Our kids, like most, are finicky eaters. One day they like something and the next they won't even try it. Sometimes it seems like they go days without actually eating a meal and others they scarf down two PB&J's, a string cheese, and a banana in one sitting. We try not to give them any snacks unless they ate their meal. And we also try not to use desserts as rewards because I believe that if we act like dessert is something great that they can only eat after they finish their dinner. They will learn that dinner is the yucky part they need to get through to get to desert. Unfortunately we haven't really been able to keep that up. I think it lasted until Penelope started eating real food. Now we try anything that works to get them to eat.
Penelope is really into Dora the Explorer at the moment and we found we can get her to eat her food by telling her that Swiper (he takes things from Dora) is coming to get her food. That usually does the trick, but nothing works every time.
