Feeding Children

Here's a good article on common mistakes we all make with our children at mealtimes.

Two is every mother's nightmare at the table. He has a natural dislike for a lot of foods, and he further complicates things by using that dislike to manipulate us. I can't tell you how many times I've cleaned throw up off the table because he was crying so hard he upchucked his mac and cheese. Or how often he's been left alone at the table because he wouldn't eat one single bite of his dinner, despite the fact he'd eaten the exact same thing the week before. Errrrrr.

One thing I've noticed that has helped improve his diet is eating meals as a family. We've never been very good at this; Husband's schedule used to make it impossible, and in response I scheduled many activities in the evening for the boys, since there wasn't much reason for us to be at home. Now that he has his new job (and I've cancelled the boys' evening activities) we're all home at the same time every night and we actually eat together. When we all sit down together and everyone's plate looks the same Two tends to eat a lot more - both in quantity and variety. He also lays off some of the drama; even though he has a wider audience, he sees all of us behaving well and copies us almost without thinking about it. What a relief!