Well, I am by no means an expert, but I can tell you what we do. My 2 year old eats what we eat. I do usually make him a separate plate of fruit to go with whatever we are eating, but the rest is the same as our meal. I only eat fruit in the morning. He has fruit at every meal. If he isn't hungry, he doesn't eat. I don't force him. Maybe he is getting too big of a lunch? I let him monitor his intake. I think kids need to listen to their hunger and that overriding it with forced eating is not good long term.

In regards to bed, I have found that a bath revs up my son. He gets his bath in the morning to start his day. For bed time, we watch a calming show for 30 minutes. Then change diaper, get on jammies, drink of water head to bed. I usually have the room ready BEFORE we go up. Not having it ready causes running around, and a longer delay for falling asleep. The room is dark, the covers pulled back, blankie on deck.

We co-sleep. So I stay with him till he falls asleep. It does take awhile some times. He will toss and turn a bit. Having the room at a cool temperature helps. Also watching for sleep cues. At one point I found I was waiting too long selfishly to bring him up. I wanted to spend time with him. Believe it or not, when I brought him up earlier, he went to sleep faster. He had been getting overtired and then it took him longer to fall a sleep and "come back down"

Hope that helps some!

Thank you so much for responding. I know I'm late in reading your post. I didn't see any posts for a while and had not checked back.

Bath in the morning is such a good idea, however he is so dirty and filthy when he gets home from daycare that I don't have a choice but to bathe him at night. I wonder if I bathe him right at 6... That would give him down time before bed. Bath makes him hyper too. Seems to wake him up and make him a bit silly. Lol

I'm still struggling with eating dinner but I have not given in to making special meals. He tells me he Loves things but then doesn't touch them. Like green beans. I LOOOVE green beans mommy but then he doesn't touch them. I am making him a doctor appointment first thing mondy because I think it's just gone too far. He is too small. He is almost 4 and weighs 30 pounds. He is quite tall and the dr is aware of how small he is but in my opinion it's just too small. Not gaining any weight in a couple of years and I've noticed he just looks malnourished. Maybe he needs a vitamin. I did try the pediasure drinks and he hates them. Won't try them at all after one taste.

Thanks for the advice. I'm so worried about him now.

We do have bed time down to asleep by 9 instead of 10 but it sure was a struggle to get there. It meant basically turning off the entire house at 8 and just being super quiet and acting like we are all in bed. Finally he just passes out.

If he has not gained any weight in 2 years then I would be very concerned. If hes small for his age due to not eating then maybe its time to give in and make him something he does like so he will eat..How hard is it to make him a P/J sandwich? if thats what he likes..

^^^^^^ what billl said, true for our 19 months old and I am sure will be true when he turns 2, 3, 4. No catering,- just offer healthy food choices. Cut milk intake.

Set bedtime hour and stick to it. My last achievement -- took away pacifier, "cold turkey", no pacifier in sight. He still has his bear to comfort - but I figured he will need him for a long time anyway. Boy cried/whined for 10 -15 minutes on and off the first night. Now the third night - he just made one sound, but went to sleep as soon as he got the bear. He sleeps through the night, 7:30-8pm till 6:30-7am. And he still takes naps. I think it all depends on how active the kid during the day. You have to keep them busy discovering world, active outdoor, etc, but also give them down time. I hear him toss and move, but all adults do that too. Stick to routine but not taking 2 hours for the "routine"

My children 5 and younger go to school and headstart and daycare. They come home at 5:30 pm and they get a in play time, tv time, etc.. while I make dinner. They pray, eat, and have to keep tidy and eat almost all their food if they want dessert. After, they get their bath right away, teeths brushed and I like to use Johnson's calming bedtime lotion as it's suppose to have relaxing smells. Then they lounge around (their own time) until bedtime at 8pm exact. If you keep a strict routine they will get used to it and won't fight you much. The more room you give them to make the rules they will fight for it. Let them have other choices like dessert ( i give them a couple choices), outfits picked out, shoes, etc...) Awhile back they went to their grandma's for a few weeks and they came back out of sorts and it was hard to get them back into the routine but with persistance and direction they got back into it. :) Hope this helps.