TV while eating

[aschrimp]

So...my ds is turning 1 yo in a week and a half. He won't let anyone feed him - he will only eat foods he can feed himself. Needless to say, this can be a job and a half - and it takes some time. I have found that he gets frusterated with how long it takes if he is just sitting in his high chair eating with no distraction, and will often stop after a few attempts (and basically no food eaten).

By a stroke of chance, I have put on baby einstein and moved his high chair in front of the TV a few times when I've needed to get something done, and noticed that he will eat a "normal" sized meal - what I figure he probably ought to be eating all the time. But it takes him close to an hour to do it - I really don't blame him for getting bored! But I don't like the idea of feeding him in front of the TV either.

Did anyone else have a child like this? Should I just wait it out until his self feeding skills improve? He's basically 100% BF still, and 30+ lbs, so that's ALOT of BFing - every 3-4 hrs during the day, and every 1-2 hrs all night long. I would love for him to start eating some solids too...but not sure if I want to stick him in front of the TV to get him to do it...

[jkelstaten]

let him be the lead on how much he wants to eat and how fast. when he gets bored let him stop. give him a break and when you know it's about time for him to BF again sit him in the highchair again. When he gets bored you can let him finish of the meal with BFing. Toddlers eat some SMALL meals. My DD is 3 and she is just now starting to eat "normal" sized meals. I've heard it recommended somewhere (can't remember) to just offer the foods to the child and if they are hungry they will eat, if not they won't. They won't starve themselves though. Somedays they eat a lot and others they eat almost nothing.

[SandyG]

davidis pretty selective , i gotta put him on the tv or he wont eat. if he sits in the table it takes him 3min tops and he outta chair. he just donstn hae any patience. gotta do it as he is 3.5 and only 27lbs. your ds i think is good as he is 1 only and more than david . i dunno if its bad but i do it. only way he will eat more like that

[aschrimp]

Lol - my ds weighed 28 lbs at his 9 mo checkup...the problem is not the amount that he is eating (he's obviously getting PLENTY of breastmilk) it's just that he doesn't have the patience to sit and feed himself.

And while I am 100% fine with him nursing when he wants and for as long as he wants, I'd love to start going around 4 hours between daytime feedings most days, instead of 3 - lol! My goals are modest, to say the least!

[jkelstaten]

Originally Posted by SandyG gotta do it as he is 3.5 and only 27lbs.

Who told you this is a problem? My DD is the same size. She looks and acts perfectly healthy and the Dr. has never addressed it. We have a friend with a daughter about the same age and she maybe weighs 22 lbs. This is normal for her because her father is a very small man.

Today my DD ate 1/3c plain yogurt, 1/2c pasta, 2 slices of bread and 1/2 of a very small apple. She also drinks a few small cups of milk and watered down juice throughout the day. (and water too) This is her normal amount of food. I find some days she does a "catch up" where she seems to eat a lot more, but usually it's a very small amount. I simply vary what I offer her every day and she also takes a multivitamin.



Sorry for the thread hijack....

[Severine]

I wouldn't recommend plonking him in front of the TV to get him to eat. The AAP recommendations say no TV under 2 years of age (and I've even seen 3 years of age). There are a lot of things that happen neurologically while a developing child watches TV that are not favorable. So I'm happy to see that you don't want to feed him in front of the TV.

Toddlers are picky and will eat like a bird one day, a horse the next. It's just the age. All you can really do is wait it out. Children this age don't know how to overeat, so if he's eating that much, then he must need it. And when he doesn't feel like eating, you don't need to force it. He won't starve himself.

With DD, we give her a lot of foods she can pick up with her hands and eat. She gets the concept of the fork, but it's still early for her to really be able to feed herself with one. So I would say give it time on the self-feeding skills improving, too.

[scwendy]

Originally Posted by jkelstaten let him be the lead on how much he wants to eat and how fast. when he gets bored let him stop. give him a break and when you know it's about time for him to BF again sit him in the highchair again. When he gets bored you can let him finish of the meal with BFing. Toddlers eat some SMALL meals. My DD is 3 and she is just now starting to eat "normal" sized meals. I've heard it recommended somewhere (can't remember) to just offer the foods to the child and if they are hungry they will eat, if not they won't. They won't starve themselves though. Somedays they eat a lot and others they eat almost nothing.

ITA.

I don't let the kids watch TV during supper. I used to and it only made it a harder habit to break. When I realized that babies, kids, teens, and adults ALL tend to eat more when distracted by the TV and not get the "full" signal, I was concerned about their health (not wanting them to overeat). Then, as I have gotten a little older, I have started wanting no TV, because we use supper as part of our family time (again, mostly for the older two, but we model it for Grace, I guess).

No matter what you decide, mama :hug:

Way to go on the nursing!

[Lucky Child]

I'm going to go AGAINST the grain here he he... I let Bailey watch TV during breakfast and during lunch. I don't see a problem with it, and sometimes when I don't turn it on, there isn't a problem.
My dd is the same way as yours ds is... she just wont' eat what's been put in front of her... and actually it is a concern b/c her diet was completely out of balance... Since I have allowed her to watch, I have found she is eating complete meals, not A LOT of food, just complete... I don't see a problem as this is the only tv that she watches usually.