slow and fast lunch

[mushpea]

how long do you give yours to eat lunch?
I have a 4.5yrold who eats really quickly so quickly she then sits there beleching loads then I have a 4yrold who takes 20mins to eat one small quater of sandwich! they get sandwich and when eaten that they get the next thing and so on, now either I end up making the quick one wati forever for her food so she gets bored then plays up whilst the other ones messes about or she gets the next thing when I feel her sandwich has gone down a bit then becasue she ends up finsihing lunch earlyer than him she goes to play and I take his lunch away as I cant be in two rooms at once arrrgghh how do I slow one down and spped one up!

[AliceK]

I have the same problem. I sometimes have 6 for dinner and there's a real mix of fast eaters and very very slow eaters. It wasn't uncommon for tea to take over an hour to eat. My DD is one of the worst culprits along with a 3yr old mindee and sometimes a 4yr old too depending on his mood. I have started to put a limit on the time. I will warn them that time is running out and that I'll be clearing away soon. The faster ones (normal eaters ) I do let get down and go and play, the playroom is next door to the kitchen and I can hear whats going on and pop my head round the door to look. There is only so long they can sit at the table and I need to be getting on with clearing up the kitchen and getting children ready to be picked up.
Lunchtime can be the same and again I will clear away after a certain amount of time after warning them. If I didn't I'm sure we would all still be sat at the lunch table at school collection time.
xxxx

[hectors house]

I make the quick ones wait a few minutes between courses and then try to reward them for finishing first by letting them look at a book or do some colouring still sitting at the table. That hopefully makes the slower ones eat faster so they can do the same!

[QualityCare]

I have found that if l cut a sandwich 1/4 into into 1/4's and tell child to put a whole piece in they eat quicker and also don't bite the middle leaving a huge crust.

[fionamadcat]

No answers but I have this problem too, I have a very nearly 4r yr old who either eats very quickly and is finished and playing up while the others (his 18 month old sister and a 2 1/2 yr old) are finishing or if it is something he isn't sure of he will eat very slowly and it is the other way round, the girls are finished and get bored waiting on him. I probably shouldn't complain, a few months ago he would anly eat beans on toast or tinned soup for lunch but we have made real progress recently but anytime we try something new he takes ages to eat it. He is the same at home and his mum despairs too!

[VeggieSausage]

everyone has to wait at the table for everyone to finish here.....helps gee up the slow ones, although sometimes it goes on just too long and I let the others get down....

[Candy apple]

if its packed lunch could the slow eater start before the other children?

[shortstuff]

If its sandwiches and such cant you have a picnic on the playroom floor? then the faster ones can play still in your sight n the slower ones see the play and want to speed up. Thats something I do.