5 Tricks For Getting Your Kids To The Dinner Table Without Any Fights

Well for most, eating is a time of joy, quiet, peace. It's where families get together and enjoy each other's company. But, for parents, this can be more like a battlefield. Your kid wants to play with their toys, they wanna watch TV, they wanna throw food at you, they wanna do anything else but eat. This happens over and over and over again to the point that you would just wanna give up.

So, what do you do? I've seen a lot of parents get frustrated when children don't listen to them.

I'm here to tell you that you simply don't seem to be alone. Despite what media tells you about how children are wild, out of control, and with great care loud, this is not always true. Your child is capable of quite you'll imagine. So, let me tell you the one thing you can do to get your child to the dinner table when it's time to eat. Develop standards. In any situation, if you are expecting your child to behave a certain way, you need to develop a clear standard of what this needs to look like.

For example, in this situation, what do you want your child to do when it's time to eat? Do you want them to sit down, to finish what's in their mouth before speaking, to communicate their wants and need using appropriate words and gestures? If you don't develop a standard, then you might get stuck in a vicious cycle of getting upset at your child without a clear solution.

Standards will help you develop measurable goals that your child can meet. Now, once you have developed these standards, this is when the teaching comes in. Since every culture and family is different, everyone has a different set of standards in their home.

So, here are five things you can do to help you develop standards for a more harmonious dinnertime.

Number one, prep them.

If you just ask your child to come for dinner and they've already started an activity beforehand, then allow them to finish that activity first. Sometimes, children do need some time to prep their minds what is going to happen next.

Number two, lead them.

After prepping your child, you need to lead them. Once you've told your child they can finish their current activity before coming for dinner, ensure that they don't start a new activity afterwards. You want to teach them when you've said something, they follow through with it and that they don't act upon their own impulses. Habits are formed through repetition. So instead, what you can do if they try to move on to another activity is block them from gaining access to it and state that it is now time for dinner and that they need to go. Take note that you don't want to restrain them by holding onto them as this may become a learned behavior. Now, this process may take a while, so please be patient.

Number three, be gentle and direct.

You want to teach your child, not scare them. Teaching is all about developing your relationship with them. Now, you can't get through to what's going on inside if they're afraid to approach you. So, talk to your child the way you want them to respond the first time you say it. If you end up yelling at your child, they'll slowly learn that you need to yell before they need to listen. The point of all this is that you want to teach your child that your words hold value and should not be ignored.

Number four, be persistent.

If your child is already used to certain routines, then their habits might be harder to break. Regardless, be persistent. State to your child what they need to do and ensure that they do it. In this case, they will come to understand that regardless of what they say or do, you will not stop. In some cases, you may sound like a broken record saying the same thing over and over again, but eventually, they'll understand that you're not going to stop and so, they will just do it. This will become easier in the future as they begin to understand what your standards are and that you're not going to compromise them regardless of what they do.

Number five, reinforce their behavior.

Make sure that when they do comply with your instructions, you reinforce this behavior for the future by giving them something they may want. This can be as simple as complimenting them by saying something like, nice listening, or telling them that they can continue their activity after dinner. It is crucial that you don't tell them beforehand what you will give them if they listen. By doing that, you will be bribing your child and they will learn to depend and wait for your bribes before listening.