming to eat when dinner is served, but of course I want him to eat. Suggestions?

Re: keeping them at the table-- Peanut is PTing, and has figured out that if she says she needs to go potty, she gets excused from the table to go do that. Then of course once DD is down, DS wants to get down. But he's just getting down to play.

I hope someone has suggestions. It's just been a couple of days of this nonsense (before that, they came when called to the table and generally stayed there till dinner was done, since we had a pre-PTing rule that we all stayed at the table until everyone was finished), but I don't want to let it get out of hand.

[twotrue]

Can you ask/tell DD to go potty prior to dinner? That way when she asks during dinner you can tell her she just went and clarify whether she really needs to go. I find that with Jelly Bean, if she knows that I know that she doesn't really have to go, she'll start to giggle and then give up the idea of going potty (b/c she doesn't actually have to go).

I'm not really any help though because DD still sits in a high chair. We eat at a bar height table most days and DD's highchair is the same height so we just pull it up to the table. She doesn't have the option of getting down on her own.

However, now that I think about it, there have been a few times in the last few weeks she has said she is done, I let her down, and then about 20 minutes later she is hungry and ready to really eat.

Hmmmm, so is this one of those battles that is worth fighting to you? If they get down and play, then you and S can continue on having dinner without them, and enjoy adult conversation. When they are ready to eat they can sit at the table by themselves. Maybe just seeing that they aren't getting to eat with you and S will be enough to make them want to stay and be part of that.

IDK....

[ct]

Aug 31, 2012 11:26:46 GMT -5 twotrue said:

Hmmmm, so is this one of those battles that is worth fighting to you? If they get down and play, then you and S can continue on having dinner without them, and enjoy adult conversation. When they are ready to eat they can sit at the table by themselves. Maybe just seeing that they aren't getting to eat with you and S will be enough to make them want to stay and be part of that.

IDK....

This is where we land. My kids seem to be pretty good about sitting and eating with us (RB is an occasional exception) and I think its because they know we don't care, lol. They want to be a part of the conversation and have our attention.

I'm not into leaving food out all night (we have 3 dogs!) so on occassion I will set the timer and let them know that the food is going away in X amout of time but its up to them when they wish to eat in that time.

[kershnic]

Your kids are a whole year younger than my nephews, and the nephews still eat in highchairs... I really don't think they would have been able to stay at the table not strapped in a year ago. It depends how much of a battle you're willing to make this, but I think I'd stick with the idea that you're not going to play/interact during meal time away from the table. Do they have enough verbal comprehension to understand the idea of the food being put away at a certain time?

[2brides]

Yea, the kids were in highchairs till 3y since they were contained and would eat infinitely better if they didn't have the option to roam. I don't have any good suggestions, but you do have my sympathies.

[hlke]

My niece (almost 3) is also still in a booster she can't get out of. "Strap 'em down" seems to be a popular option.

[cymru]

Annie still sits in her highchair at the table. She sits for longer and actually eats rather than jumping up to do other things.

[tattooedmeegs]

Gwen's still in her booster chair too. But if she won't come or get in, then we will give her a minute or two to finish what she's doing before placing her in her chair. Once there she can eat or not eat, but 1) we sit together at dinner time, and 2) once dinner is over and she gets down, that's it, dinner is done.