Tag: dinner habits for a toddler

We’ve been doing sit down dinners as a family for a while now. It started early in our daughter’s life. We’d sit her at the table with us and watch her fall asleep in her bouncy chair. Then came her highchair.

Now, we’re somewhere in between her highchair, her own table and a booster on a big girl chair. Who knows what any given night will bring?

The thing is, she’s starting to form her own little habits. I can’t say she’s the world’s greatest eater, but she does eat what we make her most of the time. Usually, that dinner is the same as our dinner, with only a few modifications for toddler hands and tastebuds.

Dinner starts with Sophie setting the table – or rather, Sophie and one of us, setting the table together. It’s her “job” and we tell her that, as part of the family, she can help at dinner time. This seems to appeal to her sense of belonging in the family.

Of course, there are many days when she stares blankly at us when we try to get her to help. Then, when we sit down to eat we usually start talking and she loves to join right in. Unfortunately this interrupts her ability to actually eat, so we’ve been saying, “chew first, then speak” a lot lately.

Funny thing is, she’s started this hand holding business. She’ll ask for my hand, then for Daddy’s hand, then she’ll ask Mommy and Daddy to hold hands. It’s too cute! All of us sitting there, holding hands.

It’d be great if she did this first or last, but it comes right in the middle of the meal and all we want to do is finish the food! I hear it’s good to allow children their own rituals at dinner, so it looks like this one is sticking, at least for now.

It’s way better than the banging spoon routine or even the food throwing ritual. Plus, if we distract her enough along the way, we seem to be able to all finish the food in front of us.

What is dinner like with your toddler?

photo credit: Lars Plougmann