My twins (4) don't sit down to eat, any suggestions?
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I have 9 year old twin boys. We had the same problem. Start with small goals. If they can sit for 3 minutes and eat make a big deal about it. Then gradually increase the time. My one son still has some difficulty but he isn't still when he sleeps. Keep your sense of humor!
They are old enough to sit for a 10 minute meal...if they don't, they don't eat.
make them... tell them they cant eat if they wont sit
Are you sure they're twins?
Yep. Discipline them. No food unless they sit at the table.
Then don't let them eat if they don't sit down! Duh!!
they don't sit, they don't eat,period.
They will sit when they are hungry
well the boy i baby sit is the same way and hes 3. hes always trying to get up and run around while hes eating. and im not having him fling food all over my house(again) so every time he gets up. i take his plate tell he sits back down.and when he does i give it back. he eventually learned he needed to sit if he wanted his meals..
My 16 month old son is the same way. It is annoying. At 2 they understand a lot more. If you don't make them sit now during whatever they are eating they never will. They are active. They don't want to miss anything. My son sits in a high chair til he is finished. Of coarse that will change in a short couple of months. But he is learning.
They need to learn to sit down and eat. You need to give them an ultimatum, otherwise there will be other things they do that will drive you crazy. Put their meal in such a way that they have to sit at the table in order to access it. Sitting and eating is the norm, and they should be taught that. Taught nicely and firmly, so that you show them that you are in control and not them. Be careful you don't want to raise two bratty kids. Good luck.
Not much help here but sympathy! My twins are older now. Bacl then, one of them was a grazer. He'd be up and down from the table a bunch of times and always wanted to pick in between. I didn't discourage his grazing though because he was small and I was happy for him to eat whenever he did.
The suggestions most given are to offer breakfast and let them eat what they want. Then nothing else until a healthy snack at morning snack time. Then lunch, then aft snack, then dinner etc. Some folks totally eliminate the snack but I don't think that's a good idea at this age. As long as the snack is small and healthy it should hold them to mealtime.
Good luck!
My son is a picky eater, so what I do (except Friday nights) we eat on the couch and watch tv, he doesn’t want to eat… we will turn off the tv (he is almost 3)
Friday nights he does sit nice with all the adults at the dining room table.
Well if you really want them to sit while they eat then they need a meal time and limit snacking. They need to know that when they sit they eat. At their age its more like puppy training than anything else because you cant reason with a baby,lol. My son would sponateously get up while he was eating and wonder away while he was still eating. he is adhd and we got through that and he eats like other people. We didnt let it control him he controls it. but thats a different discussion,lol. dont let them walk around eating. If they get up with food...take it..give it back at the table.
Ok if they stand on teh chair then say sit down...Older kids do it and well dont hit them or shout
You need Nanny 911, it is a show on TV and seems to be very helpful.
I wish it was on when my kids were small.
Though they were pretty well behaved.
Boys are usually very lively but they should sit down to eat, they will have to when they get in school and even have to sit more than that.
They should be getting used to it now, or they will be in a lot of trouble in school.
Have them sit down to eat at a certain time every day for a meal. It could be more often than the usual 3 meals a day. But they should sit and if they don't then they don't get anything to eat.
They should get the message and you need to explain it to them every time so they learn it.
Dear mom,
It takes work to raise kids. I had a few kids, so I can relate. Before it is too late you must set rules. You have to sit at the table with them and let them know they will not eat unless it is at the table. No fighting or arguing with them. You are the mom and you must retake control and set the rules. I know it is difficult, especially with two of them. If necessary get into counseling with a parenting program to help you. If you don't set rules now, you will be in big trouble as they get older. Good Luck from the bottom of my heart!
I've never really had this kind of problem. It sounds like they have a lot of energy. When you serve breakfast, lunch and dinner do you sit down with them at the table and maybe talk to them while they're eating? I know when I was little about the only thing that kept me still was my parents talking ot me or my siblings and that didn't work all that well. Breakfast I used to sit and read the back of the cereal box. Hope this helps.good luck
Yes though it is true that some children rather sit and eat and a meal and others would rather walk around all day and graze- like my daughter often this comes along because of the habits they have been allowed to get into. If you truly want to change this then you need to change the routine and force a new habit on them. Though it may take persistance and time. Some children like my daughter are Hypogylcemic and needs to keep a steady flow of food into her so she can just make it so I don't force waiting till a meal for her or else it is heck to pay.
Turning off the television during eating times, sitting as a family to eat, keeping them on an eating schedule, snacks only in certain places in the house, etc is what you need to do. It takes a lot longer to get rid of a habit then to aquire it.
Doctors use this term for kids that would rather snack all day long then sit and eat a meal. Now remember childrne's tummys aren't that big and can't be expected to eat near the amount of food that us adults do, some children burn off their calories fast and just need a little something to keep them going in between meals, some children feel overwhelmed if there is too much food on their plate, using food as a punishment is never acceptable- like saying if you finish this or don't finish that you won't get this or that- this can cause a child to have eating disorders or have a negative thought about food when they get older.
You can start by saying heh we are gonna eat at the table today and keep their attentionj at the tabel for a bit while they eat. Now don't expect them to sit for very long the first time, but over time they will elearn to sit longer and longer. Sit with them while they eat and talk about things. Children love to talk and be silly while they eat.
Making sure they aren't filling up on sweets and junk during the day is important because these foods will only give them energy for awhile and then it bruns off and they are asking for more. It doesn't substain them for long. Juices are the worse because they get so full they don't want to eat. Then they get a little hungry later and can't wait.
We model to children what we want them to learn and this includes eating habits. They have to learn from us. If they see Mom or Dad walking in when they want and eating a snack then why can't they be allowed to do that? Or if you give in a few times that is enough to set in a new routine.
maybe you could cook their favorite foods so they can sit or find out what distracts them from not sitting!^_^
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