My 2.5 year old will ask for a snack, I will get it opened/cut up (like a yogurt, fruit, etc) and after its all cut up and on a plate then she says she doesnt want a snack afterall. She does the same at dinner....she ate all her shrimp the other night, asked for more, i get it all cut up and then she says she doesnt want more. So I feel like I end up wasting stuff. UGH. This is annoying! How do I get her to stop?
Normally with my kids I'll tell them 'okay, then I'll eat it' If I even eat one bite they'll want it and eat it.
With dinner, and the ask for seconds and they haven't touched anything else I'll tell them that they can have seconds but I want them to eat some more of whatever else is one their plates. If they still want more I'll give them a little bit more.
It's probably a combination of 2 things: One, it takes 20 min. for her meal to register as "full or satisfied". Two, it's a 2yo control thing. Put both together and you have a child who didn't realize she was satiated, it just took a couple of more minutes, and she's also actually using her good sense to not eat any more when she realizes she's through. Might not be something to control YOU, but a healthy control over her own appetite.
So keep putting the stuff away for later, but realize she has already had her dinner and what she wants in 3 hrs. might not be the same dinner. If she had pushed her plate away without eating and then demanded something else, another thing altogether. But she just decided she didn't want "seconds" after all. Bet she won't have weight problems later if she can recognize fullness!
Um, that comment was concerning dinner.
Snack? Try having it pre-made so you can whip it out at a moment's notice. But also know sometimes thirst can masquerade as hunger.
my 6 year old still does that sometimes. I agree with the save it for later (so long as it can be saved). Most foods will store fine for like a day. With snacks if my son asks for it and then doesn't eat it, I take it away but he is not allowed to ask for that particular snack anymore (if he just asked and decided he didn't want it, or wants something else). He will be banned for that snack for about a week or so. when he asks for it I will remind him about when he had it and didn't want it. then after a while I will tell him that he can have it only if he eats it and if he doesn't he can't have it again (but ofcourse you will have to modify that for your child being younger.).
I agree with some other things too, that she may not realize she is full, if she is asking for 2nds, and she may be thirsty. Maybe before she has 2nds stall her a bit by having her drink something. Then when she is done see if she still wants more. if she says yes, just give her a small amount. She may just want more but doesn't really want to eat anymore.
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- Kimberly954
on Jun. 28, 2012 at 9:54 AM