Any advice for slow-eaters?

[jeanieg]

I have 2 girls aged 4 and 5. They usually take about an hour

or so to finish their meals and that is with me sitting next to them
to keep reminding them to eat. With rice they tend to be slower. Pasta
n porridge will be slightly faster. They also tend to talk alot with one
another during meals. Is taking an hour normal? How can I help them
eat faster?

[ZacK]

DS1 is super 摸 ... Takes anywhere from 45min - 1hr for his usual meals (rice or noodles) .. But this is usually the case when he is tasked to eat on his own and he ends up with a book to read and eat at the same time.


I told him no more books or toys whenever he is eating, this helped a little, but he is so easily distracted... and likes to walk abt in between bites ... sigh :stupid:

One of the things I do is to dangle a carrot or incentive before he starts eating... i.e. Leave the things that he likes to do to after his meal. E.g He really likes the Mario Brothers wii game now, so if he can finish his meal w/i X time given, then we will allocate some time for him to play his wii etc. So far it worked for us to get him to take the initiative to eat quickly.

Hope this helps for you... In your case, I think it's to do with your kids chatting when they eat... So would help if you can get them to chat less. Maybe a carrot for them would be if they speak less than 10 words during their meal, they get some kind of reward?

[Jennifer]

I like my #2 to eat faster too. When he’s eating alone, can be done. But with other family members, it becomes chitchat session. And becos he talks more, he has less time slots to eat. Urgh :x

[laughingcat]

I also have the same problem with my ds. At one point got so frustrated that I punished him quite severly.


However my colleague advised me from doing so. His advise to me that it is no point as his pri 4 ds is still like that. I was thinking \"OH MY GOSH\" :shock:

But my colleague advised that it is okay. Just treat the 1 hr as family gathering. Everyone sitting together to share the happy moment of the day's work. Eating away happily. I was thinking.....okay might as well go with the flow since it is not too serious. Afterall, eating slowly means having better digestion yeah. So... let's be it then. :lol:

After a while, I have been like this mode since 2 months now. We are happy with it too. Although some of the nights, we just make sure the kids eat faster coz we are going for an outing thereafter.

So mummies out there......just don't get too stressed up. :celebrate:

As a child, I used to be like that too all the way till pri 4/5. What drove me to change is because I have tons of homework and artwork to complete before bedtime. Responsibility kicks in and so I need to buck up then.

[jeanieg]

Thank you mommies for sharing. Yeah, will try not to get too stressed out, IF I can : )


They used to bring something to the table, either their little toy or stickers but I have told them that mealtimes are mealtimes so no toys or other distractions. They tend to put food in the mouth, chew and talk at the same time, chew and chew and takes very long to swallow it down, especially my 4 yr old (with meat it's even worse. Once it took 15mins to swallow all the meat down :shock: )

Usually we will eat with them and when we are done, we will clear our own plates and I will sit with them to remind them to chew and swallow. Sigh.

I will think of a reward system and hopefully it will improve. Any other mommies have ideas to share, would love to hear from you.

[stayhome]

My ds used to eat 45mins or longer since toddler. Untill end last year, I used rewards method like 3 pokemon cards if he fininshed within 15mins, 2 cards within 20 mins, 1 card within 25mins and no card after 30mins. It worked for him. Now he will finish his food within 30mins, sometimes even 10mins then we will give him 4 cards. I will cook or buy food that he likes, ofcourse need to be healthy food no fast food. you will find him finished them faster like within 10mins.


Now I’m thinking of shorten the timing, but will see how he progress.

FInd something your kids want them very much and small so that you can maintain the method long. As this take some time. I find myself less nagging and more happy during meal time. Specially the time we look at the cards he got.

[Funz]

stayhome:

My ds used to eat 45mins or longer since toddler. Untill end last year, I used rewards method like 3 pokemon cards if he fininshed within 15mins, 2 cards within 20 mins, 1 card within 25mins and no card after 30mins. It worked for him. Now he will finish his food within 30mins, sometimes even 10mins then we will give him 4 cards. I will cook or buy food that he likes, ofcourse need to be healthy food no fast food. you will find him finished them faster like within 10mins.


Now I'm thinking of shorten the timing, but will see how he progress.

FInd something your kids want them very much and small so that you can maintain the method long. As this take some time. I find myself less nagging and more happy during meal time. Specially the time we look at the cards he got.

10mins to finish a meal and want to shorten further ???:!:

Isn't that a bit too fast?

I give my kids 30mins to finish their meals. If they take longer then that, they know it will eat into their time for other activities. There was a period when DH will set an alarm to let them know how much time has passed. These days, they are pretty ok. There will be times when they will dilly dally over their food but more often then not, they are done in 30mins.

[stayhome]

My shorten the time is to 15mins not 10 mins. My ds is P1 now he need to eat faster when he growup.

[jeanieg]

Sometimes I wonder if it’s because they are still young, being 4 & 5 yrs, so they tend to be slower?


So far have yet to try the rewards system but have used the ‘punishment’ system la. Like this morning I told them if they do not finish by a certain time, no tv for the rest of the day. It’s really hard to find rewards to give leh… they like sweets and chocolates, of cos and other than that, hairclips and pony-ties (being girls)… too expensive to give as rewards. Any mommies have any other alternative rewards to suggest?

Another concern I have is that if I have the rewards system, I do not want them to land up competing with each other over who is first to finish.

[fussyMummy]

Hi,


My DD is P4 this year...

I have same problem, been 10 years........~~~~!!! :clubmyself:

She is a slow-eater since baby... :x If force her to eat faster, then she will vomit out all the food at the end... :slapshead:

Remind... nag.... scold..... after all still the same... but if I never voice out, she can takes about 1 1/2 hours to \"enjoy\" her meal :faint: .... :stupid: