toddlers not eating!!!!And ..are your toddlers on a set routine?

Question

hey ...my twins dont eat..its a TASK to make them eat ...!!!
Can someone suggest some good food and ways to make the toddlerseat....
ALSO ...
i'd be grateful if yu can provide me with a routine of the day...timings etc ....what suits your child the most.

16 months...!!

Answer 1

Trust me, if they are hungry, they will eat. My son goes through phases (he's 2) where he doesn't eat much at all. I always offer him food and never force him to eat. I do give him a gummy bear vitamin everyday to make sure he gets nutrients. They are called GummiVites, you can buy them at any drugstore. I do have my son on a permanent schedule (and I find it very easy to maintain because he made it himself, you have to follow their leads and let them make their own schedule):
1. wake up (this is whenever he does, the only part of the day not set) usually about 7:30-8 am, first thing- 2% strawberry milk or Carnation chocolate milk. Carnation is great- tastes great and has lots of nutrients.
2. breakfast 9, I set up a napkin on the coffee table with his breakfast so he can play and eat at his owm pace
3. 12 pm lunch usually lunchmeats and cheese, corndogs, mini hamburgers, chicken nuggets- fun things.
4. 1 pm nap
5. wake up- some healthy snacks in a little baggy that he can carry around
6. dinner 6:30 he eats whatever we eat, no exceptions. I don't force him, but I encourage him. If he doesn't eat well, he doesn't get a treat, I offer him his dinner again if he wants treats later.
7. bath right after dinner, nice way to relax and play at the same time.
8. bedtime 8 pm

It also helps to make eating fun, sing songs with them and give them plastic child safe utensils to play with (and also to introduce them to utensils)

Answer 2

It may sound kind of funny, but if you take a muffin tin and place different foods or snack-type items in the cups and leave it where they can get it you may be amazed by what they will eat. Toddlers are slow eaters and tend to like to "graze" rather than eat three full meals. My daughter is not exactly on a set schedule, although she is expected to at least sit at the table with the family for meals. She usually eats a little bit, and then will ask for a snack later. By the way, the muffin tin thing only really works if you don't have a dog, since most surfaces a 16 month old can reach a dog can reach too.

Answer 3

My son is almost a year old. We eat breakfast (8 am), lunch (noon) and dinner (6pm). At those times he also gets a cup of milk. He also gets a bit of milk before he goes to bed.

From 8-12 we play, sing, and I do laundry and housework.

12-1 we eat then he naps.

Usually he's awake at 3 or 4 and stays that way until bedtime. We read or whatever he wants to do while I finish my chores and get dinner ready. We all eat then daddy entertains him for a while then I start the bed time routine. The bath, books, and rocking while singing lullabyes.

I'm really flexible with the routine and sometimes it has to change because we are visiting someone, have an activity with MOMS club, or I need to run errands. But, once 1 pm comes around he wants his bed. One o'clock just was his natural nap time from birth so I've just worked the whole schedule around that.

With my son, he only eats in the highchair. Once he gets down there is no more food. He can have his sippy cup, but that's it. Usually he'll sit there and eat just fine. He really like pancakes with berries. He also likes blueberries so I keep dried blueberries on stock. Also, we use the Gerber dried fruits and fruit puffs. Those are great snacks. For lunch, we'll have tuna, grilled cheese, pb& j, anything easy. I'll usually finish up the leftovers at lunch too from dinner the night before. Like veggies - corn, peas, green beans or carrots whatever we had the night before.

Mashed bananas, really ripe fruit (like pears), avacados are great healthy quick things to give them to eat. You can cut them in small pieces they do great with them! I always keep them on hand for a quickie.

Good Luck :)) It just takes consistancy!

Answer 4

I went through that with my two boys. (They are not twins, but they were born in the same year 11 months apart.)
I had a little playskool table and I would put out little snacks throughout the day....(granola bars broken up, graham crackers with a fruity cream cheese, crinkle cut carrot and/or celery pieces with a dipping sauce, pretzels with dipping sauce, apple pieces with a peanut butter sauce, cheese sticks, Cheerios with nuts and raisins, Wiggles' fruit salad, mini "wraps", Chex mix, dried cranberries, etc.) At the ages of about 15 months to 3 years, I would just give them healthy snacks every couple of hours after breakfast. This might mean that they do not eat lunch or dinner, but this way they were eating.
I found that food preferences will cycle every couple of weeks. This is not a time to stockpile perishable food items, but make sure that you have plenty on hand.
I found that that little table was perfect for the boys. Their feet could touch the ground and they were much less likely to get up from the table and run around in between bites. They will eat when they are hungry. They will not let themselves starve. If they miss a meal or refuse to eat, do not be alarmed. Their stomachs are quite small at this age, I would not give them anymore than a few tablespoons of each food. Any more than that might overwhelm them.
As for a routine, this is what worked for my kids at about that age.
6:45 Wake-up (had to get older sister off to school)
7:00-7:40 Breakfast and getting dressed
7:45 Drop off sister
8:00-8:30 Art time
8:30-9:00 Play time
9:00-9:15 First snack put out
9:00-10:00 Educational video/TV (Noggin!)
10:00-11:00 Outside time (weather permitting)
11:00-11:15 Clean up time
11:30-12:00 Snack/Lunch time
12:00-12:15 Clean up time
12:15-2:00 Nap time
2:00-2:30 Snack time
2:45 Pick up sister
3:15-4:00 Play time
4:00-4:30 Video time
4:30-5:00 Music/dance time
5:00-6:00 Snack/dinner time (We had the boys help "cook" so that way they not olny had a "choice" in what they ate, but it also made it much more likely that they would eat it! Also, assorted "sauces" help the food get eaten.....even if it is disgusting to you. My son liked to dip pineapple chunks in ketchup.)
6:00-6:30 Clean up time
6:30-7:00 Bath and relaxation time
7:00 bedtime

Answer 5

I find it works best if I just have nutritious snacks available throughout the day. As soon as I make a big deal about "breakfast" or "lunch" time - my 3 year old runs away and it becomes a big deal. So I just have snacks such as cut up cheese, crackers, nuts, Cheerios, fruit, lunch meat, etc. set out. I put them on a cute plate and she eats them up. Besides, it is better to have several snacks/small meals during the day than it is to have 3 large ones. It keeps your metabolism going strong.

Answer 6

I have a 2 year old and our routine goes something like this

Wake up
have toast/bagle and some juice
watch a bit of tv
eat breakfast
get older brother ready for school
get older sister ready for preschool (3 days a week)
put brother on the bus
get 2 year old dressed
pack a backpack/diaper bag
either walk sissy to school or wait for daddy to come get her
then 2 year old and I go for a walk (as long as the weather cooperates.
I give her a snack about 9:30 or so.
We play outside (at the park) do some errands.
We either go get sissy at preschool at 11:30 or we have to be home by 11:30for when sissy gets there.
If we go get sissy at school we usually pack a lunch or go get soemthing for lunch.
after lunch it's nap time.
snack time at 3 pm (or when ever they get up)
then it's play time.


Our day is not always like this. It depends a lot on how the kids are acting.



As for eating. try getting them to help you "cook" I have found that when kids help make something they are more likely to eat it.

Some of their favorite foods/snacks (most of which are quite healthy)

mini cheese meatballs, crackers, cheese, homemade banana chocolate chip muffins (or any kind of muffins) in the summer we make smoothies, mac and cheese, grilled cheese. veggies fruit.


Make it fun to eat. take some tooth picks and have them use those to eat. Make sure it's small enough for them to eat. try giving them things to dip stuff in. My oldest dips everything. chicken nuggets into ranch, ketchup, he even dips his green beans into ketchup. Do I think it's grose yes I do but do I stop him from dipping it in NO I do not. I don't really care how he eats it as long as he is eating it. Sometimes we just have healthy snack foods in the living room while watchign a movie. Or we will eat in a fort. You also need to make sure their portions are SMALL. Just a few of what ever you are serving. Say you made chicken with rice and green beans. Give them a few bite of chicken an few bites of rice and a few green beans. Always give them milk with lunch and dinner.

Answer 7

I was always told that toddlers really dont eat meals but if you leave things for them to snack throughout the day available that is good. kinda of like grazing.

Answer 8

i replaced into apprehensive bearing directly to the comparable issues. I somewhat have 3 toddlers... 6 years, 3 years, and 3.5 months. issues became ordinary whilst infant replaced into approximately 6-8 weeks previous i could say. i theory it replaced into going to be so plenty greater solid, yet issues style of basically fell into place. do no longer situation approximately taking her places. she would be great! you could desire to get out of the living house. disguise her in her stroller, or positioned on her in a sling/front %. so human beings can not touch her. Being outdoors is basically great for her, you basically do no longer want strangers that have not basically washed their palms to the touch her. travelers at your place are ok too! you will get very lonely in case you reside cooped up w/no corporation. returned, if a toddler is going to be at your place positioned the child to sleep interior the crib or positioned on her interior the sling so the youngster can not touch her. optimistically, your travelers does no longer deliver their unwell toddler on your place.. yet you could enable them to correctly known previous to time that "your a paranoid new mom, so basically wanna verify and make confident little Bobby does not have a chilly or something?" human beings will understand, in the journey that your friendly approximately it.... My husband does no longer help out plenty, regrettably. He performs with the youngsters, yet as an entire he does not do family individuals chores or toddler care chores (bathing, homework, etc.) that is troublesome, yet i you will desire to be grateful that i'm waiting to stay living house with my young ones. He does do all the backyard artwork/outdoors artwork... And he will clean if I supply him a particular job... My infant naps at quite familiar instances presently, so basically draw close on in a month or 2 you would be waiting to foretell her schedule greater suitable and plan issues properly. take excitement in her on a similar time as she's so little, it is going via too quickly!

Answer 9

Do they drink a lot of juice or milk? If so, this can spoil their appetite. I would offer water (possibly milk unless they tend to fill up on it) with meals and offer juice/milk only after they eat. It may surprise you how little juice they will want when their tummy is full of food.

Answer 10

how old are they? I know when my daughters hit 2 they would eat maybe a meal a day. I talked to my dr, and he said it is normal, just to make sure they take their vitamins and drink milk and some juice. They grow out of it.