How do I get my 3 y.o. to stay at the dinner table?

[Anonymous]

OMG - if this is your problem right now, wait until he/she is older.... get a grip. you are the parent........

[Anonymous]

No tv. No toys. Either at the table or away from the table until dinner time is over. Be consistent.

[Anonymous]

What is wrong with you people - no games, or toys or songs - insist the child sit there!! I have 4 and 7 year olds who have always had to sit at the table and eat as a family. They start to squirm? They get "the look".

[Anonymous]

What is the thought behind no toys? Are toys reserves for restaurants only? (Not OP)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people - no games, or toys or songs - insist the child sit there!! I have 4 and 7 year olds who have always had to sit at the table and eat as a family. They start to squirm? They get "the look".

Then you had a 3yo who responded to the look. Half of them don't.

We have a general idea of how long they have to sit there, under 20 minutes, and we return them to the table if they try to leave.

TV is a horrible idea. That's not teaching keeping them at the table. That's bringing mealtime into TV time, which they don't need any help learning how to stay with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the thought behind no toys? Are toys reserves for restaurants only? (Not OP)

No toys t the table period. We do keep crayons with us for restaurants, but they go away when the food is there. The only purpose of the crayons are to entertain during waits that are too much for small children and thus the issue is moot at home. Do you play with toys when you have dinner with people? If not, don't train your child to.

[Anonymous]

Also, maybe get him involved in setting the table and otherwise getting dinner ready, so he's a little more invested. Are you involving him in conversation that's interesting to him? Is there anything you could change up, like moving to bigger-boy utensils or new cup or fun placemat? Any way to get the distracting toys more out of sight, or better yet eat somewhere else other than the play room? Can you play background music during dinner that's enjoyable for you all? Reward/disincentive for sitting nicely through 15 minutes for dinner (sticker chart, fun active after dinner, bubbles in bath, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people - no games, or toys or songs - insist the child sit there!! I have 4 and 7 year olds who have always had to sit at the table and eat as a family. They start to squirm? They get "the look".

Not trying to be snarky, but when you say "always", from what age do you mean they started sitting through a meal?

[Anonymous]

Duct tape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people - no games, or toys or songs - insist the child sit there!! I have 4 and 7 year olds who have always had to sit at the table and eat as a family. They start to squirm? They get "the look".

Not trying to be snarky, but when you say "always", from what age do you mean they started sitting through a meal?

New poster. I agree with the always comment. Always, meaning from the time an infant can sit up in a high chair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the thought behind no toys? Are toys reserves for restaurants only? (Not OP)

No toys t the table period. We do keep crayons with us for restaurants, but they go away when the food is there. The only purpose of the crayons are to entertain during waits that are too much for small children and thus the issue is moot at home. Do you play with toys when you have dinner with people? If not, don't train your child to.

PP here, I see toys as the kid version of adults using cell phones at the table. Tablets, iPads also.

[Anonymous]

Get a booster seat with a lap belt. Use it to strap him in.

Create a reward chart as an incentive for him to stay in his seat until everyone is done eating. If he makes it for the entire meal, he gets a sticker. Six stickers earn a small reward (matchbox car, glow bracelet etc.)

No toys or TV during dinner, unless this is what you want to train him to expect. If you must do it, but boundaries around it -- one toy, 10 minutes of TV or similar -- and stick to it, otherwise it will escalate.

And yes, of course, I agree with everyone above who said to talk with him. Engage him in conversation. Teach him that family meals are about more than food -- they're about conversation -- listening and talking with each other. And relax about the food part to the best you can. If meals are a power struggle ("Eat another bite, please!" "NO!"), it will only make things harder. GL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people - no games, or toys or songs - insist the child sit there!! I have 4 and 7 year olds who have always had to sit at the table and eat as a family. They start to squirm? They get "the look".

Not trying to be snarky, but when you say "always", from what age do you mean they started sitting through a meal?

New poster. I agree with the always comment. Always, meaning from the time an infant can sit up in a high chair.

Same here. "Always" means from the time DD was an infant until now, age 4. No toys, no TV, no games. It's all she's ever known and it works just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let him eat in front of the tv at 530. You eat later w/ dh. When he wants to stop eating he has to say " may I please be excused?". Three is early for family dinner. My kids don't eat much and I figured out that if I save tv for dinner time, they actually eat a whole plate of food. When they are a little older they can have family dinner, but my husband gets home at 7 and there is no way I'm waiting until then at thus point.

You MUST be trolling. Are you actually recommending a child eat in front of the TV, because he would eat MORE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people - no games, or toys or songs - insist the child sit there!! I have 4 and 7 year olds who have always had to sit at the table and eat as a family. They start to squirm? They get "the look".

Not trying to be snarky, but when you say "always", from what age do you mean they started sitting through a meal?

PP here. Like many said, always is since they could sit in a high chair and then booster seat. And it's not like we're having 5 course meals - it's done in like 20 minutes. If my husband and I want to linger longer or we have guests and want to chat, the children can asked to be excused after a reasonable amount of time. Took them awhile to learn they couldn't just wolf down their food and ask to be excused!