My 4 year old takes forever to eat

[tk8]

My 4 year old eats very slowly, no matter what we try he still takes forever to eat. Like tonight we sat down for dinner,everyone else has finished and had dessert he was still eating the same thing. It was over 2 hours before he finished. I am worried about him. Also is it normal for a child of his age to still eat 1 thing at a time?

[ku111]

My son did the same thing.  His nickname was "doodlebug" for that reason.  My ped explained kids eat when they are hungry and won't when they aren't.  Kids don't do what adults do frequently.  We eat because we want to and most kids eat because they need to.  Their body's are smart.  I would never have a weight problem if I ate when I needed to and not when I want to.  As long as they are growing and playing it is all good.  You dr. always monitors growth and weight.  Once they get into school and are limited in the time to eat that changes really quick and then you are asking them to slow down.LOL!

[adgal]

I think every single one of us with a young child or toddler goes through eating issues with them.  I actually am working closely with a Pediatriac Dietician and have learned a ton of really helpful info from her.  I will share with you what she shares with me.

Feed your child and dont' make an issue out of eating at all.  Do not reward (ie: clapping or cheering because they ate well) or punish for not eating a lot.  It is completely normal for their appetites to fluctuate, and what you want is to make meal time just a normal part of every day.  So if they won't eat, don't say anything at all.  We offer a bedtime snack of something like oatmeal & fruit, and often if my son doesn't eat dinner, or perhaps ate just a few bites, he will gobble it down.  He just wasn't hungry at dinner.  But by doing things like putting her in time out, you can make this a power struggle, or a scary thing for her.  We always eat dinner as a family.  My son sits with us, I give him dinner, and he eats as much (or as little) as he chooses.  I cannot tell you how much easier meal time has become.  And as I said, offer a nighttime healthy snack if they dont' eat and you will probably find they eat it.  But don't fight with her and don't punish her.  Just let her be, keep mealtime a family event and an enjoyable experience, and she will come around.  Remember that going back and forth between your and her mothers house is also probably a very stressful thing for her.  She's just little.

[sparkles801]

we have the same problem we dont have her all the time she at her mother house for five days a we only get her for two days a week and its the worst and meal time she is a sweet little girl she cry that she want to eat and than we give her dinner she starts to play has to talk we tryed every thing put her in time out the coner put a timer on after an hour of her eating tell she wont get a treat she wont do it she will cry and cry and than i have just take her food away she cry for something to drink because that all she will take she seems like she need somethnig in her tummy i have a five year old that eats like a boy in high school its crazzy it seem rude i have even try having my five year old eat her treat infront of her i cant take any more of this. when she get done after two hours of fighting her she still thinks she get some thing for eating if i did not fight her she would never eat her food at all and at her other house they give her all goods every time we pick her up she is eating some kind of treat and the mother all ways tells us she did not eat much she normaly hungary

[BryteEyez]

I don't think it is anything to worry about, and making a big deal of it only makes matters worse. I was both a slow and a picky eater, I ALWAYS ate one thing at a time, At age 42 I am STILL a slow and picky eater, I still eat one thing at a time. I do not like the items on my plate to touch, I always take small bites, chew for a long time, I have to concentrate to swallow at times. In my preteens I developed an eating disorder. I had great food anxiety, most stemmed from the harping over the amount of time I took eating, and eating one thing at a time.

[mindesa]

my four year old is not so much a picky eater, she will eat just about anything and for the most part, has no problem trying new things.  the problem is actually getting her to eat most days, other days she will eat everything in site!  shes so busy with other things!  so the question is, should we force her to sit there till we feel she has had enough?  do we let her decide, and send her to bed hungry if she hasn't eaten enough?  do we wrap her dinner and if she gets hungry, thats her snack?  i am so tired of fighting every meal!

[sgtaz]

My 7 yr old daughter is a VERY slow eater as well.  She does not snack, she gets a wide variety of nutritious food that she enjoys.  The problem sets up a viscious cycle.  She doesn't finish her breakfast, so she's sleepy in class.  She doesn't finish lunch in school becasue she is too slow, so by the time she is coming home from school, she is starving.  To satisfy her hunger, she gorges herself with her 'leftovers' from lunch on the ride home.  Since dinner is usually within a couple hours of her coming home, she is still full from gorging herself on the way home.  This is not healty and she is undersize for her age becasue of it.  Anyone who starts pontificating about the benefits of eating slow doesn't realize the magnitiude of the problem when you have multiple children to juggle and that the world does not wait for slow eaters. Also, the problem is not 'savoring the food',but a disconnect during eating:  forgetting to take a bite, then forgetting to chew, then forgetting to swallow.  One bite cycle could take 5-10 minutes with all the daydreaming.  The only way to break this cycle is to get her to eat a good breakfast.  The only successful trick I have been able to use is to read her a story during breakfast.  She has to take a bit with every page and i won't turn the page until she takes her next bite.  It isn't always successful, but at least it gives her a timed reminder to bite/chew/swallow.