Children's tantrums at lunchtime
Lunchtime may be the best time of day for some families, while for others, it becomes the worst of their nightmares. Moreover, depending on what is placed on the table, if it is a dish that the children do not like or is one of their favorites, the atmosphere of the food can vary a lot. When we find
Lunchtime may be the best time of day for some families, while for others, it becomes the worst of their nightmares. Moreover, depending on what is placed on the table, if it is a dish that the children do not like or is one of their favorites, the atmosphere of the food can vary a lot.
When we find ourselves in the situation in which the child refuses to eat, when his bad temper is increasing to the point of finding ourselves in front of a little boy who smokes, what can we do? How to manage the tantrums of the children? Children at lunchtime? What to do in front of children's tantrums at lunchtime
First of all, prevention is better than regret. Young children have difficulty managing certain situations that escape their "control", the younger they are, the greater their difficulty. In addition, the crises are greater when the child is in an unknown situation -when they are offered a plate for the first time- and when they are tired -they are offered lunch or dinner very close to bedtime or napping . They also get worse when the lunchtime catches him off guard, that is, when he was doing something, playing, painting ... and it is removed without warning. To avoid these triggers, we can:
- Warn several times that it is lunchtime.
- Adjust the schedule so that the child does not arrive tired.
- Offer new dishes accompanied by others already known, without waiting for the new dish to be the main meal. When the child is familiar with the new dish, we can try to make it the main dish.
If despite this we are facing the tantrums of children at lunchtime and refuse to eat, it is better to stay calm and adopt the most positive attitude possible while shuffling our options.
- If we can find out the reason for his tantrum
, we can perhaps choose better how to focus our action. Maybe it's the peas, that are touching the chicken fillet and that has an easy solution, asking them, listening to them and assuring them that we understand their anger can abate the storm. - In case the motive does not have an easy solution, the most important thing isto get the tantrum to pass
, because in that state it is not recommended or insist or force him to eat. Distractions can be used to calm him off the table and then put him back down once he has passed and try again. -If it is an attitude that the child uses persistently
every time he sits down at the table, the best approach is to warn him that this is what there is to eat, which is what is going to be offered until the time of the dinner and that the hour of eating lasts 30 minutes (or what we have decided), after which the plate is removed until the next meal.
