Alex is full on in the terrible threes. I guess we had it good when he was two... he was such a sweetheart. And for the most part he still is, but dinner time has me ready to tear my hair out.
I've created a monster in some respects, because he's picky and I didn't force him to try new things as he moved to table food. Slowly we've added some new things onto his menu. But I'm still making his dinner separate from ours. I know it's got to stop, but I need to psyche myself up for it. I know it's not going to be easy, but my goal is in the next couple of months to make him start eating what we eat. That's the first part of the drama.
The second part is that it takes Alex a minimum of 45 minutes to eat dinner... not included at least one trip to the bathroom mid-meal. He just pokes around and pokes around. I swear we have to remind him to chew his food and swallow it. I don't know if he's feeding off our frustration or what. We've tried setting a time limit, even setting the buzzer, and if he's not done he has to go to bed, but I hate the idea of that. Mainly because I'm selfish. I'm away from him for 9+ hours everyday. If I send him to bed at 7:15 p.m., then we're both getting punished. I treasure every second I get with him... and to take that away from both of us just to prove a point doesn't seem fair.
So the new method is setting the kitchen timer... and if the timer goes off and dinner isn't eaten, then no snacks, no tv, no movies. I'm hoping this will work. Wish me luck!
5 comments:
I actually think that 3 is harder than 2...I am right with you! And the 8 year old? we have to remind him to keep eating...FUN!
It does sound like the "no snacks or TV or movies" is a better plan for your situation than going to bed. We do something similar with our kids.
And 3 was/is harder with my kids than 2. Mr. Blue will be 3 next month and he is having fits right and left over the least little things.
I've been reading your blog... and I have to agree - I'm finding 3 with my son much harder than 2. At least we aren't alone.
There *is* hope; it *does* get better. The No Snacks Later Rule worked for us, but then she was eating dinner with us as soon as she was done with baby food (except that I usually didn't season/sauce her serving).
3 is much worse than 2! Keegan went through that same stage with food. Our ped told us that kids that age will eat one good meal a day. And usually graze at the other meals. So not to worry about it. Take as you want, but it 'lightened' the load at our house. Oh, and the no snacks. That's good too! ;-)
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