When you have a toddler, there are a lot of things that take your time.  You want to play, chase them when they crawl or run away, go places and do errands, change diapers (which is increasingly disgusting and challenging as time goes on), and so on.  But there is one thing that I estimate takes 60% of your time: meals and snacks.

When they are younger, you have quick and easy meals, and move on with your day.  But now that you have a toddler, meal time is looking like 30 min- 1,5 hours, and that counts for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks inbetween.  Why does it take so long?

Imagine you have a person who does not know how to eat and does not know what eating is for.  They just think everything is for fun.  Then give them no concept or awareness of time.  Then make them throw every other item on the floor, and drink as much water as they can inbetween every other bite.  Then make it so their bites consist of smashing their food on their face and dragging it down to their mouth until they find it (20% of the time, the rest of the time it goes to the floor).  At this rate you have approximately 1 item out of 10 going in the mouth.  It’s no simple task for them to get full!

I told my brother and his wife yesterday that meals last until the little guy is full or bored.  But I think a more accurate statement is that they last until he is full or you (the parent) are bored.  Otherwise meals would last half the day.  For example today he ate dinner, got bored and played with his food, and then ate some more.  If you ignore that you are cleaning the floor from the other 90% of the food he didn’t eat, it is actually a lot of fun – as long as you are not in a hurry. 😉