this came to my mind today, as James ate a normal breakfast, took a normal nap, then work up, not hungry... at all! (he didn't even want candy!:O... he then got shaky (which is typical) and so i gave him milk and he then felt hungry, but now he will not eat dinner until around bed time, because he ate late....
without judging others, and without hostil coments, i was wondering what you think...
which is better, keeping toddlers on an eating schedule so they can eat with the family, or letting them eat when they are hungery...
my reason for asking is, i have been struggling with James and Jonathan on eating with the family, either because they are not hungery yet, or they ate right before we did...
James as a baby ate when he wanted, and still seems to eat like this... he eats when hes hungry, and that tends to throw off any chance of him eating with us at then table, because timing just doesn't work out...
since he eats this way, i make sure he is getting all of the proper foods he needs...
he is super lean, and very strong... so im not worried he is not eating the right things... i just wonder if and when he should be made to eat with the family... (he does sometimes just sit there with us, and nibble now and then)
jonathan is a much better eater... he will eat alot at the table... but then goes through DAYS of not wanting anything but drinks... but then he usually grows... or is teething
There are days i feel so lost in what to do about their eating...
(the days that james is rummaging my house eating things like candles, and egg shells!, but wont eat dinner! )
i took James to the Dr about his eating candles, she gave him and iron supplement, but i have run out, and honestly, im not sure how he could be loosing iron. because this is a frequent thing... he has phases of eating super odd things... (sand, shells, candles, are his favorite) i try to teach him they are not food, but i still have thrown away every candle i own, and he doesn't get sand anymore... )
i will be taking him in to get his iron checked again, becuase he has been eating odd things again...
i was just curious what you all thought...
So what we do is I try and eat together even when daddy is at work. So we will usually way breakfast, lunch & have snacks together. Rhiannon usually has her bottle around the same times as Bud & I are eating, since she is eating more foods its been after we all eat sheErik drink her bottle.usually its every 3-4 hours either a meal or snack. Then when daddy gets home we have dinner. Ill have buds eat fruit or cheese for snacks when its getting closer to dinner so he will still eat. when I am making dinner ill say i'm making dinner will you help me? Tokind of keep his mind off his tummy, ill also give him tastes it depending on what im making.
ReplyDeleteooo, helping with dinner! that's a great idea! i forgot i used to do that with james before jon was born... i will try that :) thankyou!
DeleteThis may sound horrid, but I've never been a big snack giver. I have gotten better the more children I have, but I try to keep it very small.....another thing I Hate (I know, harsh word here) is juice. We leave juice to very special occasions such as birthdays and big holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.This is because it is a lot of empty calories that fill tummies and ruins teeth. Yes, I make my children eat when we eat.....we do have exceptions for the really young, but when they are toddlers, they eat with us unless there is an unusual circumstance that is unavoidable. Hope this helps a bit! I don't claim to be an expert by any means!!!
ReplyDeletei also hate juice... unfortunately Philemon has a different feeling about juice... heheh! he loves it... i admit i have failed in the juice department... cuz now the boys wont drink water... (we are working on it, as i am now making them have water at meals except breakfast...) im working on the snack thing... i find they are eating with us easier if they dont have a mid afternoon snack... thankyou :)
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