the whining at dinnertime.....it's getting bad!

Every night, right about the time I start to make dinner it's like Dr Jekyll & Mr. Hyde take over my children! Nonstop whining & ds will literally hang on my leg till he pulls my pants off. DH works late, so I can't really wait for him to get home most of the time. It's really getting bad......then when dinner is ready, they won't eat a bite.

I don't know if they're napping too early & they're tired by then or what. Normally they nap at 10:00 and 3:00, and then around 5 or 6 I make dinner. I've also been gone more lately than normal & grandma & auntie have been babysitting......I thought maybe they're feeling left out from me? Tomorrow I have no plans at all & am just going to stay home all day and play with them......I think even the laundry will get a day off.

Or should I give them snacks when they wake up from naps? I had been doing that & then they don't eat dinner so the pedi told me to cut out the snacks. I do offer them something when they get like this, but normally they refuse it. Is it just a stage that they have to go through?

Help!!!

 

I give mine a small snack after nap. Sometimes they still do the whining but I think it's a combo of not getting my 100% attention, hunger and sleepiness. I try to make quick dinners and we eat as soon as DH gets home.

Maybe try getting out a special toy just for that time of day. Mine go ga-ga over some Tupperware and some mixing spoons... it holds attention and ceases whining.

 

Mine get a small snack after nap at school, and another small snack when I pick them up from school, around 4:45. I usually have dinner ready for them by 5:30. Prior to the second snack at pickup, from the time I got home with them until I got the dinner on the table, there was whining, crying, clinging, all out disobedience, and I was pulling my hair out.

My snack is usually some pretzel goldfish, 8 to 12 of them, or 5 mini PB crackers sandwiches, or 6 teddy bear crackers, and a small handful of raisins, along with a sippy of very watered down apple juice. I also had to lower my expectations on the amount they would eat for dinner.

They are so tiny their stomachs can't hold much and their blood sugar can't stay elevated on less than nutritious foods (daycare foods) and small meals. I really hesitated to start the before dinner snack, b/c I was just sure they wouldn't eat their dinner then, and sometimes it's a real toss up, but usually they will eat. We have a rule that they have to have at least 2 bites of the different food groups on their plates (they are 2 yrs old) and if they only get that much at least I know they have something in their tummies. My mom and my aunt encouraged me to try to the snack on pick-up and it's really saved our sanity. Sometimes they don't eat all of their snack, but I know they will eat when they are hungry and I try to not push food or make meal times a battle, tho sometimes I forget and things go haywire.

 

I posted something just like this several months ago. My kids are in daycare and none of us get home until 5:30, and then trying to cook anything is just a nightmare. My solution has been to cook in advance. I cook after they go to bed for the next night's dinner, and we eat a lot of leftovers. I try to make something that all of us can eat, so we can have dinner as a family, but at a pinch, I'll feed the girls and then DH and I will eat later.

They also get snacks after nap (around 3) at daycare, and sometimes even a mini-snack (a cracker or two) at 4:45 just before I pick them up. So I don't think they can be that starving, but I bet it would be even worse without the snacks. They are still hit & miss on whether they eat their dinner, but I think that's true for all toddlers. If you are going to do the snacks, my suggestion would be to always offer them, not just when the kids are really cranky. By the time they are cranky, it may be too late.

You may be right that they need more attention because they've been away from you more than usual. I also found 18ish months to be a clingy stage in general.

If it's really bad, there's always TV. I try to stay away from it, but if I'm going to use it, it's usually at 4:30 or 5pm when I really need to get something done in the kitchen.

 

Sounds familiar! I think that time is just hard on little kids. I think they get bored after it's been a full day, and they get tired, and they are probably hungry. I give snacks between meals because they really don't eat much at mealtimes anyway. I think toddlers' stomachs are small and are probably more geared toward eating small amounts throughout the day rather than 3 big meals. I give them all healthy stuff that I would otherwise serve at a meal ... before dinner I give them their vegetables. You might also want to try serving dinner a bit earlier. I used to serve dinner about 6 but now I do it between 5 and 5:30 because it's so hard to make them last that long. So, we eat, then do baths at 6, then in bed by 7:30. I know it's tough to cook with them at your heels (I do it every night). Have you tried a video? Sometimes that gets my girls out of the kitchen.