How Much Time Did Your Child Spend on Eating a Meal?

My Daughter, who is almost four, can spend up to an hour eating a meal. I worried at first, but then spoke to the Doctor about it. He reasurred me that there is nothing wrong with it, and as long as she is eating that is all that matters.

At home I let her be, as long as she is eating and not playing around. Once she starts playing and not eating, dinner or what ever meal it is, she's done. This has worked as she knows that if she does not finish her dinner (or at least a good portion thereof) she will NOT get anything else.

This has worked well for us, and has really cut down the nightly "dinner fight", she also knows that she is NOT to get down until she asks. It took some time and patience on our part, but honest they do get it, and once they do life becomes much easier.

As for sitting with him while he eats, I think she was about 3ish when I began getting up from the table, and letting her sit there. She still had to ask to get down, and knew that if she just played and didn't eat, she wouldn't get anything else..so she sits and eats while I clean up. (of course she is still in eye sight so I can 'remind' her to eat.)

Hope this helps some, and releives some of the anxiety.

30 minutes is plenty of time to let a child eat a child sized portion of food. I have a slow eater and yes, we take it away after about 45 minutes and we DO NOT allow playing with food. She's always been slow at eating, and if you observe her, she's in "la-la land" when she's not eating. It's not a matter of "not eating too fast" it's a matter of teaching them what is appropriate, and playing with their food and taking an eternity to finish is NOT appropriate! That being said, try the route of taking it away after a reasonable amount of time. Give the child plenty of warnings, so they know it is coming, and be firm with snacks after that. NO SNACKS! Save their dinner and if they complain that they're hungry, stick it in the micro and have them sit at the table and eat their dinner (again). We have also had success with one of those timers with the sand in it. We'd give them about 3 turns of it. That way they could "see" how much time they had.

Just some thoughts...

I don't think you should ever rush anyone through a meal. Let him take his time. It's healthier. If you can't stay and watch him- then let him eat on his own. Does it upset him to eat on his own?

I don't think this 30 minute rule is a good idea. People who eat to fast are more likely to eat too much!

I have a silly question but, does he eat by himself meaning is he the only one eating? Usually we all eat together as a family when possible. Whether it takes 40 minutes or an hour. I have three boys and their father works 10am to 10 pm and we always eat all three boys and myself at the table at the same time. When they are done, they asked to be excused and that is that. When the last child asks to leave the table, so do I. I may be already done, but I stick by them to know that family togetherness is the most important thing. If it stays with them through life, that is their choice but at least I know that I had family rules and abided by them. It is a form of stucture right now that they love and they cant wait until dinner time when we can be together and talk. By the way, the boys ages are 13, 6, 4.

I nebver rush my daughter through eating. She knows when to stop and if it takes her an hour, I really don't think it's a big deal. IMO, I don't see the need to micro manage how much and how long it takes them to eat. If she is hungry she will ask me and when she is done, she will tell me.