The chocolate milk monster
My mom gave Lucy chocolate milk for the first time a month or so ago. The child was enthralled; she sucked down an entire sippy cup, gulp after gulp, without even coming up for air. "Wow!" my mom said. "She's a chocolate milk monster!"
And cute as she is, she is rather monstrous at mealtimes. Give her chocolate milk, and she guzzles it. Regular milk, and she drinks some of it, then spits it all over her shirt and throws the cup on the floor. Then wants it back, to take another sip and discard at will. That's just how this kid is; unless it's something super-yummy, on the caliber of chocolate milk or cake, she loses interest far too quickly. Which is perhaps why she weighs only 17 pounds and is in the fourth percentile on her growth chart.
This is the way pretty much every mealtime goes:
Child screeches for food. Mommy puts food on tray.
Child gobbles food and screeches. Mommy says, "Do you want more?" making the American Sign Language signs for "more" and "food."
Perhaps once a week or so, just enough to keep Mommy trying, Child makes "more" sign. The rest of the time, Child screeches until Mommy moves Child's hands in "more" sign for her, and then gives more food.
Child coos with delight and eats perhaps two more bites. Child dumps food on head. Child smears food in hair. Child tries to shove food in Mommy's mouth. Eventually child vigorously swings hands back and forth on tray with glee, sending food flying to floor.
Mommy rebukes Child for throwing food on floor, and doesn't give her more food. Child screams in anger, arching back and banging head against chair. Mommy removes child from chair. The meal is over.
It's not like I'm trying to feed her bean sprouts and radishes, here. This is food that she does like--I know, because I've seen her gobble it up when she's in the mood. I am sure that if all her milk was chocolate and all her food was cake, she'd eat just fine and weigh plenty. Or, if I held her on my lap and entertained her, letting her get up and down as she pleased and nibble at whatever she wanted off my plate, she'd probably do okay. Since what we want is for her to be an obedient child who calmly feeds herself healthy food, we're not doing either of those things.
It's the getting from Point A (picky, capricious, and wailing) to Point B (politely self-feeding normal food) that is wearing on me lately. Especially because of her small size; part of me feels guilty for not doing anything and everything to get more food in her mouth. And yet I'm convinced that were she really hungry, she would eat. On occasion, she eats an enormous amount, more than her sister does. Other times, food is just fun, not nutrients, to her.
So if anyone has any ideas on keeping an easily-bored 1-year-old in her seat long enough to actually eat a meal, please share. The Chocolate Milk Monster has to go.
And cute as she is, she is rather monstrous at mealtimes. Give her chocolate milk, and she guzzles it. Regular milk, and she drinks some of it, then spits it all over her shirt and throws the cup on the floor. Then wants it back, to take another sip and discard at will. That's just how this kid is; unless it's something super-yummy, on the caliber of chocolate milk or cake, she loses interest far too quickly. Which is perhaps why she weighs only 17 pounds and is in the fourth percentile on her growth chart.
This is the way pretty much every mealtime goes:
Child screeches for food. Mommy puts food on tray.
Child gobbles food and screeches. Mommy says, "Do you want more?" making the American Sign Language signs for "more" and "food."
Perhaps once a week or so, just enough to keep Mommy trying, Child makes "more" sign. The rest of the time, Child screeches until Mommy moves Child's hands in "more" sign for her, and then gives more food.
Child coos with delight and eats perhaps two more bites. Child dumps food on head. Child smears food in hair. Child tries to shove food in Mommy's mouth. Eventually child vigorously swings hands back and forth on tray with glee, sending food flying to floor.
Mommy rebukes Child for throwing food on floor, and doesn't give her more food. Child screams in anger, arching back and banging head against chair. Mommy removes child from chair. The meal is over.
It's not like I'm trying to feed her bean sprouts and radishes, here. This is food that she does like--I know, because I've seen her gobble it up when she's in the mood. I am sure that if all her milk was chocolate and all her food was cake, she'd eat just fine and weigh plenty. Or, if I held her on my lap and entertained her, letting her get up and down as she pleased and nibble at whatever she wanted off my plate, she'd probably do okay. Since what we want is for her to be an obedient child who calmly feeds herself healthy food, we're not doing either of those things.
It's the getting from Point A (picky, capricious, and wailing) to Point B (politely self-feeding normal food) that is wearing on me lately. Especially because of her small size; part of me feels guilty for not doing anything and everything to get more food in her mouth. And yet I'm convinced that were she really hungry, she would eat. On occasion, she eats an enormous amount, more than her sister does. Other times, food is just fun, not nutrients, to her.
So if anyone has any ideas on keeping an easily-bored 1-year-old in her seat long enough to actually eat a meal, please share. The Chocolate Milk Monster has to go.
5 comments:
Hi Jen, While I don't have any brilliant ideas for high chair manners (my 2 year old is still not the best eater)...how about a picnic outside once in a while. Even if it's just to get some extra food into her. She can eat and wander around a bit without getting into bad table habits. She could have fruits, crackers, little sandwiches. It's a hard one....especially if they are on the light side of things. Good luck
I don't have advice either - just understanding and maybe a little cheerleading for ya - it'll get better and you're doing great!
I HATE meal time. It is the most stressful part of parenting young toddlers. It sounds like you are doing a great job.
Things we've tried to increase weight (note: I have no behavior tips, if you get some let me know!): Honey in the whole milk, lots of cream-on-the-top yogurt (added to just about everything), "muffins" (with hidden ingredients), and lots of "the kitchen is now closed".
I agree with you that if they were really hungry they would eat.
Good luck...
Jen, we don't know each other very well but I have a now 12 year old who has always been petite and in the lower percentiles for height and weight. I struggled with her when she was a toddler to get her to eat as well and have to say that from experience I agree that she would eat if she was hungry. I also learned that she went through phases where the foods I thought she loved weren't her favorites anymore. I was flexible, but she had to eat the dinner that was prepared for the entire family. A Nurse once told me to give her a peanut butter sammie an hour before bedtime, maybe that might help? My daughter is still small, but healthy. Sounds like you are doing a great job and I admire your patience...hang in there!
We have had similar issues.
For the older kiddos, we do quite a bit of peanut butter, avacado (as a dip for chips and such or for the little one, I mix it with banana and it makes a meal) and that sort of high-calorie thing. Whole milk yogurt is a good thing too-smoothies are a nice healthy treat. I use a tiny amount of fruit juice as sweetener, yogurt and frozen fruit. Cheese is also a good higher fat food.
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