how do you handle it when your kids dont eat dinner?

[itsnotaclowncar]

More often than not dinner time is a big dramatic struggle for my family. My two sons, ages 4 and 2.10 (bday jan25) sometimes just refuse to eat and spend the meal talking, laughing, playing with their food etc. For about 6 months I have been doing this: I give them about 15 minutes to eat. If they haven't then I set the timer for 20 minutes and if they are not done when the timer goes off, there is a consequence. At first it was no tv show after dinner or no storytime before bed or losing a toy. When that stopped working it became bedtime if they didn't finish before the timer. Sometimes if they are eating and almost done wheb the timer goes off I give them another minute. Sometimes this works and other times not. Tonight they are in bed now an hour early bc they didn't eat. Anyway, just wondering if any other families go thru this mealtime crap and what solution works for you?

[JasonsMom2007]

Kids eat when they are hungry.  If my son doesn't eat (which is rare) I put his meal in the fridge for later.  If he is hungry later he can eat his dinner then.  If he doesn't eat then he isn't hungry!  He does not get any other food until he eats his dinner though!

[aidensema]

if aiden doesnt eat, which is alot of the time i tell him its bedtime and we do our routine.

[SGJsmom]

I don't have to fight with my children to get them to eat. We have a set dinner time. No snacks right before dinner. They don't drink a lot right before or during dinner.

[MamiJaAyla]

I noticed that when I'm not actually sitting they tend to do that.... however I've got alot to do and can't always sit with them the whole time.  For us... if I see them messing around to much and its taking forever, I take their dinner and dump it and there is no "dessert" if it happens to many times in a row.... I've cut the after school snack... cause obviously they are not hungry.That helped quite a bit. (cutting the snack I mean)

They go through not so hungry phases which I understand but.... the dinner table is not play around forever time so if you don't eat your not hungry and that's that.

[imthatgirl728]

We give them a meal. We all sit and have dinner. We don;t have a specific time in which we are expected to eat. Its a time to gatehr and talk  and have fun.

When we're done if they didn't eat much of it, that fine  I just save it and if they get hungry later they can have it.

I personally would never use food as a punishment or a source of punishment. Its a fight you can't win...as they are the only ones that control their food intake.

[Dzyre1115]

If they don't eat dinner they can't have anything except milk or water until breakfast!

[Bamaborn]

 I put it on the table... He will eat it or he wont... but if he asks for something later... sorry. Should have ate your supper... Next day he usually makes up for that at breakfast.

~kelly

[lvnmylif]

I did the whole punishment thing with my oldest.  Then I realized I was making it into a bigger deal than it should have been.  So I dropped it.  If they eat the eat.  If they don't then they go hungry.  That's all there is to it.  There will be another meal in a few hours so they can wait.

[femomof3]

This is a struggle in our house, too.  My boys are 9, 4, and 3.  I don't punish them for not eating.  If they are goofing off at the table then I'll set the timer and if they haven't finished or continue to act up they are excused from the table.  They do not like to go to bed hungry so they usually end up eating.  

[AutymsMommy]

If our 8 year old daughter dislikes what I have made for dinner, she has to try two bites, then I will make her something else. We do not forcefeed, nor do we refuse our children dinner just because they do not like what have cooked. Everyone has food preferences... myself included. It only takes five minutes of my time to make her a sandie or leftovers. Struggling with your children over food leads to eating disorders. We encourage our children to listen to their hunger cues. If Autym isn't hungry at dinnertime, she is expected to sit with us at the table until we are finished eating, but she has the option of eating anytime before bedtime. We will not send her to bed hungry.... have you ever tried to sleep with an empty stomach? Not pleasant, and nearly impossible.