Food Wars

Now that Noah is 3 he is capable of understanding the concept of "trying" foods before refusing them. So begins the great food wars. I have been giving him a plate of dinner, of which he eats nothing, and then he wakes up in the middle of the night because he's hungry. I go in there, take him to go potty (because he also always has to pee), and then put him back to bed. I tell him "you should have eaten your dinner. you'll have to wait until breakfast time to eat". So commences the crying for about 20 or 30 minutes. Last night, although he didn't eat, he didn't wake up hungry. I plan on just sticking to my guns with this and I know he'll eventually start trying (and most likely enjoying) some new foods. Another pet peeve of mine I am trying to break him of is his binge eating and snacking. He's not a grazing toddler anymore. He wastes SO MUCH FOOD. He will open a banana and eat 2 bites, open a yogurt and eat 3 bites, open a cereal bar and eat none of it. By the end of the day I throw away so much food. So now I tell him he has to finish what he started before he can have anything else, which includes more milk. He tends to guzzle milk to try and fill his stomach. He's a big boy now. The time has come! He's not completely melting down about having food on his plate like he used to so we are making some progress. He also isn't throwing huge tantrums about finishing his waffles before he can start in on the yogurt he wants. I definitely feel like this isn't traumatizing him this time and that he will finally be a healthy eater soon. YAY! It's going to be hard on me, but so was potty training :P Some things just have to be done.