I'm asking this because our 5 year old eats in a pretty timely manner, no big bites or anything....he just eats pretty normal and finishes not too long after us.
Our 4 year old takes absolutely forever to eat, and I mean FOREVER!! Not a big problem, as long as he eats, right? What if you're trying to eat before you leave? What if you're trying to get in a quick snack or something and time is important?!?!
Ok, to give you an idea of how long it takes him to eat.....a chicken nugget happy meal=2 1/2 - 3 hours; 2 corndogs=1 hour; 1 poptart=30 min.
What in the world?!?!?! We've started making it dinner time=quiet time to keep his mouth shut and to concentrate on the food, but that doesn't help! He was born 9 lbs. 1 oz and never had a problem eating until a couple of years ago. First I thought it was attention, so I started putting a time limit on meal time, but he still didn't improve, and I'm a little clueless as to what to do.
Any advice?? I would definitely appreciate it!!
i'm sorry can't help you....we can't get my son to eat!! 
He is getting attention from you for the way he eats...that is my guess. Or that he isn't really hungry. If he wasn't finished in 30 minutes, I would put it away until the next mealtime. If he complains of hunger, give him some fruit.
Easier said than done...I have meal issues with my nine year old. He won't eat anything except a particular brand of chicken nuggets. And he ups the ante continually...stuff he used to like he turns his nose up at. I don't fix him anything special...if he wants it, he fixes it...he has to choose a protein, carb and veggies, with milk. Usually a PB and J and carrots, but whatever...
I sympathize...
Do you make him stay at his seat during this whole time or is he allowed to eat a bite or two, then run off and play, then come eat another bite, etc.? For some reason, I have a hard time with my boys sitting at the table! Even while they're eating, they want to stand beside their chairs, especially my almost 8 year old! So I'm constantly on them to SIT DOWN ON THEIR BOTTOMS!!! 
Anyway, if that's not the case for you, I would also suggest that he gets a time limit, but I would start out at the long end, provided you have time for him to dawdle, and gradually shorten his time to whatever you think is appropriate, such as 30 min. Also, I would give him "updates" on how much time is left, or reminders that he needs to quit daydreaming, or whatever, and eat. Good luck, and let us know what works for you!
How old is your son, pinkbunny??
They both have always sat down to eat...that's a rule in this house, lol! As a "treat" everyonce in a while, we'll move to the living room and watch a family movie while we eat, but that doesn't happen very often.
My dh grew up eating in their living room, but it wasn't hard to get him to sit at the table, lol!
I don't like to compare the two of them because they're completely different people, but if my 5 year old eats in a pretty decent amount of time, then I thought my 4 yr old should too. They're pretty much on the same level and pretty much well do what the other one does.
I think I will start reinforcing a time limit again. I used to do that before and he thought it was a game kinda....he ate even less then, oh well...he'll eat when he's hungry, right?!
Thanks all!
I agree with giving a time limit too. That always worked for me & my DH. Like Lisa said, he can choose a fruit or even granola for a snack later on if he is hungry. 30 min. is plenty of time for young & old to eat 
. My family sits at the table most of the time unless it's fend for yourself night! 
That's the nights that everyone is too tired to cook! Good luck & stick to whatever you decided. That to me is the real reason things work.
The first thing I would do is make sure you can rule out any kind of medical problem, like hard time swalloing (sp) or chewing.. If that's not the case then it sounds like he has found something he can control, 4 years olds don't have much that they can control. Everything is usually happening without their consent. I have a nephew like that, his real dad made his meal time and his life very hurtful, so he learned he could be in control of what he put into his mouth, no matter what. H won't eat hardly anything, so I use reverse physcology (sorry i just can't spell tonight) on him and he will eat almost anything I fix, ar at least try it. For family get togethers I call and talk to him and ask him "this is what I'm thinking of fixing, how does that sound to you, if I fix it will you at least try some? and he always does, it makes his mom so mad. Good Luck with it, my kids would eat almost anything except cool whip. Hope you figure it out.
The reverse pyschology really works with him...until it comes to eating...I do think it's something he's learned how to control. DH & I nee to quit making a deal of it b/c that's what he wants us to do.
It puzzles me, too...that my older ds usually gets some candy or a cookie or something after he finishes dinner...and younger ds sits there & sees him, but it doesnt' bother him a bit?!?!?!?!?!
They wouldn't eat coolwhip?!?!?!?! LOL! My 5 yr old will not eat mashed potatoes...they make him throw up (dh doesn't like potatoes either) and my 4 yr old won't eat anything with a lot of cheese on it...he gags; stillhaven't figured out what that issue is there because he loves pizza!
People look at me funny b/c my boys won't touch kool-aid! But, I guess that's a good thing...it's pretty much sugar, right???
People look at me funny b/c my boys won't touch kool-aid! But, I guess that's a good thing...it's pretty much sugar, right???
LOL Well it's msotly jsut artificial color... there's actually just one cup(or less if you want) of sugar in 8 cups of water. As oppose to coke that has like 1 cup to one 12 ounce can. 
mmdd,
I have 4 kids- girl 10, boy who will be 9 on Friday, girl 7, and boy 5. They all sit down and eat at the exact same time- my oldest boy eats like a horse and finishes first, but I don't let him leave until the other three are done, but my 5 year old is much like your 4 year old. When he was 2-3 years old, he could finish off an entire frozen pizza by himself in no time! He now claims he's not hungry at dinner time, and then takes forever to eat. I have been able to resolve the issue a bit, by giving him 1/2 hour time limit ( on most meals), then if he has alot left, I stick it in the fridge for later, because 99.9% of the time, he claims to be hungry an hour or two later. If he doesn't want to finish the meal we had, he doesn't get the treat (malts, ice cream, or cake) that the other 3 get, and after letting them eat treats in front of him, he learned. Sounds mean, but it worked. I would agree with dejha in ruling out a medical problem first, but if you find there is nothing medically wrong, then try the time limit thing. It just may work.
Sprite has 38 grams of sugar.
7UP 8 oz 26 grams
Pepsi 12 oz 40 grams
And i found something interesting!
"And anyone who buys those gigantic bottles knows how easy it is to inhale all 20 ounces in one sitting. One reason they never seem to fill you up: High-fructose corn syrup, the type of sweetener found in soft drinks, doesn't stimulate leptin (a hormone that tells your brain that you're full) the way other forms of sugar ‑- like the kind that naturally occurs in an apple or an orange ‑- do."
http://www2.coca-cola.com/mail/goodanswer/soft_drink_nutrition.pdf
There's a list of all the coca cola prducts(including coke and sprite). I'm pretty sure carbs count as sugar because thats what sugar is and they don't list any other sugar informations(even though at the end they claim not to have any sucralose, which if i remember is a sugar, they still have sugar in it lol)
Ok, i jsut went to look at a sprite can and i'm right that carbs are the sugar count. But this is odd because it says sprite has 28 grams of sugar on the list and when i look at a can its 38. Maybe different amounts?
I say best thing to serve is all naturally fruit flavored with 100% fruit juice. Sounds like nothing but soda water and fruit juice ,but it's really good, has some nutrition, and taste good to me.
Be careful though because even milk and a ton of fruit juices have more sugar than a 12 ounce can of coke. The only plus about fruit juices even if it has more sugar is more nutrition, though i guess that's an opinion on whats more important nutrition or less sugar?
Anyways! Sorry to hijack the thread. My suggestion is to look on the back of the cans or bottles and it'll give you the sugar count in grams. since a can of coke has around 38 grams which is around 7large teaspoons, i;d say anything over 20 is around 4-7 teaspoons. I'm jsu estmating though lol i don't know the exact teaspoon to gram ratio. Sorry! Hope that helps a little.
Again! sorry for hijacking the thread. 
You know, I've been thinking about this since I last posted and it occurred to me that maybe your son just isn't hungry enough to eat a whole meal at one sitting. I've always heard that we weren't really meant to only eat three meals a day, but instead we are supposed to have five or six smaller meals to sustain us throughout the day. So maybe your son needs smaller portions more often instead of three main meals. Do you think that might work? My oldest son doesn't seem to eat enough to keep him alive, but he's always complaining of being hungry about two hours after we eat, so maybe that's what it is. He just needs to eat smaller amounts more often. Hmm, maybe I'll give that a try myself with my kids. Good luck, and let us know what works for you!
Right now I'm doing a time limit thing. I've actually considered giving him smaller proportions. I tend to give him what I give my older son though.
My older son never went through anything like this, he just went through periods of not eating at all. Now, he EATS!!!! They used to be 1 lb. different, but now they're 4.5 lbs different.........five yr old has really gotten big!!!
Thanks to everyone who had something to say...I will let you all know if the time limit thing works.
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