Is this an OK approach?

I vote..... not harsh.

If you manage to keep your cool and she is not too distressed, well done.

:)

Definately not harsh.

My 3 year old son will do the exact same thing. He is simply told that he can eat what is served or go with an empty belly. He will also stay at the table until he finishes a reasonable portion of his dinner.

Kids at this age are pushing limits, and there is very little in their control. Main things: food and potty. Trying to exert control over what goes in and what comes out of their body is their way of experimenting with their free will.

What you did is working for you, you are making sure your child is eating a good portion so you know she is getting the nutrition she needs. A good thing to add is a reward if she eats all her dinner or at least eats well. My son is easily bribed with a little scoop of ice cream, or a chance to pick out a game for us to play together.

Good luck, you're doing just fine. :)

I don't think you were harsh. As long as you keep such discipline positive I think " if it works, go with it!". I would think that if it hadn't worked, then after the third time, you'd try something else. But, remember, 2 year olds would much rather play than eat. Even though mealtime schedules are important, sometimes, it's ok to just stick a "portable" meal in her hand and let her go. Don't sweat it! Enjoy her while she's little, she'll grow up fast enough!

my daughter is the same way. remember though she is only 2 and sometimes they dont eat! my doctor said it is ok if she eats only a bit of food a day. if you force her she really wont eat. i started feeding my daughter later than i used to and now she eats better. yesterday she ate one cherry tomato, half a string cheese and a cucumber and that was all. so she will eat if she is hungry. remember the have tiny stomachs that dont need a lot of food. if she is not active and does not want to eat then i would get her checked out. otherwise let her be. my 8 year old never ate i swear when he was 2 and three and now he 54 inches and 70 pounds. so she will be fine! talking from experience

It is not a bad thing to ask her to just try a food. Just don't say "If you don't eat one bite of whatever it is that you will get nothing else for the rest of the meal" Just reinforce that she doesn't need to clean her plate and when she is full she doesn't need to eat anymore. When she refuses a food ask her if she is full or all done. If she says all done end the meal and let her go play. Good luck.

Not harsh at all and well done you for finding a technique that worked so well so quickly, I went through hell for nearly 6months with my two year old, took all advise from health visitors but was just a phase (6month phase!) which is apparently very common in toddlers. She now eats really well but will handle it much better if it happens again.

The trick is to serve healthy foods, present them attractively and then pretend that you don't care whether she eats it or not. Try calling regular foods special names. My kids wouldn't eat apple slices until I started calling them smiles or moons. They like macaroni pasta because we visited the Gateway Arch in St Louis. We call macaroni "little arch noodles." Pretzel rods are magic wands, broccoli crowns are little trees, Cheerios are little O's, blueberry pancakes are princess purpleberry pancakes, etc. Get really excited about the special food, give it to her, then pretend that you don't care if she eats it or not. Toddlers figure out that mom cannot control what or how much they eat, so they like to assert their control. If you don't care whether she eats or not, then lunch is not a power struggle. Oh, yeah--later, when she is hungry for a snack, offer her the meal that she turned down. If it's cold or soggy, that's her problem.

My biggest fear would be that she could choke while you are out of the room and she is eating. I'm not intending to make you feel bad but that is a concern for me.

I did something similar with my son but I stayed in the chair next to him while I hid my eyes and told him I wouldn't look while he ate. That did the trick for a while.

If your method works and your daughter eats her food , I'd say its ok.

You have to try these things , everything seems to be a game with little ones.

Thats not harsh at all, and it worked so good for you

i would doo it but my son eats anything i put in front of him. i dont think its harsh.. She has too learn that when food is in fornt of you, you eat it. shes luck she has food 100 of pore people starve in this world.