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What do you do about a smart aleck 3.10 y/o? Here was our dinner conversation, at a friend's house. Her (dinner half-eaten, attracted by someone else's toys): I'm full. Me: You know the rule. If you want dessert, you have to eat your dinner. Her (emphatically): I'm FULL. Me: Ok, so what will you say when dessert comes out and you haven't finished your dinner? Her (thinking, then smiling
7 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]so how do you handle the whole dinner dessert issue? I certainly don't demand the clean plate club-but I will tell my ds (3yo)that he has to eat some before he gets dessert. I just can't fathom doing ice cream only for dinner. How do you draw the line between issue and nutrition?
[ Reply | Options ]np: Dessert and dinner are separate. If ds doesn't eat dinner, he still gets his dessert, but isn't eating again until breakfast. Dessert isn't huge, just a few m&ms or 2 cookies or an ice cream sandwich. As for nutrition, I don't worry about any one meal but look at food intake over the day or over the course of a few days. One missed meal or poor meal isn't going to kill them.
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I'm not sure what she said that was "smart aleck" since your post got cut off, but I personally am fine with the no dinner, no dessert rule. But I wouldn't throw out her dinner so if she changes her mind once she sees dessert coming out, she can still sit down, finish her dinner (at least enough of it) and get dessert.
[ Reply | Options ]That's setting up for multiple meals. When my DDs say they're full, I say that's fine, but to get a treat (tiny), they have to finish their vegetables or whatever is healthiest on their plate. I remind them that the treat won't fill them up, so if they don't eat enough they will be hungry. I don't want them to be hungry. But once they firmly announce they're done, that's it for dinner.
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