How to have a stress free dinner time with toddlers

Hi friend! I wanted to share the biggest secret I’ve learned when it comes to having a stress-free dinner time with two toddlers.

Curious what I’m going to say??

Here it is:

Relax and quit trying to always be perfect around food.

Yup, you read that correctly. That’s my big secret, relax, turn over control, make a meal that’s good enough, and move on with your life.

You might be thinking to yourself, that is crazy. There’s no way that will make being healthy actually work.

But I’m here to reassure you, it really does work. Hear me out:

The more we try to control and manipulate what your kid eats, the more they are going to resist you. And kids are like sharks, they can smell fear… (kidding! kind of… ) But all jokes aside, kids can sense when you are getting stressed, and they feed off of that negative energy.

Let me ask you a question, would you enjoy a meal where someone was constantly telling you to “just take one bite” or “you better eat your vegetables if you want dessert” or some kind of variation of this? The answer should be a resounding “NO!” No one would enjoy that; neither does your kid. No matter how much you think it’s good for them, they don’t appreciate it.

I’m not going to leave you hanging with a simple “just relax”; here’s a couple things you can try the next time your kid doesn’t want to eat at dinner.

1. Calmly respond with “Kiddo, this is what I prepared for dinner. You do NOT have to eat it, but this will be the only thing offered before bed.”
2. Not feeling as strong-willed? Try this, “This is what I prepared for dinner. You do NOT have to eat it, but you can only have XX food between now and bedtime.” Now the key here is that XX food is the plainest, most boring food you can think of. In our house we do a peanut butter sandwich with NO JELLY (my toddler loves PB&J sandwiches but doesn’t love peanut butter only sandwiches). If he is truly hungry, he’ll eat what’s on his plate.
3. Have a toddler that won’t sit still? Try this, “honey, we are eating dinner right now. You don’t have to eat what’s on your plate, but you HAVE to sit at the table with us for 5 minutes.” Generally, this helps get them settled and focused. If they are hungry they will eat, if not, they enjoy family time for 5 minutes.