18 Month Old Screaming at the Dinner Table

I would just pay attention to what she is eating in a 2 day period- as long as she is hitting all the food groups and eating a healthy amount when you average it out I would let it go.

Maybe make dinner time more like "snack time"? Is there anything different about dinner time (food or setting), or do you think it is just the timing?

I think trying a booster chair and a mini-snack tray are good suggestions, if you haven't tried that already.

Oh and for more toddler eating tips:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t030800.asp

I will probably be in the minority for this one BUT it would get her to eat and you wouldn't be fighting her for it.

Get a school lunch tray, deviled egg tray, ice cube tray, something with several small individual spaces and put her regular food in it, whatever you feed her for lunch or snack or dinner, make it small, finger food size, fill up the tray and put it down low somewhere in the living room or playroom or wherever she is most of the day.

Keep it filled as she snacks thru the day until 30 minutes before bedtime, let her know when the food is going, ask if she wants one last bite, put it away. She will eat, and she won't be sitting next to you while you are trying to eat, screaming. Assuming you aren't feeding her junk, empty calories, this won't make her overwieght, she will eat when hungry and stop when she is full.

This is probably the opposite of what you have been doing, but if putting her in a chair at the table isn't working, then it might be worth a try.

I read a post on here once something to the effect of toddlers are not dinner companions and feed your kids and put them to bed so you can have a civilized dinner, it sounds harsh but made me laugh b/c it is true. She won't do this forever, she will eat and eat with you eventually but really, she is a baby still!

My son is 21 months old and isn't very interested in eating. We have gone through phases where we can't get him to eat anything and it is so frustrating!

We've done a few things that have helped:

Purchased a booster seat rather than a highchair. He can sit up in it much better, no room for wiggling, also has a tray.

Put something on TV for him during meal times, as well as toys on his tray. My son really likes to pour a tiny bit of water from his play kitchen toys into cups. This keeps him occupied while we shovel his food in.

We just give him whatever he will eat. Obviously not things like chocolate or chips, etc. But we offer him his veggies, meat, fruit, cheese, ham, yogurt, rice crackers, animal crackers, fruit sticks, etc. If he only chooses to eat animal crackers that's fine.

We've tried pushing him to eat and it's a disaster. It is totally not worth the heartache for our son or us. I think it just becomes too stressful for everyone and then your little one assocaites all that stress with mealtimes and it just compounds.

If she is snacking throughout the day I wouldn't be too worried if she goes to bed without eating a "proper" dinner. What is a proper dinner for a toddler anyway? :)

Good luck.

What are you serving for dinner versus snacks? If snacks are healthy stuff like fruit and veggies and whole grain crackers and cheese, yogurt, and so on, then that may be her meal. Just serve her those things for a while and add maybe one other food like meat or cooked veggie and don't comment on which ones she eats. At this point, if she's getting any "junk food" like cookies, chips, and so on, I would cut them out entirely. Make sure the snacks are wholesome, offer that food at regular times, and don't give in to demands for anything else. She will not starve herself. Don't feed her at night after dinnertime is over. She may have a rough night or two, but she'll learn the rules. Be calm, sweet, reasonable, and FIRM. Offer the food, say or do nothing if she eats or doesn't eat, and when the meal is over take it away. This is more about control than food, and you need to take the control back.
In summary, offer healthy food at regular intervals, and don't stress when it doesn't get eaten. Be calm and stick to the schedule. It will work after a while. SHE WILL NOT STARVE!

I am not concerned with sending my child to bed without dinner. It doesn't mean she goes to bed hungry. Kids (barring any medical issues) are pretty good about sefl-regulating when they need to eat and how much.

I serve dinner and my daughter has the choice to eat or not--she does have the option of choosing a bowl of healthy cereal at dinner time. If she doesn't eat she has until bath time and the ONLY thing she gets is what was served for dinner. If she doesn't eat at dinner TIME, there is nothing for a treat...no fruit, no dessert, etc.

I also don't subscribe to the clean-plate club. If she eats a reasonable amount of dinner I call it good. Though that amount usually includes ALL the vegetables that she was served.

It may take a fews weeks for her to understand the rules, but consistency is key until you establish a routine for it. Now I can be a little flexible if it seems like she is just having a meltdown sort of day. She's gone to bed without dinner more than a handful of times and has never awaken in the middle of the night asking for food.

I do have to stress that she has always been a good eater and these episodes are more linked to her testing her limits. She has pretty good table manners and isn't expected to sit at the table any longer than it takes for her to finish.

Here are some tips that may help and a link with more details on children and meal time:
http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2009/12/26/...
Parent Tips:

* Offer new foods on multiple occasions. Many children need to try a new food up to a dozen times before they like it.
* Set a good example and try new foods yourself.
* Encourage healthy food portions. Never insist that children “clean their plates.” Rewarding a clean plate may lead to a distorted idea of food, such as ignoring feeling full or eating for a reward.

Tough love. You have to be strong and not give in to her because she will soon learn who is in control. If she is hungry, she will eat. I'm sure you have heard that before, but it is true. If you put her to bed hungry, then she will learn that she needs to eat. When they are this young, they learn but repetitive behavior. If she goes to bed hungry, then she will learn to eat. If you put her in front of the TV, then she will learn that she needs to watch TV while eating, so on and so on. The hard part is just making that lesson happen. I know its hard and you think your child is suffering, but really they aren't and in fact they are actually learning. Good Luck to you.

are you sitting with her? when she does scream tell her shussssh and put your finger to your mouth. we had to do this often for our son who would scream (just to be loud) in restraunts. but why not goahead and teach her we don't scream? good luck. hope you get some good advice.