Advice on DS and eating

[Blackcatinanalley]

I don’t want mealtimes to become a stressful time between DS and myself but they are becoming so and I could do with some advice.

He is 2 in December. He has never liked his high chair even as a baby - replaced it with a booster seat at the table and he also doesn’t like that. He’ll sit in it for a few minutes then ‘down!’

He has his own small table and chair but getting him to sit and eat is a nightmare. He took three quarters of an hour to eat a small bowl of cereal this morning. Often he will only eat if I feed him but then I end up covered in food - yesterday ended up with jam in my hair and on my lap.

Is it just another thing I have to wait out?

What happens if he says down and you ignore him and eat your food?

He just keeps repeating down and getting upset / frustrated.

I’d sit him next to you whilst you eat, ignore whatever he does and when you’re done then clear his away too. And do this for every single meal, if you usually eat dinner later then have a tiny toddler portion with him.

He just keeps repeating down and getting upset / frustrated

I think you're giving him a bit too much power.

Sit down to eat together, ignore any protests and like the PP said, clear away if you've finished and let him down then.