Eat with watching cocomelon only

Have you tried reading books, colouring, listening to music, building blocks etc. during meal times? I had this with my little one when she was 1.5 years old but with Ms Rachel and we literally had to dance so she could watch us and basically distract her and we would feed her (my little one has always been good at refusing / saying when she is full). We went cold turkey with it and it was easier than expected as I was dreading it and she eats so so well now xx

I do read books sometimes and play games during breakfast time . But by afternoon or dinner I get so much tired that I easily opt for iPad . So do you mean going cold turkey meaning even if she refuses to eat for a few days ? FYI,My daughter doesn’t go to nursery yet .

@Roose I totally get this, it’s exhausting. You may have to push through as best as you can and hopefully it won’t take long until you can put the food in front of your little one and they just eat up. Sorry so by cold turkey I mean we just cut tv out for all meal times when we had had enough of how long it was taking her to eat and didn’t ever go back to letting her watch it whilst she ate xx

Say that the TV is broken and ween her off it - she might be stubborn at first but will likely eat when she’s really hungry. Not speaking deom personal experience but a friend’s.

Thanks Beverley , I will try that and hopefully she will eat soon.

Thanks Denise

I line my son's cars or dinos up and say "so and so (they have names) says they will play with you after you finish eating. They're going to sit here and wait for you to finish" He usually finishes about half

Yeh I would just take it away one night and buckle up for a tough week but in the long run it will be so much better than her dependant on the show. Also research has shown cocomelon to be one of the worst shows for this type of thing as its so stimulating and addictive for young children. Maybe try wean her from it by putting on a slower paced show like in the night garden first

We used to have the same as I had to use it to get her into the high chair 😅 Do you have a tonies box? once we took the high chair away we took the screen away too and started to bring her Tonies box to the table and a stack of books and she likes to choose a Tonie to listen to or sometimes we will look at a book as we eat. Xx

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and sharing your situations .

Tv is a slippery slope as is bribing children to do things. They are not stupid and habits form 🤦🏻‍♀️ I would just say it’s broken and focus her attention on something else. Hide the iPad she can never see it again. And you can never cave with it because you are tired. She will scream and it will be intense but she will get over it eventually and hunger will take over. Stick to your boundaries - don’t send mixed messages. No iPads at meal times. What do you do when you go out for dinner? We have a little backpack of mini toys especially which keeps our 2.3yr old amused and behaving - while engaging with him.

Thanks Francesca . Really helpful tips . When we eat out she normally eats without iPad or anything as she enjoys watching people and their activities. There are some foods as well like eating pasta with fork and eating momos with chop sticks are a play for her on their own so these food do not require watching videos or any other distraction .