Feeding a baby can be very challenging. They can be fussy, picky on food, throw tantrums and simply make a mess. As such feeding babies during dinner can be a nightmare for many working moms.
It can so be infuriating and time-consuming that many wish they can just simply skip the dinner and send the baby straight to bed.
But is this a good idea? Find out why and why not in this post.
Expert Advice: Why You Should Not Allow Baby go to Bed Hungry
1. Kids will Wake You Later For Feeding if they Sleep Without Dinner
Even if your baby is fussy and picky with their food during dinner time, it does not necessarily mean that they are full. It could be that they are just being a nuisance and not feeling hungry at the time.
On some occasions, your baby may be able to sleep throughout the night but on others will feel hungry during the night and wake up for food. You will then have to deal with the feeding that you should have dealt with before bedtime.
It is one of the reasons why it is not recommended to allow your baby to go to bed hungry.
2. Sleeping Hungry Affects Quality of Sleep for Baby
When you send your baby to bed without dinner, you are having them sleep while hungry. Sleeping on a hungry stomach will significantly affect the quality of sleep they will have.
They may wake several times during the night and also be fussy in the morning. To ensure your baby has adequate and quality sleep, you should not let them go to bed without dinner as it is not advisable.
3. Sleeping Without Dinner Disrupts Bedtime Routine
Feeding is an important part of the bedtime routine and hence anything that disrupts it is not recommended. A common routine includes bathing/massage and feeding to unwind for sleep. If feeding is skipped, the routine is disrupted.
As a result, your baby will not benefit from the routine anymore and may have difficulties getting down to sleep. If you regularly send the baby to bed without dinner, the disruption to the routine can create unhealthy feeding and sleeping habits. For this reason it is not recommended to allow your baby to go to bed hungry.
Read: Creating a Simple Bedtime Routine for Babies
4. Sleeping while Hungry Affects Baby Nutrition
The baby’s growth and development need adequate well-balanced meals. They need the dinners as much as they need the breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Therefore skipping the dinners before bedtime has immense effects on your baby’s nutrition and is not recommended to let your child go to bed without dinner.
Your baby will not get the adequate nutrients needed if this is done regularly. You may find that your baby may lose weight or develop low immunity if you send them to bed hungry. The negative impact on nutrition is one of the reasons why sending your child to bed without dinner is not recommended.
Revealed: Only Let your Baby go to Bed Hungry for these Reasons
1. If Baby is Unmanageable during Feeding Time
One of the exceptions of when you can send the baby to bed without dinner is when they simply can’t be fed. On this reason, sending your baby to bed without dinner is understandable.
Sometimes your baby can be too unmanageable during dinner time. They can be fussy or cry uncontrollably such that there is no way they can be fed dinner. During these exceptions, you may have them sleep hungry.
The baby cannot starve from missing a meal, or even several, as long as it’s offered and they’re choosing not to eat it. Chances are they will wake up at some point at night to demand food.
2. If Baby Rejects Food, let them Sleep without Dinner
It is also okay to let the baby go to bed without dinner if they reject food. It is especially so if this is food that they normally eat. It could be that they are genuinely not hungry.
Note that the baby could be going through a phase where they just aren’t hungry right now, or that right now dinner isn’t one of the meals he’s hungry for.
3. If Baby Is Picky about Prepared Food
The parent needs to make sure the food the baby is eating is healthy and nutritional. Many babies are picky and often their meal is not healthy. You should ensure you prepare a balanced healthy meal and if the baby is picky, it is ok to let them sleep hungry rather than give in to their demands of unhealthy food.
If you were trying a new dish or something that your baby tried and hated, you can probably make her favorite meal to eat alone or as an alternative. On such occasion it is understandable if you let your child go to bed without dinner.
Reasons: Pro and Cons of Meal Delivery Services
Guaranteed Expert Tips on Developing Good Dinner Habits for Kids
- Include something the baby loves in all meals
- If the baby is old enough, let them decide when they have had it full
- Have rules on the exceptions that the baby can have alternative meals. Making him a special meal when he throws a fit shows him that he is in charge, not you and that throwing a fit is how you get what you want.
- Maintain that mealtime is for eating, and being calm. Let the kids not argue, fight, cajole, bargain or raise voices at dinner.
- Have the baby have adequate other meals during the days such as breakfast, lunch, and snacks
- It’s natural for kids of a certain age to be picky eaters. To go through this phase figure out which food your baby loves, the commonalities, and try to gently expand the acceptable foods to include healthy things.
- Teach the kids to ask for favorite rather than demanding or throwing fit
- If baby says he is hungry later after rejecting food, offer the same plate
- Try not to add too much emphasis on the food, put it in front of the baby, and then make nice conversation, to distract
- Don’t send the baby to bed hungry as a punishment
