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Whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, chances are good that with two toddlers who are constantly growing (both their minds AND their independence, thank you very much) and expanding their palettes, you run into some form of resistance at some point in your day-to-day operations.
Maybe breakfasts aren't so bad because they're the first meal of the day. But lunch and dinner could be a toss-up for which twin is going to put down their fork and put up their defenses.
Or, if "luck" should have it, maybe both will decide they'd rather do anything else in this whole entire world than eat the lovely, nutritious, and yet somehow fun meal you've so painstakingly prepared for them.
It can be frustrating and stressful on both sides when this happens.
Sometimes, they're legitimately just not hungry, and that's fine. But other times, it's just complete and utter defiance.
Nevermind the time and effort spent on making the meals that go uneaten—the real irritation seeps in when the ingredients end up strewn across the floor or splattered down the wall as your precious children make direct eye contact with you and conduct their very important physics experiments.
As if one mess isn't enough, when one gets throwing their food, it usually eggs the other one on to also launch their—well, quite literally—eggs onto the floor.
As if one mess isn't enough, when one gets throwing their food, it usually eggs the other one on to also launch their—well, quite literally—eggs onto the floor.
Rather than roll your eyes at the circumstances, roll the dice and try one of these tricks for getting your "I Don't Wanna Eat, I'm Independent but Don't Want to Feed Myself and Also Don't Want Your Help" twin toddlers to actually eat.
1. Peek-a-food
One day, my twins decided they didn't want to eat the meal I'd placed down in front of them. After trying all of the usual go-tos, including "Here comes the airplane!" or "Just one more bite and then you can go play," I wondered if they'd try a bite of it if their eyes were closed and then opened right before a spoonful was incoming.
We started playing Peek-a-food, and it actually worked. They'd close their eyes, I'd ask them where they were, then we'd yell "Peek-a-food!" and they'd open their eyes and the spoon would be coming in for a landing. They'd instantly open up, and the spoonful would go down the hatch without any resistance.
2. Second spoon, anyone?
This one's sort of out of left-field, but bear with me.
When you little ones have no desire to eat and are putting up an act of defiance, get a second spoon and start slowly stirring the food in their dish.
They will start watching what you're doing. Stir it for a few seconds, and while you keep stirring the meal with one hand, grab the other spoon and give a bite to your toddler with the other hand.
It sounds funny, but this one worked for me when one twin was refusing to take a bite that I offered and also refusing to feed themself of their own accord. They just sat there, idle, with nothing in their hands and zero interest in consuming the tiniest amount of food.
Then, I grabbed the second spoon, tried this, and we were in business.
3. Clean 'er up
Sometimes, a distraction is all your toddlers need in order to forget they're protesting the protein you're trying so desperately to get them to consume.
Instead of arming up for a battle, disarm the situation by handing your baby a wipe and encouraging them to clean their table.
They'll get to work and forget all about not wanting to eat. Offer them spoonfuls while they clean away, and before you know it, their once-filled plate will be clean, too.
4. How does it taste now?
Mealtimes are often about your little ones experimenting…with flavors, with textures, you name it. As they're learning the mechanics of how to eat and the way different foods taste and meld together, they are analyzing every ingredient and every bite.
When your twins refuse to eat their meals, use their analysis techniques to your advantage.
Go to your pantry or drawer and grab every different utensil you've got.
Get them to see if the food tastes any different on a spoon compared to a fork. This worked for me to get one twin to take two bites of their meal.
Ask them if it's any more delicious on a pink spoon, an orange spoon, or a blue spoon. That should elicit a chomp, chomp, chomp from your tiny, little champ.
See if they can compare a bite of food from their kiddie spoon against a bite from a big boy spoon.
Chances are good they'll love to experiment with all of the different cutlery options one after the other, so they can make note of their findings for the official results.
I know it's worked for me on more than one occasion. More often than not, the Munchkin spoon is the most coveted piece of cutlery.
Munchkin Raise Toddler Plastic Fork and Spoon Utensil Set
This is a four-pack utensil set by Munchkin. It comes with two forks and two spoons. It's nice that the ends are metal, as plastic cutlery quickly looses its shape from prolonged chewing from sharp toddler chompers.
If your dynamic duo is still too small for metal-ended cuterly, Munchkin has a set of soft-tipped infant spoons that are soft on your babies' gums and hold up well to the challenge of double the use with twins.
Munchkin Soft-Tip Infant Spoons 12 Count
This is a 12-pack of soft-tipped infant spoons by Munchkin. The rainbow of colors available are bright and fun, and these spoons hold up well to extended use in a household with twins.
5. See the chef, be the chef
I love a good routine, but I try to remind myself that, sometimes, my twins might just be bored of the same old routine and want to spice things up. Literally.
One day, when breakfast wasn't going over so well, I let my guys add a sprinkle of pepper to their plate, and they were so excited to be "making their own meal" that they instantly gobbled up what they had so adamantly been refusing mere moments before.
I guess maybe it was just too bland or too much of the same old tried-and-true meals? Who's to say for sure?
Just don't try this trick with salt. It comes flying out way too fast—their dinner could be pickled before you even have a chance to clean up the stray piles of salt off of their plates.
And speaking of plates, I want to give a shoutout to these plates by Munchkin. They're, hands-down, the favorite in our household.
They're divided, so foods don't mix unless it's done by your little foodie afficionados, and the bases suction to the tabletop to prevent unwanted messes, which, as a mother, I absolutely adore.
Munchkin Stay Put Divided Suction Toddler Plates
This is a two-pack of toddler-friendly plates by Munchkin. They're divided to prevent foods from mixing and they have a suction base to ensure your toddler's plate won't go flying if they decide they're not feeling dinnertime.
Munchkin also has a set of bowls with this same suction feature, and they're the only ones we use because they actually stay put, unlike other ones we've tried and been disappointed with because they do not actually stick to the tabletop.
Each bowl is a different size, which is nice for the different meals throughout the day; breakfast is usually served in the large bowl (it's the most important meal of the day, as they say), lunch goes the small bowl because our guys like a lighter lunch, and dinner comes out in the medium-sized bowl.
Munchkin Stay Put Suction Bowls for Babies & Toddlers
This is a a three-pack of bowls by Munchkin. They have a suction base, which means they stay in place, even when your determined toddlers try to dismantle your careful set-up on their tabletop.
Food for thought
It's no picnic fighting with your toddlers to try to get them to eat a meal they're just not interested in.
Instead of getting frustrated and ending up with food everywhere from the ensuing struggle, take a breath, forget about the prep work you've already done, and start cooking up some different strategies to make sure your twins are satiated and nourished.
Give these tricks a go, and hopefully one or all of them will encourage your little ones to see the bigger picture when it comes to mealtime.
What are your go-to tricks for getting your little ones to eat when they just aren't in the mood? Is there a coveted piece of cutlery your kids want first dibs on? Let us know in the Comments section below.
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