I asked part of this earlier. . .I'm just trying to give more detail. My daughter didn't eat any dinner last night and then an hour or two later wanted a snack.
Any of you experienced moms have advice?
I don't want to have to send her to bed hungry but I also want to find a way to let her know she can't just skip dinner and then expect a snack if she waits an hour or two.
2006-09-15 02:59:03 · 27 answers · asked by Faith 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Family
If the dinner is no longer available such as if we were at a friend's house, how do you handle that? Thanks everyone!
2006-09-15 03:02:31 · update #1
No... Unless you want your child to become a gambler. Imagine that you are a slot machine. Your child pulls the arm hoping for a "Yes". She gets a "No". She pulls the arm again and gets another "No". She thinks "I have played this before and got a yes..." She pulls one more time and gets a "Yes, you can have a snack even though you didn't finish your dinner."
This is a very small thing but it will teach her that you may change your mind over the big things too.
Be consistent-always-every single time. Children need you to be consistent. They crave boundaries.
Good Luck
2006-09-15 03:01:14 · answer #1 · answered by MoMattTexas 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If she is hungry later, and the dinner is done (aka friends house, went out to eat, whatever) make her a sandwich, like PBJ or something that way she will know that if she is hungry, she won't get a snack if she didn't eat her dinner, but she will have something healthy instead. Fruit is fine, veggie sticks, even a kids cuisine would be a good thing to make for her to eat. Also, Have her help pick out what is for dinner. That way, she knows what dinner is going to be, and even if it is mac and cheese and hot dogs, there is a slightly better chance of her eating it if she picked it out.
I do the same thing with both of my girls.
Good Luck
Edit: When I was younger, my parents wouldn't let us get up from the table until we ate a significany amount of our dinner. Sometimes we gave up and just ate enought to make her happy (then we went to bed with a full stomach) other times, depending on how long we sat there, once in a while we would actually fall asleep at the table because we didn't want to eat.
2006-09-15 11:28:23 · answer #2 · answered by Genny 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a no no. Dont let her eat a snack later. Save her dinner and warm it up give it back to her if she is hungry she will eat it. If at a friend when you get back home make her a simple meal type food and have her eat it. If she was real hungry when she goes to bed she wont refuse to eat her dinner the next evening.
2006-09-15 10:27:14 · answer #3 · answered by bradosmom 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a BA in education, which means I took child development, psychology and nutrition courses. I have four children. The only way you will build a need to eat on a schedule is to stick to the schedule. Why should she sit at the table and eat fish and carrots for dinner, when later you will give her a snack that is not fish and carrots? If you don't like the answers, maybe a schedule isn't right for you? Maybe you just graze through her preschool years, and then when she gets to school, she'll eat no breakfast cause she's not in the mood, be ravenous at lunch and then take a nap during math cause her belly's full? Maybe that would be easier.
2006-09-15 10:17:11 · answer #4 · answered by steelypen 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you keep giving in to her and allow her to have snacks after dinner, she knows she won and will keep asking. If you give her a snack between lunch and dinner, make sure it's well before dinner time and just give her something small. That way she can be hungry at dinner time. Stick to your guns and do not let her have snacks after dinner just because she didn't eat. She will not starve and she will eventually learn that if she wants to fill her tummy and not go to bed with that empty feeling in her tummy, she will need to eat at dinner time just like everyone else. Good luck!
2006-09-15 10:04:41 · answer #5 · answered by gel 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It really depends on how old she is. Some children's metabolism is not on the same schedule with ours. The rules for a 4 year old are different rules for a 2 year old. I agree to wrap up her dinner until she wants a snack. If she does not eat it then, too bad. It will probably only take one or two times to get this point across. Again, this does not apply to a toddler.
2006-09-15 10:10:50 · answer #6 · answered by Daycare Answers 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My parents used to send me to bed hungry.
If you let her snack after not eating dinner, you're letting her get her way. First it's a snack, then it's a toy, then it's something else and before you know it she's getting everything she wants and at the age of 18 has no sense of responsibility.
Kids need to be disciplined at an early age, if she doesn't eat then she goes hungry.
2006-09-15 10:06:45 · answer #7 · answered by bad_dog76 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on how old she is really. My 2 year old sometimes wont eat at her meal times, but she does need to eat so she gets a small snack later. If your daughter is older....i.e. 5 or older maybe, then you should not allow a snack and let her know that if she doesnt eat her dinner she will not get any snacks or desert later on. It works with my 5 yr old son, you just have to realise that they will not starve... and they may ask for their dinner that they refused later, so hold on to it.
2006-09-15 10:03:22 · answer #8 · answered by Me 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Probably. When my daughter was little I couldnt get her to eat anything but cereal, when I asked the doctor he said give it to her whenever, kids are funny and at least that way I knew she wasnt starving.
I would just make sure the snack wasnt anything to sweet or else shell know if she doesnt eat she gets cookies, but some kids just dont like the heavy dinners, shell grow out of it
2006-09-15 10:03:00 · answer #9 · answered by osu_fanz 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No snack until you eat your dinner. Maybe give the child a healthy snack, such as fruit.
2006-09-15 10:07:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋