Dinnertime with Your Child

Getting your child to sit down and eat a meal can be challenging, especially for 2-5 year olds. Partially because of developmental reasons, children have a hard time sitting for 5-15 minutes. They are also busy and tend to get easily distracted.

Mealtimes tend to differ between children and adults. Children have small stomachs so they tend to munch on food throughout the day to meet their needs. This is one reason children may refuse to eat dinner at the family's set dinner time. Allow your child to eat their snacks at the times they feel hungry and encourage them  to eat a little when the family sits down for their evening meal.

The focus should be on eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet rather than on eating a certain amount or an exact food. Young children are often picky eaters because they are unfamiliar with many foods. Offering a food several times will help encourage the child to try a new food. Encouraging a child to try just a bite of a new food can help warm a child up to trying other foods.

Children are easily distracted. They also need consistency. Eat family dinners at the kitchen table around the same time each evening. No televisions playing in the background or cell phones on the table. Encourage your child to eat dinner with you. If he or she refuses the food served, encourage them to eat a healthful food they enjoy at the table with you. This helps to familiarize your child with dinnertime. Eventually, he or she should start eating the foods you and your family eat. Again, the focus is on eating nutritious food rather than a certain quantity, like having a child clean their plate. They won't let themselves starve and forcing a child to eat more than they want can lead to more arguments than it may be worth. Dinnertime can be an enjoyable time for the entire family. It just take some patience and some practice.