Eating Habits of 3 Year Old

You say your son is bright. Dinner time is dinner time! I would give him his food pre-cut and sit at the oppisite side of the table. Tell him he is a big boy and he will take pride in that. If he doesn't eat much, don't worry. He will learn if he is hungry, he will have to feed himself and that is it.
Yes you should listen to what your child is saying and converse with them. They should also listen to what you need to say.
I agree with Amy. You may have a baby run home and may suffer from it in the long run. I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I only say it because I have SEEN it happen in some of my friends families. Co-sleeping is a huge no-no in my opinion. What about your adult relationship??? If you want a happy marriage, you have to spend quality time with your spouse or they may feel rejected or pushed aside for the BABY. Remember who was there first. If any one has a small child, it could be harmful if someone rolls over in a deep sleep.

Whatever you do I wish you and your family much happiness.

He is definitely old enough to be eating on his own. All 3 of my kids have been feeding themselves well before their 1st birthday arrives.

And developmentally a 3 year old should be quite used to doing it independently.

However, I noticed your "a little about me" description and you and I have totally different, opposite ends of the spectrum, parenting philosophies (specifically AP, wearing,co-sleeping-the rest I think most moms do their best at).

So from a developmental point of view let him do it himself. I do not know the point of view AP philosophy has. Good luck.

A.

M.
He definitely should be eating by himself. Drinking as well.In a sippy cup. Try letting him eat himself, no entertainment.....it may be hard, he'll give you a hard time, but stick to your guns. Good Luck.

Hi M.,

First, let me say your son should defniietly be eating on his own by now. As another responder said, they should be doing this around their first birthday (eating finger food and starting with utensils). However, I'll admit that there are times when I feed my 3yo also. But it is not every meal and I don't have to distract her to do it. She does sit at the table with us for dinner (20-30 minutes at a stretch) and is easily distracted from feeding herself so she needs regular reminders to "take another bite". Our issue is that she prefers to "graze" as opposed to eating 3 meals a day. This is actually a very healthy way to eat so I don't force her. This does however present the challenge of making sure I have plenty of healthy food on hand that she can eat in small portions (yogurt, steamed veggies, cooked whole wheat pasta/rice) so she can eat them throughout the day and we don't resort to eating "snack food" whenever she wants something.

I'll also mention that our parenting styles are quite different. I don't believe in co-sleeping but I did breastfeed her for 10 months (loved it...miss it!) and because of the breastfeeding found it convenient to "wear" her whenever I could. I also believe the best thing we can do as parents is follow our child's lead. They let us know what they need and when they need it. If we're attentive to their signals we can't go wrong! If we try to force them into something they'll just resist and create unnecessary frustration but if we overlook their signals then it can be hard to break bad habits. At 3 months I let her "cry it out" and she was fine! I was going to try to wean her from the pacifier but read that she'd give it up on her own by 9 months and she did. At 17 months she could tell me when she had to "poo" so we started a very casual, no pressure approach to potty training and by 2.5 she was trained. We just need to be aware of the "line in the sand" that tells us when we're doing too much and when we're not doing enough. Sometimes children need to be encouraged to do things independently (like self-sooth, sleep alone, eat with utensils, potty train) but they need to know they are loved and supported as well. It can be hard to find that balance and everyone has their own idea of where the line should be. Just do your best to encourage him to be independent. Your question and "a little about me" make me think you're doing too much for him and that he's capable of doing a lot more on his own. Encourage his independence and he will flourish! Good luck!