HELP! Toddler wont eat home by herself without TV/YouTube

[tiantian1005]

So my daughter is turning 2 next month. She goes to nursery 5 days a week and eats 3 meals there everyday all by herself using spoon and hands perfectly. At home she would not move a finger, has to be fed and with TV. We can only blame ourselves but really want o fix this. I actually dont mind the TV if she eats by herself independently without being fed but I guess she is too focused on TV. I plan to use the long easter weekend to just put meals in front of her, no TV and train her. Any advise from parents who also been here?

I think it’s one of those things you’ll just have to endure the challenging phase and push through it. Don’t give in!

I would be making the whole week a no tv/screen time. Put a bedsheet over the tv and say it’s off, then distract with other activities like playing with toys, crafts, being outside etc. It could (probably will be) brutal and there may be tantrums, but the worst thing you can do is give in to the poor behaviour and back track. After a week or two I would reintroduce tv in small 15/30 minute segments of some gentile, low stimulating shows at specific times that aren’t around meals.

Just don’t put the tv on! End of!

all sit together to eat, don’t leave them to eat alone, make it social, replace the tv with a family chat. Never resort to it for table entertainment again, it’s a slippery slope as you’ve found.

It’s good that you recognise this as a problem and are planning to fix it.
I mean this gently, but this is just a bad habit that you’ve all got into at home and I think if you go into this with a positive attitude there is no reason why it can’t be changed quickly and easily. Try not to expect that this will be difficult as she will pick up on your anxiety.

But be kind to yourself and remember that at nursery she may not have a TV but she will be surrounded by lots of other children and distractions at mealtimes.

Do you (and her dad) sit down and eat with her? If not, even if you normally eat your main meals at a different time, I suggest sitting down with her maybe with a small snack (some sliced apple, or a biscuit and a cup of tea) and chatting to her while she is eating to help re-create a different environment.

As long as she’s hungry, and it is food she definitely likes then it would be an extremely stubborn child to sit and look at food and not feed herself. Be confident, I’m sure it will go well.

Just all sit at the table and eat together. She will either eat or not. If she's hungry she will eat.
A good rule to remember is - you decide what's on her plate, she decides how much she eats. This is the rule at nursery and is why she eats well there.

Very good point above.
Do expect that she may eat smaller portions while you adjust to a new routine and do not stress about it. She will not starve herself.

Put food on table. Eat together. No TV. It really, really is that simple. Don’t overcomplicate it. Just switch the telly off and don’t even comment on it.