How to get DD to eat slower?

[Anonymous]

My 9yo DD literally inhales her food and I can’t figure out how to get her to eat slower. We were at a birthday party today and she ate 3 slices of pizza before more kids finished one. She was the first to finish her cake too of course, by far. Most nights at dinner she is done eating by the time I sit down since I serve the kids first.

DH and I are constantly telling her to put her fork down between bites and to not put another bite in her mouth until she has fully chewed and swallowed the previous one, but she never listens. She is constantly annoyed and it’s turning into a battle. Many family members have made comments about her eating habits because it’s kind of crazy.

While of course we want to correct this because her manners are awful (she shovels food into her mouth like she has never eaten before), the other issue is that she constantly asks for seconds because she eats so quickly her body doesn’t have a chance to feel full. We usually set a timer to see if she is still hungry before she eats more and many times she says she isn’t.

How do we fix this behavior without making it an even bigger deal than we already have?

[Anonymous]

Try serving food in courses. Maybe go to a fancy restaurant that she’d like that serves small portions of delicious foods, at a leisurely pace — then try it at home. Most people slow down when there’s a soup course to take the edge off of their hunger.

If this is not every meal, but mostly at dinner, maybe she needs a substantial snack or small meal, with protein, fiber, and fat a few hours before dinner. She might be genuinely hungry if there’s a long gap between lunch and dinner, and her interim snack lacks satiety. She might also need to have her largest meal earlier in the day. — so lunch, or after school, vs dinner, if that’s possible.

(I like steel cut oats mixed with a dollop of peanut butter, and sometimes sprinkled with a few chocolate chips. It’s dense, has fiber, protein and fat. It’s yummy — to me, at least. And is very satisfying. So this would be a good “snack” for me. Chili with lentils is another one.)

[Anonymous]

Do you converse with her while she is eating?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try serving food in courses. Maybe go to a fancy restaurant that she’d like that serves small portions of delicious foods, at a leisurely pace — then try it at home. Most people slow down when there’s a soup course to take the edge off of their hunger.

If this is not every meal, but mostly at dinner, maybe she needs a substantial snack or small meal, with protein, fiber, and fat a few hours before dinner. She might be genuinely hungry if there’s a long gap between lunch and dinner, and her interim snack lacks satiety. She might also need to have her largest meal earlier in the day. — so lunch, or after school, vs dinner, if that’s possible.

(I like steel cut oats mixed with a dollop of peanut butter, and sometimes sprinkled with a few chocolate chips. It’s dense, has fiber, protein and fat. It’s yummy — to me, at least. And is very satisfying. So this would be a good “snack” for me. Chili with lentils is another one.)

+1

Sometimes a key to eating more slowly is being less hungry when you sit down. I love the idea of swapping portion size for “after school snack” and dinner.

[Anonymous]

You teach her. Don’t let her eat until you have sat down and can eat slowly together with real conversation as a family. Get smaller silverware. Try chopsticks. Video her eating and show it to her.

She’s bound to get teased for this more the older she gets. Be consistent with her and nip it quickly. Make sure she’s drinking enough water throughout the day. Make her drink a large glass of water 20 minutes before dinner. Soup is good but you still need to watch her and teach her to slow down.

[Anonymous]

Get one of the bowls used to slow down dog's eating

[Anonymous]

Slow cooker.

[Anonymous]

Put everything in a mason jar, give her a short spoon to get it out.

[Anonymous]

Is she overweight? What is the real issue? Tell her to slow down or she will overeat and gain weight. I don’t see what’s the big deal about speaking facts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get one of the bowls used to slow down dog's eating

LOL! I was thinking of this also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 9yo DD literally inhales her food and I can’t figure out how to get her to eat slower. We were at a birthday party today and she ate 3 slices of pizza before more kids finished one. She was the first to finish her cake too of course, by far. Most nights at dinner she is done eating by the time I sit down since I serve the kids first.

DH and I are constantly telling her to put her fork down between bites and to not put another bite in her mouth until she has fully chewed and swallowed the previous one, but she never listens. She is constantly annoyed and it’s turning into a battle. Many family members have made comments about her eating habits because it’s kind of crazy.

While of course we want to correct this because her manners are awful (she shovels food into her mouth like she has never eaten before), the other issue is that she constantly asks for seconds because she eats so quickly her body doesn’t have a chance to feel full. We usually set a timer to see if she is still hungry before she eats more and many times she says she isn’t.

How do we fix this behavior without making it an even bigger deal than we already have?

First, she doesn't get to ignore you. No seconds until everyone at the table is finished eating. Give her one bite at a time .

[Anonymous]

Give her small portions. Enforce putting down the fork between bites and waiting for others to finish before getting seconds. If people are already noticing and have commented, then it is an issue.

She could legitimately be extremely hungry while growing, but can still learn to eat politely.



Setting a timer is a bit odd though. Are you controlling in other ways and maybe not realizing it? Does she get all the nutrients she needs? Does she shovel in green beans and salads as fast as pizza? It could be a sadly perfect setup for an ED.

[Anonymous]

Give her an apple, carrots, whatever before meals.

[Anonymous]

My kids were like this and still as they are older still try to eat way too fast if they have their minds on something else and want to rush off.

Talking and modeling never worked. The only thing I found really effective was going to restaurants that only had chop sticks. I’m not at all joking. It slowed mine down.

[Anonymous]

Have her drink a big glass of water before eating. And no one eats until everyone is served and is sitting - even if the kids get served last.