How to get Your Toddler to Eat Lunch - Wrong and Right Ways

Here are a couple of scenarios that I have had the pleasure of partaking in recently.

You quickly learn some tricks for dealing with:

The NO monster!

How to get your toddler to eat lunch:

--- Wrong ---

Mom: Hey bud it's time for lunch!

Toddler: No sanks

Mom: Eat your food please sweetie.

(asking nicely)

Toddler: No hungy

Mom: But you just told me you were hungry.

(reasoning)

Toddler: No mommy

Mom: It's important to eat your lunch so you can be strong and healthy.

(more reasoning, ha! fat chance)

Toddler: Thas OK

Mom: But it has chicken. . . you love chicken!

(enticing?)

Toddler: Yucky chicken

Mom: There's string cheese too, you can have fun pulling it apart.

(another attempt at enticing)

Toddler: NO

Mom: If you eat your lunch you can have fruit snacks after.

(Ah, bribery)

Toddler: NO

Mom: If you don't eat your lunch you will go straight to bed.

(threatening - getting desperate)

Toddler: NO

Toddler ends up refusing lunch no matter what.
Mom ends up frustrated and crabby.

--- RIGHT ---

Mom: Hey bud it's time for lunch

Toddler: No sanks

Mom: You don't want it?

Toddler: No want it.

Mom: OK, I'll give it to your baby sister then.

Toddler: NO NO NO, do want it. So hungy!

Stellar parenting? Questionable.

Effective? Absolutely!