My Toddler Didn't Eat Dinner for a Week!
And here's what I did to get through this challenge.
I am super excited to dive even deeper into recipes and stories with you! Sharing on Instagram is great, but it can be tricky to share everything without overwhelming your feed. So if you've been hoping for more, you're in the PERFECT spot.
It's actually pretty common for kids to skip dinner now and then. My oldest, C, would sometimes not eat his evening meal, and at first, it really worried me. But then, I'd remind myself that it's normal for appetites to ebb and flow—there are even days when I'm not in the mood for dinner myself, and that's perfectly fine.
He'd still sleep well and wake up hungry the next day. But when my younger one, Miss C, didn't eat dinner for a whole week, I started to get really worried. I kept wondering: Is this going to be her new thing? Is she feeling okay? Will she still grow properly? Am I doing something wrong?
It’s a really tough situation to navigate, I know! And if you’re in the same boat, here are some helpful tips. Miss C still goes through phases of skipping dinner, but I've learned to be more relaxed about it and continue to trust her natural hunger and fullness cues.
When your child won’t eat dinner
Consider adjusting the dinnertime: it could be that dinner is too late, or it's too close to the last snack time. You might want to try skipping the afternoon snack or moving dinner earlier to see if it helps.
Put a stop to constant grazing: this can keep kids from eating dinner because it leaves them less hungry when it's time for a proper meal. Here’s what to do if your child asks for snacks all day long.
Consider snacks as mini meals: when Miss C goes through these phases and is likely to skip dinner, I ensure that her earlier snack and other meals throughout the day are as balanced and nutritious as possible.
Make dinner table a place they want to be: focus on fostering a relaxed and positive environment that involves no pressuring to eat, which can actually shut down their appetite. Even if your child doesn’t eat dinner, continue to offer food and invite them to join the table. Enjoy this time together as a family without placing the focus on the food. And just maybe, your child might decide to eat, even if it’s just a little.
Make meals less intimidating: Dinner often involves more complex meals or new foods, which can be off-putting to toddlers who are naturally wary of new tastes and textures. So don’t overfill their plate. Start with a small amount and offer choices, making sure there is a food that they love.
Don’t offer “fun” bedtime snacks: your child might continue holding out on dinner so that they can enjoy their exiting snack. Instead, offer simple snacks, like banana and peanut butter, carrot and hummus, hard-boiled egg, etc.
Try these kid-friendly family dinners! I've gathered a collection of all the family favorites from this community. They're super easy to prepare, and I've added tips on how to serve them to your little one.
Zoom out: While it may seem like your child isn’t eating anything and meeting their nutritional requirements, when you consider their intake over a period of several days or weeks (don’t look at each day in isolation), most toddlers consume the necessary nutrients to grow and remain healthy.
Hope this was helpful!!
Have a lovely week, and be sure to stay tuned over on Instagram to see what I have for y’all this upcoming week!