protesting everything

Lately my twins are protesting against EVERYTHING!!! Naps, meal times, etc. All they want to do is drink milk and they delay naps, etc etc. I feel they are ganging up on me and I stand my ground, but then the protests sometimes get worse and ends up making all three of us frustrated. So if you have 2 1/2 or 3 year olds please answer these questions for me:

1 - what time do your little ones wake up, nap (and for how long) and go to bed?
2 - what are your little ones favorite meals in which you know will always make them happy without protests

Thanks for your responses.

 

1. M-F they sleep 8-7, nap at school for an hour, weekends are 8-8, normally no nap (this weekend doesn't count because they're sick)

2. I don't make special food for them. Because no matter what I make, they will complain about it, so I tell them that they can eat it or sit at the table. Sometimes they eat, sometimes they sit without eating. I refuse to let food be a power struggle, I feel that by making food an issue, kids are not learning to follow their body's hunger cues and it's contributing to obese kids. Does it bug me? Yes. Do I let it show? No. So sometimes they eat one really good meal and nothing for the rest of the day. And what they like one day they won't like the next. Basically, kids (normally) won't starve themselves. They'll eat when they're hungry. You provide healthy foods, they decide how much to eat.

As for foods that are normally hits around our house, fruits, raw veggies, pretzels and macaroni and cheese.

 

1. MWF they sleep 8pm to 8am overnight. Tuesday and Thursday they sleep 8am to 7:15 am because they have school on those days. Nap time is usually 1pm to 4pm but we are kind of in a weird nap transition right now, where I think they are starting to get out of them because my DD will sleep for an hour and then play the rest of the time in her room and DS has been shortening his nap to 2 hours.
2. Like Bex, I don't make special meals for them. Either they eat what's served or they don't. With them, it's hard to tell what's a hit or miss because one time they will love something and the next time they want nothing to do with it.
Sure fire hits: PB&J, grilled cheese, tunafish sandwiches, waffles, eggs, cereal, fruit, carrots, corn, green beans, pasta w/out tomato sauce, just coated in butter with a sprinkling of cheese, celery, tomatoes, beef, bacon

 

Mine usually don't want to nap either but I just put them there and don't really ask for their opinion They wake up at 7.30-8am, nap at 1pm now, usually for 2ish hours, go to bed between 8 amd 9pm, depending on what time they woke up (9pm on the days they woke up close to 4pm).

For food, I serve what I serve, and if they don't eat, they don't get food until the next meal/snack. We never argue about food and I never force them to eat anything. There's no favorite really, one day they'll eat and the next they won't. The only thing I know they eat for sure are crackers and yogurt smoothies.

 

This describes us too. They eat what I cook or they sit at the table until everyone is done. The only meal they get to pick is breakfast, and they can choose between waffles, pancakes, bagels, cereal, toast, English muffins, cereal bars, bananas, yogurt. Everything is easy and fast, so I don't care. On the rare morning I cook something, same rules apply as for dinners.

As for what's a hit, bread products, pasta, meatballs, rice, bananas, and the one sure fire every single time food: yogurt.

 

Mine son is a little older but nothing has changed in over a year (other than him taking less naps now). He sleeps from 7/7:30 p, to about 6:30am (stays in room until I get him at 7. Nap is from 12 to 2/2:30 (I wake him at 2 if I had to walk down to get my girls from school if my mom was here I let him sleep a little later).

As for meals I try to make one meal for everyone. If I know for sure he or his sisters absolutely won't eat it then I will have some chicken nuggets (meaning a meal that he has never liked not one that they have liked before but decided no doesn't like it this time like I know he doesn't like certain types of steaks so he will get chicken nuggets or hot dogs instead) and that's only for dinner. I let him choose his breakfast and lunch. Breakfast he usually goes with waffles, cereal, oatmeal, or all three depending on how hungry he is. Lunch he likes yogurt and usually picks cheese on bread, sometimes he asks for a grilled cheese or a pb&j sandwich (which is rare but he will eat it). Then dinner he gets what we make but his favorite is hot dogs, homemade mac & cheese, and pork. He doesn't really eat veggies but he does like fruit so I try to throw in some canned fruit too (he prefers the canned stuff to some fresh fruit), he does love bananas or did over a year ago now he doesn't eat them as much. Over a year ago he also wasn't to much of a pasta eater so he would get nuggets instead of of the spaghetti we were having or baked ziti. I would still put a little on his plate to try but usually just said "I no like" and not eat it. Thankfully now he eats almost every meal I make or at least something from it.

 

1. They normally sleep 7:30-7:30, longer in the morning if they are napping really well. At school they are supposed to nap from 12-2, but they have a few non-nappers in their class right now and it's creating issues. Lately they've only been napping for about an hour. At home on the weekends it's almost always 2 hours though. (Around the same times.)

2. We eat dinner as a family and make only one meal. We all sit at the table until everyone is done. If they eat, they eat. If not they do not get anything else. I will make certain concessions on a few things. DS hates anything remotely spicy while the rest of us love spice, so I will usually let him slide on those meals.

Foods I know they love: fruits, yogurt (DD only), fish, chicken, steak, pasta, rice, green beans, cereal, peanut butter, bread, potatoes, salad.

 

During the week, when the kids go to daycare, they get up at 6 a.m. and go to bed around 8:30 or 9 p.m. They take a 2-3 hour nap everyday starting around 1 p.m. On the weekends, they sleep in until around 8 a.m. and typically go to bed around 9 or 9:30 and take a similar nap. This has been their schedule for awhile now.

For food, we just make one meal for the family and typically don't have problems, because they know that is all they are getting. A sure fire hit with my kids is mac & cheese, fruit, yogurt, raisins and bread.

 

My kids sleep from 8-7 and then nap at 1 for 2-3 hours depending on my son who always the first to wake. My friends are in awe that they still nap for so long, but my kids are so active, they seem to need it.

As far as food, they are pretty good. I started put with the mentality that I'm not a short order cook so if they don't eat what we eat, they don't eat. Sounds hardcore, but it's rare that they won't eat anything and I cook a lot of different things! They will never turn down good ol' pb&j though!

Brenda

 

Yeah, as soon as my guys turned 2 they really started to develop an opinion about everything. <_< Some days I'll just look at Nate the wrong way and he'll immediately start saying "noooooo"! :gah:

1. Bedtime is at 7:30, we do a bedtime routine but lights are out at 8. That's not to say they always are *asleep* at 8; it varies wildly every day, but they're usually asleep by 9. They mostly sleep until 7:30; sometimes Nate wakes up a bit earlier, and sometimes Jack sleeps later. They nap about 1.5-2 hours most days; some days Jack has a "coma day" and naps for as long as 4 hours! :blink:

2. Like most PPs we only serve 1 meal. I try to live by the "consider not cater" philosophy, meaning I make meals that take into consideration that they're toddlers (so nothing super spicy, no salad-as-main-meal, etc.) but I don't cook meals just for them. Like Rachael, my guys have to sit until we're all done. This doesn't always go over well, but that's the rule, and I stick by it. They don't usually protest meal choices, but they will decide that they don't want to eat if they don't like it. I always have at least 1 thing I know they'll like (bread, fruit, rice, etc.) so they can fill up on that if they don't care for the other foods I'm serving.

That being said, my guys will *always* eat hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, chicken tenders, fish sticks, bologna sandwiches, meatballs, and pizza!

 

Here's some hope. We had fallen apart after vacation. Jack didn't want to sit in his seat. He wanted to sit on Daddy's lap, etc. We have reinforced our own rules, and suddenly Jack is asking me (and saying please) if he can leave the table after we are done eating. It's awesome!