From Babycenter.com’s Toddler 23 Months Email alert:<\/p>\n
Your toddler may wield a fork and spoon like a pro and drink out of a cup without spilling, but that doesn’t mean mealtimes are smooth sailing just yet. He may be more interested in conducting little science experiments on his tray table \u2014 like pouring his orange juice into his cereal bowl \u2014 than eating. Or he may insist on sitting on your lap and eating what’s on your plate rather than what you’ve placed in front of him. While it’s a good idea to start setting limits during meals, don’t force your child to eat or expect full compliance with your rules. <\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Seriously?? Don’t expect full compliance? Oh my word! No wonder kids today are such freakin’ brats!\u00a0 When I tell my almost-two year old to do something, I expect him to do it.\u00a0 Does he always?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 But when he doesn’t obey momma (or daddy), he spends a minute in the “Bad Chair”.\u00a0 You know what that means?\u00a0 He obeys me!\u00a0 He is a good kid!\u00a0 He’s not running through the stores throwing tempers, he sits in his own chair at the table, eats with his fork almost all the time (corn still eludes him, and occasionally he uses his fingers still.).\u00a0 He plays nicely with his Brother and Sister, and already knows the meaning of “share”, at 23 months old!<\/p>\n
This is the same reason we have so many overweight kids in America.\u00a0 Over the summer, I watched in horror as a cousin handed her 2 year old (who was twice the size – width-wise – of my 5 year old)\u00a0 a plate of ice cream, why?\u00a0 Because he was crying.\u00a0 And why was he crying?\u00a0 Because he didn’t want to share.\u00a0 Over the course of the next week, every time I saw this particular cousin and her child, the kids would start crying for no apparent reason, the mom would shove food into his hands, just to make him shut up.\u00a0 What?\u00a0 No!\u00a0 You teach that kid how to share, and how to control his appetite.\u00a0 Not shove food down his throat every time he cries.
\nEveryone who meets my kids declares they are some of the sweetest most well-behaved kids they’ve ever known (no exaggeration, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that!)\u00a0 They are not fat, but they aren’t skin and bone either.\u00a0 They look healthy, they eat healthy, and they act in a well-behaved manner.\u00a0 That takes more than just luck, that takes good parenting.<\/p>\n