My 4 year old DS refuses to feed himself at meals - he will always start and is perfectly capable, but after about 5 mouthfuls he announces 'I need a feed' and won't eat anything unless I feed him.
It all started when DS2 was born, and we just fed him to be sure he would eat, and accepting he needed extra attention. But now DS2 is 18 months and feeding himself, and DS1 still needs feeding. I know it is just laziness/attention seeking, but it is driving me mad.
I have tried:
taking food away and him going without - he is not a big eater and is quite happy to go without all day
reward charts/stickers/bribery etc - he's not interested
The problem is I always give in eventually because I worry about him not eating - he's always been a poor eater, as a baby he would go 4 or 5 days without anything at all to eat, and would happily do the same now. I have got myself in the situation where I will do anything to ensure he has something to eat, hence my problem.
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Behaviour/development
4 year old won't feed self - any ideas?
3 replies
ksld · 03/09/2008 11:57
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