How long should 5 YO spend eating dinner?

realised

I was (and still am) exactly the same. I have to chew my food until there is practically nothing left before I swallow. Usually it can take me about 30-40 minutes to finish my food.

Although the good thing is, because I chew thoroughly, my food digests quicker, i'm thinner and I don't get problems like bloatedness, stomach problems etc which my OH does as he wolfs his food down. Now, instead of my mum reminding me to finish my food every so often my partner has to!

But, I do tend to try to eat quicker when we have guests/company or have gone out for a meal, but it just means I get full quicker and cannot finish my food because I feel under pressure.

If you set a timer, you might put her off eating at all, I find that when someone is going on at me to eat quicker, I will stop and say I'm full earlier because I sometimes feel like I'm being pushed into eating, and then fill myself up with junk later or go hungry. I think i've developed this subconsious thing where once my partner has cleared his plate, I automatically say i'm full not long after because I don't want him waiting around for me to finish my meal. He has noticed and tries not to push me anymore so I'm getting over it!

To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as she is eating properly.

barbiedoll

My son is still a very slow eater (at 13!) although I do find that he eats quicker if he is sitting in front of the telly, for some reason! :mad:

I can't understand how he can eat cold food but I was exacty the same as a kid, and as the last poster said, we are the skinny ones, our stomachs know when we are full and we don't gorge, we stop when we are full. My son is the same, but I have watched friends of his stuff their food into their mouths as though they haven't eaten in a week and they are the ones who are starting to look overweight now.

Don't worry about it, she's clearly eating well, and enjoying her food. I'm with the Europeans on this one, I would love a two-hour long dinner time, I would actually be able to eat two or three courses then! (I do eat much faster now, but that's just so that I can dash out and do the washing-up! )

lauren_1

I think about half an hour is about right, they have littler mouths and tummies so rushing them is only going to make them stressed and put them off eating.

I see a lot of parents ruining meal times by either dishing up far too much food and then shouting at them to eat it all, or rushing children to eat faster because the parent needs to be somewhere or they THINK they're being too slow about it. Its not the child's fault at all.

And people wonder why so many kids are put off by food. I cant eat fast, it makes me feel sick.

ChennyM

Probably best not to do the timer, we tried that and it just caused stress and frustration for ALL of us.. At that age they just can't keep their attention in one place so a bit of constant encouragement to stay on task is often needed.

What seems to work for our 6 year old is some ground rules, bottom stays on seat once he's settled, etc etc.

What motivation is there to finish the meal in a timely manner? If there's something good for desert, we find our boy can go a bit faster - keeps him focused.

2ba3c

Are you feeding her too much - if you take away an afternoon snack, will she eat a bit quicker perhaps?

LJM

freddie wrote: »

DD is just 5 and spends ages eating her dinner. She needs reminding to eat it as she is too busy talking, looking around her and generally anything else.
She will eat it and has a very healthy diet, would eat poached fish every night if I let her and eats her vegetables. I have no worries about her diet and she loves her food but she is just such a slow eater.
I was thinking about setting a timer and when it goes off her dinner gets taken away? But not sure if good idea or for how long I should set timer - 20mins?

any ideas?

my daughter is 7 and she always has taken ages to eat she has a very healthy diet but just eats slow ive spoken to the school about it when she started as i knew they had a set amount of time to eat and they were very good and said she could take the full hour if needed. just to say my lo has always been not fussy but a picky eater eating little and often. i personally wouldnt set the timer for me as my lo has stomach problems anyway so to rush her and take her food away i feel would be unfair or cause her to rush her food and be ill

freddie_2

Thanks all. Think I will just keep going as we are and let her go at her pace.
I am reluctant to offer dessert as a bribe to get her to finish quicker, dinner should be appreciated and not something to get out of the way just to get some dessert. She would have fruit etc sometimes after dinner but not all the time.

lauren_1

freddie wrote: »

Thanks all. Think I will just keep going as we are and let her go at her pace.
I am reluctant to offer dessert as a bribe to get her to finish quicker, dinner should be appreciated and not something to get out of the way just to get some dessert. She would have fruit etc sometimes after dinner but not all the time.

I take it you were born a 30 year old then.

There's a lot of things that SHOULD be done but seriously she's a kid :eek:

You can get them to do anything if you bribe them with a bit of dessert, if your a bit of a health freak crepes and fruit or fruit salad might be healthy enough.

ViolaLass

freddie wrote: »

Its just annoying as we eat together as a family and it can be 15 mins after we have all finished that she is still eating. Her dinner is cold and she is still eating, thats not nice and I wouldnt want to eat cold food but she doesnt eat any faster.

But if she's still eating it, that would suggest she doesn't mind. Why are you bothered?

I don't understand why anyone would require their child to eat their meal within 20 mins (assuming you don't need to be somewhere soon). Why does it matter?

When I lived at home, we would often start supper around 7:30 and eat, talk etc then perhaps play cards until 10pm. I'm not saying everyone should do that but meals are for catching up on the day, seeing how everyone is, discussing ideas etc not just for eating.

If meals are just for eating, why bother coming together at a table? Your kid is eating well, what's the problem?

onlyroz

I really wouldn't worry about it if she's eating healthily. As others have said, it's much better for you to eat slowly. You appreciate the food more, it's better for digestion and you get a better idea of when you're full. Therefore, ultimately you eat less and stay thinner than those who gobble down their food without it touching the sides.

I've always eaten slowly, and I'm the thinnest in my whole family (apart from possibly my son, who eats like an anorexic sparrow).