22 month old eats SO SLOW!!!!

amirose · 21-08-2009, 04:11 PM

Hello,

I have a gorgeous 22month old mindee and shes lovely but she eats soooooo slowly - shes been with me a month - yesterday it was a record one hour and fifteen minutes to eat LUNCH- I am going to end up pulling out my hair in frustration

....

I really don't want to get so stressed out by it, I know shes little and she will take a while but eugh its soooo boring I was stuck in the lesuire centre cafe for 45 minutes going "J eat your sandwich, J eat your sandwich, J EAT YOUR SANDWICH!!!"

Yes 45 minutes and she hadn't even finished her sandwich!!!

She justs seem to get so distracted - inside or outside - alone or with others- its like you have to remind her to eat, then remind her to chew - constantly!!!

So here's what I have tried ...
Eating with other kids and being evil and telling the other kids to sit at table until J is finished (which for them is like some kind of torture!!!)
Asking her if she wants the next thing when she says yes saying eat your sandwich
Talking to mum = same at home = mum force feeding her
Feeding her = she spits it out

Showing her the rest of her lunch
Crisps (still took forever so not the food)
Telling her we can do X,Y,Z if she hurries up
Telling her we now cant do X,Y,Z because she didn't hurry up

NONE of these things have made any difference

At home I don't have TV on or anything she just sits at the little table and is told not to get up until shes finished and seriously guys she doesn't care how long she sits there she doesn't even try to get up or ask - my friend said the other day she is just so laid back!!!

Seriously guys its not funny its really stressing me out!!!

**rickysmiths** · 21-08-2009, 04:25 PM

My dd was like this. I had to start lunch at 11am to be sure to be able to get her to Nursery for a 1pm start

It used to drive me nuts but it never changed. When she went to school she never finished her packed lunch cause the wasn't time before they had to go out to play.

She always ate a good dinner and did not take very long to eat it so I gave up on worrying about lunch and got on with stuff while she sat and ate!

**breezy** · 21-08-2009, 04:57 PM

If possible, just leave her too it and let everyone else get on, if not, allow say an hour for lunch and then clear up, she'll learn to eat quick if she's hungry! She also getting a lot of attention for eating slowly so just try to ignore it.

**Zoomie** · 21-08-2009, 05:01 PM

Is your eating area separate like in the kitchen or something, and you can't get on with the rest of the day cos mindee will be stuck in the kitchen and you need to be watching the other mindees ?

my mindee C takes forever but my dining table is in open plan living room so i start him half an hour earlier than the others and then when they are finished they can get down and carry on playing. i am backwards and forwards between (separate) kitchen and living area so although i am not watching him constantly I am keeping an eye on him.

i have noticed that when he is really excited about doing something after lunch he eats really quickly, but finding that interesting something for a 22 month is really difficult ...

**zillervalley** · 21-08-2009, 05:07 PM

i also have had a mindee that eats slow, it is hard when you have mindees going to nursery on an afternoon and you have been to a toddlers on the morning and time is little, but somehow you manage.

i spoke to the parent about it and we agrred that they had a cold lunch, or quick hot (beans on toast or spegetti) when i say quick lunch i mean little preperation, it helps to cut the time down and give mindee more time to eat while you see to the others

ziller

**kindredspirits** · 21-08-2009, 06:30 PM

my mindee is also 22 months and used to eat really well - lately she'll take 2 hours to finish her lunch. i have just been letting her get on with it because i know she gets hungry. i have been known to offer a sandwhich to her mouth but she takes such a tiny nibble and spends 10 mins chewing that i don't see the point. its the same with everything lately even banana that she adores and any sweet snack bars.
today she did have a jam sandwhich which is unusual for her and it was gone within about 10 minutes but thats the first time in ages.
I would say give her her sandwhich, get on with what you are doing and if she gives up eating it then its nothing else until later - my mindee usually gets lunch as snacks spread over the afternoon if she doesn't eat her sandwhich - i've also stopped giving her a morning snack as i think she eats more lunch when shes hungry -they've only got small tummies

amirose · 21-08-2009, 07:43 PM

Originally Posted by kindredspirits

i've also stopped giving her a morning snack as i think she eats more lunch when shes hungry -they've only got small tummies

Hmmm, theres a thought. She does ask for food mid morning though - well she asks for a biscuit but is happy with whatever I give her so thinks that just her way of saying shes hungry!

J does the same thing when fed- taking tiny bite and chewing it for ages.

I agree with other posts she is getting alot of attention for not eating. Thing is if I leave her to it she is far worse!!!

The advice seems to be get on with what your doing and leave her to it, I guess if she doesn't eat she doesn't eat! I will be setting a time limit for food I imagine Ofsted would hate that but agreed you cant have your entire routine dictated by a 22 month old!!! She has been going down late for a sleep because she wont eat which is messing up her routine (and mine!). I think if she hasn't eaten in an hour she cant be that hungry - I do worry about her getting enough to eat though, particularly as I have to write in her book what shes had.

**breezy** · 21-08-2009, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by amirose

Hmmm, theres a thought. She does ask for food mid morning though - well she asks for a biscuit but is happy with whatever I give her so thinks that just her way of saying shes hungry!

J does the same thing when fed- taking tiny bite and chewing it for ages.

I agree with other posts she is getting alot of attention for not eating. Thing is if I leave her to it she is far worse!!!

The advice seems to be get on with what your doing and leave her to it, I guess if she doesn't eat she doesn't eat! I will be setting a time limit for food I imagine Ofsted would hate that but agreed you cant have your entire routine dictated by a 22 month old!!! She has been going down late for a sleep because she wont eat which is messing up her routine (and mine!). I think if she hasn't eaten in an hour she cant be that hungry - I do worry about her getting enough to eat though, particularly as I have to write in her book what shes had.

Dont worry too much, a child will never starve, just make sure what she is eating is nutritious. Does she do this at every meal? my son used to barely eat lunch, but he was having a good breakfast and dinner so over all was eating enough. Mindee I have now eats great breakfast and lunch but slows at dinner. Have a look at her intake over 24hours to get a better picture and leave out snacks or stick to grapes cucumber and non filling food. Is it just sandwiches shes slow on? some kids struggle with the bread my dd always got it stuck to the roof of her mouth!! maybe she's not keen on sandwiches?

Dont worry about what you write either, your obviously already working with mum on this.

**Helen79** · 21-08-2009, 08:48 PM

I don't have a set time for finishing lunch but if they start messing with food, pushing it round their plate or being really slow then they get a 5min warning & then it's cleared away.

I have 1 mindee who's really slow to eat, dd has started copying

so she's now taking ages too. I have found that they're slowest when eating things like bread & meat.
I've started offering food that doesn't involve a lot of chewing like quiche, wraps instead of sandwiches, yogurts, fruit smoothies, jelly & soft fruits which has speeded up meal times.

**Cazz** · 22-08-2009, 12:14 AM

I'm having a similar thing with my own dd who's 20 months. She doesn't seem to want much at lunchtime. I just put the food on her plate and let her pick at it (with some encouragement!) and then ask if she wants anymore before taking it away and giving her a yogurt or fruit pot (still won't touch fresh fruit for anything!).

I don't worry about it now - she has a good breakfast and tea (usually has about 3 desert spoons of vegetables and asks for more!). She doesn't often have a snack either (occasionally in the afternoon after her nap) and she's putting on weight, very content and happy.

Maybe your mindee is the same and just not very hungry at lunch. I would speak to mum and if she's happy for you to do so, then put a time limit on lunch and whatever she's not eaten by then gets taken away. If mum confirms she's getting plenty of nutrition at other meals it shouldn't be a problem.

amirose · 22-08-2009, 06:47 AM

Thanks guys, your brill

I have got her today (a Saturday I know!

). I am going to start trying just half a round of sandwich cut into three fingers, followed by something like a few crisps/crackers/raisins and then a yoghurt or some fruit for "dessert". I definitely think its more than possible I am trying to feed her too much - she eats slow however much - but do now think I am offering her too much food

At the end of day sandwiches are not exactly healthy - its bread - so so long as she eating some sandwich it really isn't necessary for her to eat a whole round (I do cut crusts off though so even as a whole round didn't look much too me ha ha!)
And no she is not just slow on sandwiches - I gave her a chocolate and raisin bar the other day = over 25 minutes

**hayleychildcare** · 22-08-2009, 07:49 AM

My DS eats really slow and he is 9 years old.
Yesterday it took him 1 hr 5 mins to eat a sandwich

I constantly have to remind him to chew his food as he keeps it in his cheeks

He can eat quick when he wants to, but this is very rarely.

I gave up worrying about him year ago

**mushpea** · 22-08-2009, 10:11 AM

i had one like this and in our house you get dessert when everyone has finished their main course, well this child took so long i ended up giving the other children dessert whilst he was still eating, he soon ate quicker when he saw what was comming next,
you could always set a time limit and give a 5mins warning that if they dont eat it it will be taking away, i would think 30mins to eat lunch is reasonable, i have to do this with a current mindee cause he takes forever some days then is fine the next but if he dosent eat a resonable amount of lunch then no dessert cause this will start a habbit of 'if i dont eat this then i still get the nice stuff', if they are hungry they will eat.

**Cazz** · 22-08-2009, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by mushpea

i had one like this and in our house you get dessert when everyone has finished their main course, well this child took so long i ended up giving the other children dessert whilst he was still eating, he soon ate quicker when he saw what was comming next,
you could always set a time limit and give a 5mins warning that if they dont eat it it will be taking away, i would think 30mins to eat lunch is reasonable, i have to do this with a current mindee cause he takes forever some days then is fine the next but if he dosent eat a resonable amount of lunch then no dessert cause this will start a habbit of 'if i dont eat this then i still get the nice stuff', if they are hungry they will eat.

I agree totally with this - that's what I would do too!

When my older daughter was young she had a real problem with chicken (think maybe she choked slightly once and it stuck in her mind) and she would "store" in her month near her cheek. She would get down from the table and an hour or more later I would see her start to chew and it was the chicken!

She's nearly 12 and it's only been the last couple of years that she's been able to eat chicken properly.

How did it go with your mindee today?

**nannymcflea** · 22-08-2009, 04:55 PM

Some kids just eat slowly I'm afraid...my daughter at 22 months was slow, she's now 6 and is just as slow!

I don't make anyone wait for her and she's not bothered, she just sits and eats at her own pace!

**bibby76** · 23-08-2009, 12:45 PM

Hi i mind a little girl who is 4, what i do is give her her dinner first, usually about 4.30, at 5.45 she is collected, and usually she is just finishing her yogurt/dessert by then!!!!!!
I dont worry about it now

But it did use to drive me crazy!!
I leave her to it! She is just a slow eater, she chews her food for ages!

Sarah