Just need a vent to a supportive community. Meal times with my 16 month old are just....painful. He won't sit on any high chairs or boosters (I've tried possibly every high chair in town), he won't sit on the floor for an indoor or outdoor picnic, he won't sit on my lap at the table, he won't stand in any particular spot to eat either like a weaning table or a coffee table. He wants me to carry him around the house to eat - except he is wriggling so much as I'm carrying him that it is literally like carrying an acrobatic monkey trying to climb across my head. Oh did I mention his safe foods are rice and noodles. It is very challenging and messy to carry a baby eating fistfuls of rice while trying to do a handstand in a carrier. Crawling across the house while holding rice is not really a good idea too.
The old me (I was blessed with a non picky first child) would have just said "if he leaves the table it means he isn't hungry anymore and dinner is over". We have tried Ellen Slattery division of responsibility but it actually means this kid would never eat. And he seems fine with just subsisting on air! He has fallen off the growth chart and our dietitian has said just do what it takes to get calories into him. And now I fear that we have created some bad habits.
We are a family that bond over meals and we love checking out new cafes, going for picnics and brunches - but that has been a bit of a struggle.
Anyone else have an ultra wriggly kid? We have a feeding clinic coming up at the end of the month.
Photo: refuses to eat cracker at a table. Will eat cracker while face planting on the carpet. Don't worry I'm watching him closely for choking risk.
Meal times with my 16 month old are just.. painful
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Emma
Obviously you have an older kid so you know this - but unfortunately, the longer this goes on the longer it becomes habit you won’t be able to break.
Why can’t your little one eat in a high chair? My daughter is small in stature and sat in hers regularly until 3 years old.
Not trying at ALL to sound judgemental.. My kid is picky as anything and we have made our fair share of mistakes that we have a terrible time trying to break (offering treats as incentive to eat is our struggle to break).. I just can’t imagine how I could *mom* lol, if one of my kids wanted to be active, run, be carried, to eat (especially noodles lol).
Why can’t your little one eat in a high chair? My daughter is small in stature and sat in hers regularly until 3 years old.
Not trying at ALL to sound judgemental.. My kid is picky as anything and we have made our fair share of mistakes that we have a terrible time trying to break (offering treats as incentive to eat is our struggle to break).. I just can’t imagine how I could *mom* lol, if one of my kids wanted to be active, run, be carried, to eat (especially noodles lol).
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Tiffani
My kid is a mover too, but will eat on the run. What about one of those baby things that has the bouncer feet? Like gives him the sensation of bouncing and moving without actually going anywhere.
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Emily
I don't have much experience with dealing with a kid that won't sit for a meal, but I was one of those kids. My dad would chase me all over with a fork of food trying to feed me while I ran around. It stopped once my mom put me in ballet classes. Maybe try some activity before meals that will tire your little one out so they don't resist the highchair as much. Mine both went through phases of not wanting to sit in the highchair, but I gave no option. If they chose not to eat, they didn't eat, but they weren't allowed out of the highchair. The struggle lasted a couple weeks and they would still sit in highchairs now if I let them at 5 and 8.
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