DS is 16mths old and till now i feed him first and then we have our dinner. I would like to know when did you bring your little ones to the dinning table with you for dinner. When we go out then we eat together and usually he is good but at home he wants his toys, books or anything to play with when he is eating. He does not show any interest in feeding himself. I give him a separate plate and keep a few bites of his food on it and he just keeps playing with it without putting anything in his mouth. Please suggest what i should do so he starts getting into a habit of eating by himself and should i make him eat with us?
Thanks!

my ds is 6 months old and sits in his high chair and eats with us, granted I have to feed him before I eat, but at least he is at the table with us.

to get him to eat on his own, don't feed him yourself, put his food on his plate and you do the same, eat and show him what you are doing, if he is hungry, he will eat, if YOU keep feeding him, he won't want to do it himself lol, he has someone to do it for him. just dont feed him yourself, then gie him some to do iy hiself, let him try right from the start, may be messy, but he has to learn sometime lol, good luck, hope this helps

I've always fed my kids when we eat, it's a great time to teach socialization skills and manners. I agree w/the other poster, put the food on his plate or tray, tell him it's time to eat, then let him do his thing. When you're done, you're done. If he's hungry, he will eat. If he's not or thinking you'll do it for him, it will only take a few times for him to realize he needs to do it himself.

I have a friend who STILL fed her 2 1/2 year old EVERY meal because she didn't want him to disrupt the family and/or "get dirty", it was incredible. I'm not saying that's what you're doing, but I know it's easier to feed them yourself, but not always better for them.

If he's still in a high chair, maybe a booster in one of your regular chairs would be a fun, new thing for him and ease the transition to being a "big boy" at meal times. Have him choose what he wants on his plate from the food you're having, that's always fun for them also.

Kids are very much in to control, if he's getting the sense he's controlling you through his meal times, he will continue to do so. Kind of like this - wow, Mommy keeps telling me to eat, then when I don't, she feeds me and gives me lots of attention or I get to eat first and then play, etc.

Hang in there!

Thanks!
Last night we all had dinner together and it was not bad. I think making him eat when we eat will show him what its all about. During the day also now we eat together. I will definately do what you have suggested and see how it goes. DS is getting very strong headed and my saying no to him or distracting him is not working so now i put him in his playpen when he does not listen and tell him clearly that if doesnt stop what he is doing when mommy says no he goes in the playpen. He is getting the hang of it now!

good luck, keep us posted

Today for lunch i put him in his booster chair and he was impossible. He would push the table with his legs and not interested in eatin by himself. I finally put him in his high chair and made his finish his lunch. He was simply uncontrolable in the booster chair. I dont know what to do :(

Bummer, then for sure stick to the high chair. Dont' make a huge fuss, put his lunch on the tray or plate, say "Honey, time to eat!" Then, eat your food. If he doesn't eat say "Ok honey, we're all finished, are you finished? It's almost time to clean up and be done.", then give it a couple minutes and clean up and get him down.

He'll get the hang of it, may drive you bonkers for a few days, but I bet he'll catch on. Don't give in to the temptation to give him something to snack on in between until he figures out the meal time routine.

We have been able to eliminate the toys at mealtimes. Now i give him some food in a bowl with a spoon. He plays with it and has also managed to put a few bites in his mouth. I think if we continue doing this he will get the hang of it. Thanks for your inputs. Any other suggestions will be a great help!