Your 1 Year Old Toddler Week 22

Sometimes You Have to Throw in the Towel and Let Them Guide the Dinnertime Experience

Is your toddler pulling out all the stops at protesting during mealtime? Yup, welcome to the picky eaters club! You spent 30 minutes prepping a lunch of penne pasta with steamed broccoli florets, crumbled bacon and Parmesan before you stood back and watched your kid throw the food on the floor for your dog, Hoover, to inhale. That blue box of mac-n-cheese is looking pretty damn tempting right about now.

One surefire way to curb picky eating is to limit snacking. Hide the snacks, only busting those suckers out when you need to bribe a certain little someone for excellent behavior. And although we know that most Scary Mommies laugh at the Bento Box style food preparation, there is something to be said for finding healthy choices that your kid will eat (even if it is the same thing three times a day).

Another surefire way to curb picky eating is to create a predictable mealtime routine. Sure, your kid will likely have solo food fights for a while until he figures out that forks are for eating with and not for sword fighting. And yes, no matter what you put on the plate it will likely get used as body paint, ammunition, or given to the dog, but at least you are setting the groundwork for healthy eating.

Scary Mommy Tip: Sometimes you have to throw in the towel and let your kid guide the dinnertime experience. Try letting your child choose what you have for dinner every once in a while, even if it’s something crazy like hot dogs and banana pudding!

HOMEWORK:

6 Words That Are Guaranteed To End Picky Eating

Smug Parents Of Good Eaters, Please STFU

23 Rules Of Eating According To A Toddler