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Offline NikkiDL

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Toddler won't feed himself
« on: July 17, 2011, 16:55:20 pm »
Does anyone have any advice On how I can get my 2 year and 4 month year old to feed himself with a spoon/fork?
I know he's capable as he does it at nursery but at home he won't eat most meals unless I'm shovelling it into his mouth. The exceptions are sausages, yoghurt and cereal. I have had various attempts at trying to convince him to eat but as I want him to eat the food I've cooked, I end up feeding him. When I do feed him, he finishes it all so I know he's hungry. He usually wants to play with toys while I do it.

The problem is definitely worse since we started to wean our youngest son but it was a problem before that too.

Any advice would be great. Be patient or let him go hungry??

Thanks
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Offline Lolly

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Re: Toddler won't feed himself
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2011, 18:22:15 pm »
You are lucky he will let you feed him - my toddler won't! If he is capable of feeding himself and does it at nursery then the chances are he has learnt that if he waits long enough mummy will do it for him and he can carry on playing ;). If you are happy to carry on feeding him until he decides he will do it for himself then I'm sure he will decide one day. I would be more inclined to leave him to it in the hope that if he goes hungry at one meal he will be motivated to feed himself at the next - but you would have to stick to what you decide and not cave in and feed him if you decide to go that way!

We do still "help" my DS out a bit at the end of a meal, especially if he is too tired to be bothered eating, but it is only a few bites at the end and not every meal. DD is in an on/off food refusing stage at the moment because of her molars - she will not be fed though, if she's not eating, she's not eating ::).

Laura
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Offline anna*

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Re: Toddler won't feed himself
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2011, 21:51:20 pm »
What Lolly said. It seems like the question is really: 'How do I convince my toddler to WANT to feed himself.' I suspect you probably can't if he knows that having you feed him is an option. So then I guess the question is how much you care. If it really bothers you to feed him, stop. Entirely. He will feed himself before he will go hungry - he feeds himself at nursery because no one else is going to! If you don't mind too much, keep feeding him and trust that ONE day the urge for independence will be strong enough that he will eventually feed himself.
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Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: Toddler won't feed himself
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2011, 22:55:16 pm »
Quote from: anna* on July 17, 2011, 21:51:20 pm
If it really bothers you to feed him, stop. Entirely. He will feed himself before he will go hungry - he feeds himself at nursery because no one else is going to!

Yup, totally agree, not that my kids let me feed them past about 8 months or so, but I know at daycare they still were spoon feeding both kids way past the age I would have even bothered, so kind of the reverse!  In fact, I think they still feed Spencer soup that way!

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Heidi



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