Almost 3 year old asks for food then refuses to eat

[Anonymous]

The two year old I nanny has never Ben a great eater however she now requests food (eggs, soup, Mac and cheese) and then will wait till it's in front of her to say she doesn't want it. This has happened at every meal this week ( I do all 3 daily) and although I've got her to eat enough where I don't feel she's starving - this new behavior is seriously driving me nuts and also is very wasteful

I would love some idea on how to handle this

[Anonymous]

Could she just be trying to control things?
The toddler I care for is in a stage where he asks for things, like turning on the light. When I turn on the light, he wants it turned off. Open this box? Close this box? Open this box?... Yes, it drives me crazy, too. I try to not give in so much. After turning the light on and off once, then no more light switching.

Regarding your kid, how are you dealing with it now?

[Anonymous]

Save the food. Offer it to her later.

[Anonymous]

Op here: the controlling stage could be the answer... I do save the food for the most part but cut up avocado or things that go bad quickly are also things that she requests and then doesn't eat...

As of right now I have asked her to eat a small portion of whatever she requested, sometimes that works.. Also I clean her little brother up
And get the rest of the kitchen tidied up a bit before I remove her from her chair - just to give her a little more time to consider eating.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have 2 1/2 yr old twins and I get this kind of behavior also. It is about control with them.

I give them a couple of choices, if they don't want it then they can go hungry for a while.

I also find that they want what I have on my plate so sometimes that's a way to get them to eat.

Mostly I think what you're describing is a natural function of this age.

Good luck, it can definitely be trying!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have 2 1/2 yr old twins and I get this kind of behavior also. It is about control with them.

I give them a couple of choices, if they don't want it then they can go hungry for a while.

I also find that they want what I have on my plate so sometimes that's a way to get them to eat.

Mostly I think what you're describing is a natural function of this age.

Good luck, it can definitely be trying!

This.
Give them a few choices. If they decide they won't eat it, mealtime is over. When they are hungry later, tell them that they can have the rest of their lunch but that's the only choice. Eventually they will understand that they need to eat what is given.

[Anonymous]

This is normal 2 yr old behavior. I put everything on the table. Sometimes there are multiple options on the table the child has asked for Banana, crackers, yogurt, crackers, grapes. But at lunch I decide what the child eats so there is no cooking of multiple options.

[Anonymous]

This definitely sounds like typical two-year-old behavior so you may just have to be firm. I'd suggest you give her a couple of things (but not too many) to choose from to give her a sense of control, prepare the item she requests, and if she doesn't want to eat what you've prepared for her, she doesn't eat at all. Give her small portions to start with, you can always give her more if she doe choose to eat. If you choose, save the food and offer it again if she is hungry for the next meal. If she is truly hungry, she will eat what is offered. Once she sees you are not going to cater to her every will, she will likely start eating more eventually. If she doesn't, it's possible that she is either just a very light eater or some external factor (illness, medicine, etc.) is affecting her hunger. Whatever you do, don't turn it into a battle of wills. Let her eat, or not eat, as much as she needs. The human body is really very efficient and barring a medical condition, it will make sure she does not starve. Hope this helps, good luck!