Am i too relaxed?

Every mealtime Hayley sits to the dining room table to eat, and i eat too. (dan isn't always home)
we don't have the TV on, just the radio.
most of the time she will sit nicely and eat most of her food, but nearer the end she will get down and wonder off a bit, whilst i am still eating, and will come back a few times to put a fork full of food in her mouth, then wonder off again. sometimes she will get back up to the table and sit, sometimes she'll sit on my lap.
my granny (who i love dearly!) has hinted (not horribly) that i maybe need to start making her sit up properly for the whole of the mealtime... but i think that she isn't 2 until october... so i'm not that fussed? I don't want to make mealtimes boring/stressful...

what do/did you LO's at a similar age do?
(she wont sit in a high chair - she hates it - so she is happy on a normal chair with a cushion)

Until recently i've always said that as long as she had finished her food then she could go and play nicely whilst grown ups finished. I wouldnt let her get up/down and eat as she goes but tbh, she has never really wanted to anyway so it hasnt been an issue.

In the last year i would say i've encouraged her to sit at the table even if finished but mostly we chat etc whilst grown ups finish or she may have a yogurt to finish her meal off.

She isnt even 2yet, sounds like she's doing fine to me

I wasn't too bothered as the majority of the time the behaviour was what I wanted. Oliver's attention span wasn't long enough to sit with us for a whole meal.

Are you happy with what happens?

Thanks Rox!

Kate-yeah, i'm happy-mealtimes are relaxed and happ-which is what i want! hayley enjoys her food and likes to sit at the table with me. I think hats the thing-her attention span isn't developed enough for her to sit for too long. Xx

I work as a childminder and children of all ages sit at the table until at least everyone has eaten main dinner. If they dont want any pudding (usually fruit or yogurts) they can get down then.

I do this from when they start weaning and have never had a problem with it, I've never had a child who wasnt happy to do so or got upset.

It might be an idea to try to encourage her to stay at the table, but as its only the 2 of you I wouldn't worry to much. Just do what suits you & your family. She goes to a childminders doesn't she? What does she do there?

This is interesting as at the moment Abi is getting a bit awkward. She was 2 last month and until she was around 15 months was strapped in her chair. Anyway now she eats a bit, we feed her a bit but then she starts climbing on the table, knocking everything over etc. I f we put her on the floor to play she tried to climb up on the table again but wont sit in her chair

Sorry no real advice to offer as Martha was in a high chair at that age (and for quite a while afterwards because she preferred it. and we got a diner booth for seating so it was difficult for her to sit on the bench).

Another one here who was well trained by a childminder. I think the question is, how long are you happy for it to continue like it is, and is it easier to encourage her to stay with you now rather than have more of an issue later on. I don't like kids getting up and down from the table so Martha doesn't, but that's my preference. If you're happy with things then it's up to you not your gran

Hmm we have been having similar issues here as Darcy likes to get up and down whilst eating, but then she has been eating at her own little table and chairs recently as we had no dining table for a few months until a week or two ago, DH needs to finish putting it all together now so we can start sitting at the table again. We are starting to encourage Darcy to sit at the table to finish her meal and when DH puts our new table and chairs together next week then we will all be eating at the table as a family again and we will be encouraging her to stay sitting at the table until she has finished her dinner. Darcy is very much a picker and would rather have lots of snacks instead of 3 meals a day so she does tend to have fruit etc out in a bowl during the day for her to graze on so I think thats where she has maybe picked up the habit of getting up, then going back to her food later.

I dont think you are being too relaxed at all. Maybe in 2-3 years time I would expect most children to be able to sit at a table to eat their meal and stay there until they had finished, but at her age I would say go with what you feel happy with, you are doing a fab job

she sits well at the childminders, but she is with 2 other children, and i think they keep her occupied! i think maybe she just gets bored when it's just the two of us?! she is also much more compliant with the cm, and much more defiant with me...!!!
I'm not overly bothered by it - i was just curious as to what others do!