Struggling to Feed Your Toddler?

Are you struggling to feed your toddler? Do you always go in a fight with your child when it is feeding time? Does your child always resist you during feeding?

Well, you are not alone. I have been there too. But with learning and reflecting from this experience, I realize this. It is how your child feels during feeding. Is your child comfortable? Is your child hungry enough to be fed? Does your child gets affected by the environment and as a result loses appetite? Is the time convenient for your child to be fed? Or probably your child has got another preference and choice when it comes to food?

I know those questions can be hard to ask when you are used to the idea: I know what is best for my child.

However, for the long-run benefits, it is really best to feed your child when they are ready and feeling like to eat instead of using force, threat and punishment.

From personal experience, according to my son’s situation being admitted in hospital for a while now, he is put in metal fixtures around his head and pelvic area. So he can’t really move or rotate his head, neck and body the whole time. So as a result, when he wakes up, he can’t have breakfast straight away. The first thing he asks is: I wanna walk. I am tired laying on the bed.

So we go ahead walking in the hospital. While walking, we pass by the restaurant and get his favorite sausage pie and drink. Then we continue walking outside beside the trees and ambulance cars.

Then he either requests to eat or I just feed him while walking. I noticed when he is in a very good mood and feeling happy and active, he accepts the food with less struggle. But if I fixate myself on the idea: I am the parent. You need to follow my instructions, then we would go into a struggle and the feeding experience wouldn’t be a favorable one neither for me nor my child.

So keep learning from the experience. Keep asking tough questions. Open your mind to many possibilities and options. Let your child show you what he/she likes. Accept it when they are just not hungry or can’t finish all their food. It is ok if they didn’t eat now and try feeding at a later time.