Reply to Lead-up to daycare/preschool - how to help transition

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[quote=Anonymous]At 21/2 years old?  Really, most 2 year olds (typically-developing children, not children with special needs) have learned that if they tip their plate over, the food is no longer available for them.  If there is a limited amount of food in a lunchbox, then that's that.  So while we are caring, we will show them that "there aren't any more of x in your lunchbox.  Next time, eat what's on your plate).

At home, there is an unlimited amount in the refrigerator, so you can always "get more" but at school they have food in their lunchbox, and that's that.  Or even if a school provides the lunch as some schools do, there is still a limited amount of food provided by the caterer that day - it's plenty, but it's not a never ending supply - so we can't just magically produce more spaghetti.

And, children at 2 years old are able to have more self-control than a child of 12 months of age.  But still, I don't think a typically developing 2 year old should be tipping their plate over, even at home, and if they did, then they don't get more of whatever they dumped on the floor or table.  So they'll be upset, but they'll learn with natural consequences that there aren't any more bananas.  The next day they will eat when they are hungry.

Usually a child starts playing with their plate and whatever when they are finished, and the adults want them at the table longer.  So if they are playing, they can be all done, but then once they clean up, they are done and aren't to come back 1,000 more times (this becomes a game, but no child ever starved themselves - and there is a meal or snack no more than 3 hours away, so they'll just eat a really good dinner or have a snack in 3 hours.)

Again, I'm talking about a 2 or 21/2 year old, not a 12 month old - many children that age eat off their tray at that age, but by 18 months a child should be able to eat from a plate/bowl sitting at their high chair and not dump it unless you are trying to keep them at the high chair longer than they are hungry. And if they aren't interested in eating, of course they'll find some other game to play, which might be dump the plate....    [/quote]

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