Ants in my Pants!

My son, who will turn 2 years old in a couple of months is becoming a handful at the dinner table. I have spoken about this a few entries ago and its reached the point now where he is obviously hungry but finds sitting at the dinner table a challenging task. So to recap, we moved house 5 months ago and in the previous place we had one of those high chairs that fitted into our slim dining table. We purchased a new dining table for the new place which is a lot thicker than the last one which has resulted in the high chair not fitting and becoming redundant. I adopted the approach that he is over a year and a half and should be able to sit with all of us on the table together. We have a farm house style dining table with benches and stools where he sits propped up on cushions. However he is not restrained and he feels he can walk off at any time. I did bring lots of books and this helped a lot, and we were happy for a few months and now again its started- 5 mins attention span and back to wandering around the kitchen.

One evening was spent by my hubby placing him back and forth to the dining table till he settled to eat. Kind of like controlled crying but this time to sit at the table. I kid you not, but it took almost ten times till he stopped crying and ate his meal which followed by lots of praise and clapping. However, for me this was the last straw. I was fed up of meal times going this way.

After literally crying to another mommy friend, she suggested to use her high chair. Its one of those that turn eventually into a regular chair and is suitable up to a child's 10th birthday. But I didn't want to buy one without test driving it. So I borrowed it a week ago and my life has changed forever. I realised that most days I would be emotionally drained from trying to feed him and also was left with that anxiety that he hadn't eaten enough. Now ever since the high chair has entered our lives ( yes I say 'our lives' as we are all affected), he has been sitting, reading his books while I feed him. And more often than not he has eaten his entire meal! Bonus!

In reflecting on this, I've realised how crucial it is to sort out difficult eating habits. By no means am I saying that its easy or that one gets it right. I'm just saying that the task of feeding your child 3 meals a day has to be done with a little less stress, less frustration and a little less shouting from my part. Now I understand that my son's habits can be changed and one needs to try new things all the time. I don't know how long it will last. I'm just hoping for the best.