Another mom asks: “Why am I having power struggles over food with my 15 month old?”
By Jodi Nelson, mother of two, 5 and 15 months
As I sit here I am thinking about my 15 month old and his newly developed strong personality. He has formed an opinion about everything good and bad. Take food for example, after experiencing a bad case of the flu he has decided that the only food group he needs to eat is carbohydrates. Bread in particular. We try to get him to taste other things, we use all the “play” techniques to get the food into his mouth, which he humors us by putting it in there and then spitting it out. (Sometimes even laughing as he does it!)
When he has decided he is finished with our little “game” he proceeds to throw the food off his tray, piece by piece. When we discipline him he screams and our dinner, which was shaky to begin with, is now completely out of control and noisy! We have to be very aware of what we are eating because if he sees us have it, he feels he should as well and is happy to share that with us through his repeated screams.
Of course I know what the “experts” suggest on this issue, but as we are all aware, when we are in the moment things don’t go quite as we had envisioned them!! I now understand how some peoples children at these young ages are eating candy, drinking diet coke, and all the other unhealthy things we put into our bodies as adults - monkey see monkey do.
So at this point I am having a power struggle with my 15 month old and I am not sure who is ahead. We have been trying to come up with new strategic plans to get him to eat fruit and vegetables- anyone have any ideas??? PLEASE share them below.
Wish me luck- the game is on!
Seed Newsvine
June 10th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I have a 23 month old and he decided at about 18 months he didn’t want to eat vegetables. So, now, he is given only vegetables, once he eats those then he can have some meat (that’s his fav). If he doesn’t eat the vegetables, he gets nothing else and the veggies go back in the fridge for the next meal (lunch or dinner, I don’t pull them out for breakfast).
He also will try and pitch a fit when he sees us eating something he doesn’t have. He will scream his little head off if he doesn’t get what he wants. But we don’t give in. He can’t have it while he’s screaming. He has to sit down and fold his hands until he settles down. Then once settled, he has to say please to get anything. He is just now, after MANY months of screaming, begining to understand not to pitch a fit first and instead say please.
It does make for noisy and unruly dinners and lunches for a while, but the more consistent you are with whatever route you choose the sooner he will learn the right way to act. There are two keys to a child learning, consitency and follow-through.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:50 am
My son is still little, but he is developing what we call “the puppy dog syndrome.” We had a miniature pinscher puppy named chaos. Every time we ate, he’d come sit silently at our feet and just stare. If we didn’t give him a bite, he’d whine. Our son has begun to reach for our food while we eat or fuss if he sees something go into our mouths and not into his. lol.
I feel the best thing is to let him learn the tough way. I totally agree with Andrea’s method. It will take a while and you will most likely have to deal with more screaming, but this way, you are working towards something instead of just becoming frustrated.
Growing up, my folks used to add good stuff with the “yucky” stuff. They used to slice tomatoes and put salt and mayo on it. (Very popular snack where I am from.) And they used to cut up cucumbers and dip them in yummy ranch dressing. Maybe something like veggie burgers would tickle his fancy? Or maybe a fruit smoothie? Something with a little sweetness to it, but not a lot of sugar?
June 11th, 2008 at 6:19 am
I agree with Andrea, and my daughters Doctor has always said a child will not starve themselves if they get hungry enough they will eat what you put in front of them. for a while my daughter wasnt allowed to have a drink before dinner or any other meal cause she would fill up on that. now she is six and helps plan our meals.
June 16th, 2008 at 8:30 am
My son is still little, but he is developing what we call “the puppy dog syndrome.” We had a miniature pinscher puppy named chaos. Every time we ate, he’d come sit silently at our feet and just stare. If we didn’t give him a bite, he’d whine. Our son has begun to reach for our food while we eat or fuss if he sees something go into our mouths and not into his. lol.
I feel the best thing is to let him learn the tough way. I totally agree with Andrea’s method. It will take a while and you will most likely have to deal with more screaming, but this way, you are working towards something instead of just becoming frustrated.
Growing up, my folks used to add good stuff with the “yucky” stuff. They used to slice tomatoes and put salt and mayo on it. (Very popular snack where I am from.) And they used to cut up cucumbers and dip them in yummy ranch dressing. Maybe something like veggie burgers would tickle his fancy? Or maybe a fruit smoothie? Something with a little sweetness to it, but not a lot of sugar?
June 17th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I agree, it seems easier said then done, especially since now restaurants have become a challenge (including climbing out of his high chair). I guess we all just have to realize that soon they will all be 18, eating and sleeping more than we ever thought they could! In the mean time, thanks for the support.