Almost 2 year old and dinner problems

[cheesebubble]

Breakfast = porridge
Lunch = bakery bread with cream cheese + tomatoes + cucumber + avocado
Snack = fruit + non sugar biscuits or non sugar pancakes, muffins etc
These three meals go perfectly, he feeds himself with minimal help.

Then it comes to 5:30pm, time for dinner and I feel like a failure as I end up putting peppa or something on my phone and feed him because he just won't sit in his seat, gets angry and just doesn't want to eat the food and I always resort to what I said the day before, I don't want to do aka let him watch and feed him. He eats everything when the TV is on. I know I created this bad habit and I feel lshit about it 😞

Any tips how this can be reversed or how this can be solved.

I have anxiety and will stress over him not eating, so I don't want to just him to not have dinner, so that's not really an option.

My niece and nephew were like this. They couldn't sit and eat after about 4pm. Either give big meal at lunch or do a slightly earlier lunch, skip snack and do early dinner by 4, then a small snack before bed.

Some children just don’t like dinner. Make sure his snacks are more high calories and higher in protein to compensate.

Or try giving him dinner earlier.

He’s probably tired.

Have a bigger meal at lunch and a snack at dinner time.

I used to sit mine at a little table and chairs in front of the TV.
Ooo I’m a bad mum 🤣

530 sounds a little late for dinner, my 4yo has her evening meal at about 430 then has a couple of hours bouncing round the house til bed and bath time, no supper.
I'd put dinner on the table, maybe things he can pick and choose from and no TV. Yoghurt and fruit offered after whether he eats the main or not then at least you know he's having something before bed

@midnightstar66 @Thatwentbadly @Marmite27

You all have the same suggestions, so that's what we'll try tomorrow. Is there an issue though for him not eating from 4pm the day before until 8pm?

@DinosaurDiana no of course not, maybe I should just be a bit more chilled but I always seem to think that everything goes perfectly in houses but not in mine...

*other people's

I would focus on the 2 meals he’ll eat, maybe so scrambled eggs for breakfast and a cooked lunch some days.

DS has always had his main meal at lunchtime, then a light dinner around 5, omelette, quesadillas with veg sticks, beans on toast, home made minestrone that kind of thing, and yoghurt and fruit if still hungry, they do the same at nursery

We’re having similar issues as you op in that my 2 year old keeps rejecting dinner, even things I know he loves

We eat together at 5pm to try and model good behaviours by seeing us eat etc. But it’s not working. I don’t know if he’s tired or what it is

So I’m swapping to the way nursery do it, feeding him his main ‘hot’ meal of the day at lunch (12pm) and then his smaller meal (sandwich’s, soup, rolls etc) at 4.30pm

Oh I forgot to say that, he’s eating with his younger brother now so I don’t feel bad that we’re not eating with him anymore and it’s removed some of the stress from the situation

DC won't really eat dinner here if he has an afternoon snack.

If he does he ends up having maybe 1/4 of his dinner at 5pm and then he'll eat the rest after his bath whilst bombing around with some toys.

I suspect we should move dinner a bit earlier and have a snack nearer bed but too difficult with work etc!

As long as he is not hungry (he will let you know) and gaining weight there is no problem.

It's really important for a healthy relationship with food into the future that our kids are actually engaging with what they eat and how much of it they have, rather than just shovelling it in while distracted by something else, so I'm with you there.

I'd try ditching the snack and moving dinner earlier, tbh.

Okidoki, apparently he eats amazing at the childminders but only goes twice a week.

New times:

8:00am breakfast
12:00pm lunch - cooked meal
4:00pm dinner - basically what he usually has for lunch
06:30: yoghurt (natural or coconut collab + a bit of fruit).

Let's see if anything changes.

Thanks everyone. You know what's funny, I always worry when I post something to get comments that would just put me down but this was really uplifting, so thanks everyone.

I might report how it's going.

@cheesebubble

Okidoki, apparently he eats amazing at the childminders but only goes twice a week.

New times:

8:00am breakfast
12:00pm lunch - cooked meal
4:00pm dinner - basically what he usually has for lunch
06:30: yoghurt (natural or coconut collab + a bit of fruit).

Let's see if anything changes.

Thanks everyone. You know what's funny, I always worry when I post something to get comments that would just put me down but this was really uplifting, so thanks everyone.

I might report how it's going.

That sounds sensible. DS also has his biggest meal at lunch (either at home or nursery) and then tea - which admittedly we do a bit later - is a little bit of what he fancies. Some days it's a lot, sometimes it's a yoghurt and that's it. Fingers crossed it works for you!

Do his dinner earlier and if he gets hungry give weetabix or porridge before bed

Mine did this.... I honestly think they are full.... it's a big lunch and breakfast
Just offer
A picky tea
Toast, cheese, fruit or what ever he likes
And he'll be fine xx

@cheesebubble I would be very pleased if my 22 month old ate those foods in a day 🙈 she literally takes tiny bites out of things during the day, and doesn’t eat tea at night. She doesn’t really eat fruit or veg.

Take the advice here, and keep offering a tea, but try not to worry if they don’t eat much. I give my DD vitamins and she seems to be doing ok... 🤞 I might follow everyone tips here too lol

All the best xx

My toddler has a huge appetite in the morning so I tend to avoid just typical “breakfast foods” because to me filling her up on cereal is a wasted opportunity to get healthy things down her! She‘ll sometimes eat tinned sardines and toast for breakfast with a banana, or eggs scrambled with veggies and cheese in, or if I do porridge I bulk it up with ground almonds / raisins or something like that. Lunch she tends not to eat much so that meal I do snacky things, then a cooked meal at tea though I do it early like others have said because she just can’t deal with eating when she’s tired. No snacks here.

Today worked well:

08:00am porridge with peanut butter, banana mashed in, cinnamon & chia seeds
12:00pm baked potatoe with beans (low sugar, low salt), cheese and peas on the side (no clue why but he loved peas) + a few grapes after
4:00pm one slice of brown granary bread with cream cheese, tomatoes & cucumber & some blueberries
6pm: raisins and half a banana

I don't want to jinx anything but we had 0 issues (6pm snack was eaten in the living room bouncing about rather than in the chair).

Thank you, thank you, thank you x

@BeHereNowx32 my son is like this. Although worse! He's 20 month's and it's just milk, yoghurt, cheese , dry bread and baby crisps that he will eat. Literally everything else he throws, refuses or won't even try and eat. He won't eat fruit unless it's in a smoothie. I have no idea how to make him eat more!

I give him spirulina for protein, and vitamin drops. But it's a nightmare.

@cheesebubble I'm really glad the ideas seem to be working for you. I might try myself, although I don't hold much hope. I just worry he's not getting what he needs.

I usually try to look at it over a full week. This morning Ds had weetabix and some pear afterwards, but only had half a fish finger and a tiny bite of sweet potato at lunchtime (I’d spent 20 minutes making his lunch and hate it when this happens)! So I presume he’s not hungry and put him down for his nap.
When he wakes I’ll give him some veg sticks for a snack and then try to leave it until 5pm so that he’ll actually eat something reasonably substantial. He’s a bit constipated at the moment so I think that’s affecting his appetite too.
Some days he’s definitely hungrier than others and eats everything I put in front of him. He knows he has to sit in his chair to eat (or in the high chair if we eat together) and once he gets up, I wait 5 minutes and try again, if he refuses again then I take it away. It’s hard not to worry but I figure if he’s hungry he’ll eat.
He’s 2 in March.