In our house, we have a few mealtime rules.
1.
We eat dinner as a family.
There are a few exceptions - event night*, date night, or one parent is working late.
*Event night is either swim class or gymnastics and #wiggydiggy eats a 'sack' dinner:
peanut butter and jelly, applesauce, Baby-bel, Goldfish, etc.
If one parent is working late, the rest of us eat together.
2.
I am not a short order cook.
We meal plan two weeks out to cut down on grocery runs and utilize more leftovers. With that being said, it is very rare that a meal I make for Justin and myself won't be eaten by #wiggydiggy. (think super spicy or ethnic food) Those nights I often make chicken nuggets or fish sticks as his entree but he eats our sides. I do put a bit of our main dish on his plate for him to try.
3.
You must eat two bites of vegetables to be excused.
This rule came about due to my lack of appetite during pregnancy. Veggies weren't offered often so a "dislike" suddenly showed up at dinner time. Once #wiggydiggy turns four, he will have to eat three bites of vegetables. When he moves up to a new class at school, it'll be five bites.
Only took him one week of throwing a fit and now he eats those bites so fast! I know adding one more won't be a struggle.
4.
We say Grace and we clear our plates.
By clear our plates - I mean to move it from the table to the sink. This is an expectation at school so we reinforce it at home.
1.
We eat dinner as a family.
There are a few exceptions - event night*, date night, or one parent is working late.
*Event night is either swim class or gymnastics and #wiggydiggy eats a 'sack' dinner:
peanut butter and jelly, applesauce, Baby-bel, Goldfish, etc.
If one parent is working late, the rest of us eat together.
2.
I am not a short order cook.
We meal plan two weeks out to cut down on grocery runs and utilize more leftovers. With that being said, it is very rare that a meal I make for Justin and myself won't be eaten by #wiggydiggy. (think super spicy or ethnic food) Those nights I often make chicken nuggets or fish sticks as his entree but he eats our sides. I do put a bit of our main dish on his plate for him to try.
3.
You must eat two bites of vegetables to be excused.
This rule came about due to my lack of appetite during pregnancy. Veggies weren't offered often so a "dislike" suddenly showed up at dinner time. Once #wiggydiggy turns four, he will have to eat three bites of vegetables. When he moves up to a new class at school, it'll be five bites.
Only took him one week of throwing a fit and now he eats those bites so fast! I know adding one more won't be a struggle.
4.
We say Grace and we clear our plates.
By clear our plates - I mean to move it from the table to the sink. This is an expectation at school so we reinforce it at home.
5.
You don't have to like it, but you do have to try it
Once we put our expectations into place, the dinnertime battle stopped. #wiggydiggy knows that he cannot say "That's gross"or "Yucky" to food I've made. Those comments cost him a reward coin.
Also...
Bribery
Dessert is the biggest motivator to eat well and behave at the dinner table.
(Dessert is a small bowl with 10 or so M&M's)
(We also don't use our phones during dinner, so I don't have any meal photos! haha)
You don't have to like it, but you do have to try it
Once we put our expectations into place, the dinnertime battle stopped. #wiggydiggy knows that he cannot say "That's gross"or "Yucky" to food I've made. Those comments cost him a reward coin.
Also...
Bribery
Dessert is the biggest motivator to eat well and behave at the dinner table.
(Dessert is a small bowl with 10 or so M&M's)
(We also don't use our phones during dinner, so I don't have any meal photos! haha)
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