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How to determine if there is a toddler in the house? Well, that’s easy. First, there are hints of crayon scribblings on the floor and walls. Second, you hear screams and tantrums over the silliest of reasons. Third, you spend most of your day running behind your child with a cereal bowl. Toddlers and meals don’t really compliment each other. Most parents complain that they cannot make their kids eat full meals every day. Let us learn about why toddlers throw food and how to help them get accustomed to healthy eating habits. Read on!
Why Do Toddlers Throw Food?
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Toddlers might refuse to eat food for the following reasons:
- They are seeking your attention when they throw food on the floor.
- They are trying to feed their pet.
- They don’t like the food that is being served.
- They are already full.
How To Make Your Child Eat Their Meals Without Tantrums?
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If you have ransacked every parenting blog and are still looking for something that works for your child, we have a list of ideas that might help your baby eat better and healthier.
1. Offer More Choices Of Food
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Toddlers are full of opinions, so this helps them stay confident. Give them a choice in what they would like to eat. It also makes them accountable and responsible for their choices. If they choose a glass of milk over fruits, they should know they made the selection. Also, do not let them switch choices easily. Help them stick to their choices and take the decision firmly.
2. Eat With Your Toddler
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Your toddler should not think of eating as a gruesome task. You can make it casual and eat while feeding your toddler. They should think of it as something fun that bonds you two together.
3. Give A Less Crowded Plate
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Do not try to stuff food into your baby. We often make the mistake of overfeeding our kids, thinking the more you love them, the more you need to feed them. But the truth is, you need to make sure your child eats healthy and nutritious food rather than filling the plate with just anything.
4. Follow Some Rules
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Even when your child is just a toddler, you need to set some clear rules. They cannot play with food or drop it on purpose because they don’t like it. Also, there should be a specific time for treats, and they can get their cookies and ice cream only when they eat healthy the rest of the day.
5. Divert Their Attention Elsewhere
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Toddlers have a significantly low attention span. You can use this to your advantage and to divert their attention. It can be as simple as playing games that capture their attention or even cooking up a story that deals with food. This is when your creativity as a parent is put to the test!
6. It Is Okay For Your Baby To Not Like All Food
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The most challenging part of being an adult is pretending that you like vegetables! It’s time you accept that your child may have a liking for some foods and dislike others. When you force them to eat something they detest, they might resist eating all foods.
7. Take Necessary Precautions
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Feeding a toddler needs a lot of arrangements. You will need to cover the table with plastic for easy cleaning and make sure your child is wearing a bib. Toddlers don’t have fine motor skills, so they splatter everything on the floor and walls. You will need to keep things like your carpet and white clothing away from your child.
8. Replace The Fallen Food
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It’s essential to teach the kids that they should not play with their food. Kids don’t have a firm grip, so everything they hold will drop on the floor once or twice. It’s better to keep them seated on a high chair with a big tray so they can pick up the food that slips out of their hands. Also, if you throw away the food that drops, they might think of it as a game.
9. Try Praising Them
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Praise works like magic on your toddler. This is when they have competition with more or less everything around them. They will work on finishing the meal just to win the game! If they finish the bowl on time and spread very little food around, give them a big round of applause and maybe even a little treat.
What If Nothing Works?
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Yes, we won’t lie; that is a possibility. Sometimes you have to give in and accept that even we don’t like munching on whatever is served on the plate. This is when you need to give them a discard plate for everything they don’t want to eat. You can substitute it for something they prefer and is healthy. If your toddler is in a playful mood, running behind them with food is worthless. Let them play and get hungry while eating the food.
Now that you know how to make your child eat food rather than waste it, it will be easier to feed them healthily. It is important to note that feeding your toddler should not feel like war. Kids will always throw tantrums when they are not hungry and eat when they are hungry, so running behind them with food will only make them less enthusiastic about food.
