Food Boot Camp

Rumor has it that all toddlers are horrible, picky eaters. Bria is not an exception to this rule, and to top it off she usually wins the "My toddler is pickier than your toddler" debate amongst other mommies when I tell them she doesn't like fruit. Thanks Brian, for passing that on to your daughter ;)

So a few weeks ago we decided enough was enough, Bria was old enough to understand rules and it was getting important that her diet become more balanced. I can't remember if I blogged about the first time we told Bria she had to eat the dinner I made for all of us, instead of making one separately for her. Forgive me if I have, I'm going to retell it a little.

I made lasagna (okay, I put the Costco lasagna in the oven) and we said, "Let's eat." Bria cried and screamed and threw impressive fits for 2 hours. At the table. For 2 hours. Because she didn't want to eat lasagna. But she finally caved and ate the 4 bites we required of her. Brian and I celebrated our awesome parent victory.

Each day/night got a little easier, with a few hiccups here and there. Sometimes she would take a bite or two then throw a fit and we would tell her she had to have 3 more bites or some other number and a half hour later we would finally be done. Dinner time started to become a scream fest and we would all be in a very bad mood by the end of it and our evening would kind of be ruined. It was frustrating.

Brian and his friend, Bruce, were discussing this toddler eating issue together since Bruce has a little boy who is 3 and also doesn't like eating. These genius guys came up with a brilliant idea: put small amounts of food on their plate and make them eat all of it. That way you don't have to say, "Eat 4 more bites and you are done." None of that, just eat all your food and then you can get down. It's simple, to the point, and they can remember it.

The Food Boot Camp was born.

I'm sure all you parents out there already thought of this, but not us. I figured the more I piled on her plate, the more she would eat. I think it may have been overwhelming her though.

This is a picture of Bria's snack one day: A Ritz cracker, raisins, a piece of a Cutie and golfish crackers.

I decided to implement it a few days ago and make sure her plate looked inviting and fun. So I would put a few small pieces of turkey meat, 2 sugar snap peas, 1 small carrot, and 3 slices of cheese. This is just an example of a lunch I did, obviously it varies. Anyway, it was incredibly successful. It took awhile and she still whines and throws fits here and there, but I think over time it may get easier. Or not, but at least I'm not quite as stressed. And she knows what we expect of her which helps. Also, if she finishes her meal she is more than welcome to eat more of anything, she just has to eat everything on her plate first. We aren't starving her, I promise.

See, she's happy :)

Now, I'm not thinking that we are genius parents who have solved the toddler eating debacle. We aren't gonna go write a book or anything. This Boot Camp worked for Bria and worked for us, but everyone is different so it's not going to work for all. I think the key is consistency and Brian and I can be hard asses when needed, Bria knows we aren't kidding around when it comes to eating ;)

Lunch: (from top left, clockwise) apple slice cut in half, turkey meat sandwich & chicken, broccoli, and cheese slices.

She ate it all. It took half hour, but she ate it all. There was no tantrum, just some whines.

Reese thinks Food Boot Camp is funny.

She promised to be a good eater.

We just got this Chicco rotating chair for Reese that hooks to the table. I'm in LOVE with it.

We start her on solids soon, there will be no Food Boot Camp for her yet, don't worry.