It's my fault but now..........

[trinityrocks]

I don't know how to solve it.
Okay, umm my fisrt DD is now 5, she has always been a fussy eater and I had severe PND that started when she was about 10 months and I found that she would eat at least something if in front of the telly. {ashamed icon} I know that I shouldn't have but now it has become her routine to eat her tea in front of the telly. The problem is now that she will put in a mouthful and then forget what she is doing and she will just hold it in her mouth. She takes literally up to an hour to eat even her fave stuff. I know that I must now eat with her and up to the table in the kitchen.
I have already tried to encourage faster eating in front of the telly as this would have been easier than the inevitable battle I am going to have if I completely change her routine. I tried stickers, trying to beat me eating and timers and using mummy's special plate but she just gets sooooooo engrossed in Tom and Jerry lol that she doesn't respond to all of this. I feel that I really must change this.
I would like some advice on how to ease the change, has anyone else had to do this, know any good things to buy or do that will interest her and make the change any smoother. I have to change this cos I am getting angry with her every mealtime and it's not fair as it's not her fault, I let her watch telly tooooo much and at mealtimes for all this time.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Any advice however crazy or weird will be greatly appreciated and tried
Thanks for listening, hope everyone is o.k

Do you ever take her out to eat? How is she then? Can you organise some playdates with other children and have them eat at the table together?

Could you try telling her you'll turn the tv off if she hasn't eaten her meal by the end of this programme? Or within a certain timeframe? Of course, you'll have to carry out your threat too!

How about starting to eat in totally different rooms to the one the t.v. is in? My dd's 2.5 and we've had the same problem, I started feeding her in front of the t.v. when she was about a year old because I was getting literally nowhere with weaning her, she just chucked her food on the floor! So I [ashamed emoticon] could at least 'spoon it in' when she watched t.v. Now she has about 50/50 t.v. Breakfast (which is half a slice of toast at most anyway) is usually with a quick burst of breakfast t.v. Lunch she has 2 days with the childminder, t.v. free, and 2 days with her dad at the kitchen table. The 3 days she has lunch with me I try to be either at the kitchen table too or if she insists will put on a v. brief programme and always turn it off the moment she stops eating. Dinner is either all of us at the kitchen table or she and I. Occasionally if she's ill or tired I'll do it with t.v. But she knows she can't just sit and watch t.v., she has to eat or the t.v. goes off and that's it. It's a tough habit to break, especially after so long I'd imagine.

Could you transition to listening to story tapes sat at the table? You can borrow them from the library. Then if you can establish that it might be easier to move to just the table or stories for only part of the meal.

Agree, I think the tv must go off if you want to make this change but it will prob be easier if you explain to her in advance (day before?) that there's going to be a new rule of no tv or tv only after she's eaten with you. Then if you make it a nice event and spend the time talking maybe she'll take to it. My ds sometimes says 'can I have your company please' when he's eating since I eat with dp later than the children. Or could you make it sound more exciting by calling it a picnic? Even if it's an indoor one?

I agree - you probably have to bite the bullet and insist you eat in a different room. We had to do this about a year ago with ds1 - lots of tantrums at first, but stick to your guns..! Now, tea times are TONS better - he eats better, we chat at the table and he eats quicker because as soon as we're finished he can go and watch the end of CBeebies!

Hard at first though, so good luck - maybe impress on her that the quicker she eats her tea at the table, the faster she'll be able to get back to telly watching!!

And it may not be too awful. We had to do it too with dd1, and one day I told her firmly she was having lunch with me and her baby sister in the dining room...and, greatly to my surprise, it worked.

So far so good, Last night she has her tea in the kitchen with me, SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO suprised by no tears and tantrums, just a quite serious "I don't like this rule Mummy" which I ignored. I had got a disney princess plastic tablecloth and sparkly plastic cutlery and a purple (abs. fave colour) candle that she can blow out when she has finished her tea!! It all went well, I served her up a small portion of a tea I know she likes and she ate it all. Still a bit slow perhaps but when she realises that there really is no tellt or playing till she has eaten that should speed up. Thanks for your advice and support I feel strong enough to do it from now on even if she starts throwing tantrums, I will keep going!!!
Thanks again

Well done! Stick to your guns.

Fantastic new Trinityrocks. Since she responded so sensibly, you obviously explained it to her very well, and she realised that you weren't going to compromise and there was no point in tantrumming about it.

Well done! Hope it continues to go well

Very impressed with the candle idea!

thanks guys