If you want your toddler to thrive, dinner is a must, though many little ones might beg to differ. For instance, my son kicks off his daily hunger strike around 3 PM and doesn’t eat again until dawn. My friend recently suggested serving him “something he likes,” but then I remembered my cousin used to doze off at the dinner table night after night without touching a morsel. Memory can be quite selective!
Here’s your guide to getting dinner into your toddler in 18 straightforward steps:
- Start by whipping up a dish you know your toddler will devour: buttered noodles (sans sauce), chicken (that doesn’t resemble chicken!), and peas (but they can’t touch anything else on the plate, obviously).
- Suddenly, on a whim, you decide to add a microscopic piece of salad to their plate for variety and nutrition. After all, growth is important!
- Present the meal to your toddler and instantly regret the salad choice. You begin praying to the toddler gods—Dora, Daniel Tiger, and Elmo—that your little one will overlook the salad. Please, don’t notice it!
- But, of course, they spot the salad.
- Cue a mini meltdown. You have two options: A) Cut your losses and save your sanity, or B) Stand your ground and attempt to teach your child that exclamations like “Yucky! Gross! Call Grandma!” aren’t exactly polite at dinner.
- You opt for option B because you’re determined not to let your readers down. You know that abandoning ship now could lead to future parenting woes—your child becoming a menace to society or, at best, a picky eater.
- Your resolve leads to a series of time-outs for your toddler over the next 45 minutes, just as it’s time for your family to eat. Perfect timing!
- You attempt to enjoy your meal while listening to the heart-wrenching sobs, which are painful yet oddly satisfying; maybe they’re learning something!
- You remind yourself that you say this every single evening.
- The rest of the family finishes dinner, tidies up, and enjoys a little TV while you sit in toddler purgatory.
- Finally, your toddler claims to be full and requests dessert—right now, please! Adorable.
- You glance at their plate and realize they’ve consumed approximately zero food.
- You find yourself saying, “You need to eat three bites and try your salad before dessert.” You’re not sure why these words escape your mouth; sometimes, your inner mom just takes over.
- Your toddler, lacking the ability to count, shouts, “No, five bites!”
- Your older child starts to explain that five is more than three, but you give them the look that says, “Your iPad privileges are at stake based on your next words.”
- The family strategically avoids eye contact with the toddler, who, like a bashful giraffe, refuses to eat while being observed.
- Miraculously, your toddler downs five bites (and even tries the salad!) all alone at the table three hours after everyone else has cleared their plates.
- And just like that, they might earn some dessert—after all, you included oats in that cookie, and those calories might just keep them going for another day.
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In summary, feeding a toddler is a journey filled with challenges but also moments of triumph. Embrace the chaos, and remember that every little bite counts, even if it takes a few hours for them to muster the courage to take it.