Rule of 3

Teaching our toddlers to feed themselves and have table manners can be a very stressful part of early parenting. Toddlers can be defiant as it is, so when something like food that costs money is being wasted, it becomes a priority to teach these things. And at least for my wild 2 year old, sitting down at the table and eating the meal in front of her became more of a challenge than I ever knew was possible. I wasn't sure what the problem was... I wasn't introducing new foods or things she didn't like. In fact, I would purposely give her things I knew she did like. Which sometimes meant piling her plate up with her favorite items and eating half of them myself to encourage her! I was giving her multiple options, plenty of them, and making sure she stayed active during the day so that her appetite was good! I had seen so many kids her age sit patiently while eating, chewing fully and swallowing before taking the next bite.
So when meal time came around and my daughter could not sit still, was shoveling food in her mouth like she was starving and then spitting it out... I knew SOMETHING had to change!
 I learned about 4 rules when feeding toddlers from a nutritionist and a couple pediatricians I talked to for my daughter when she was about 1.5 years old. And this rule changed it all! Once I understood this method, and incorporated it into our everyday feeding routine, my daughter has finished all of her meals and snacks and is not acting out while eating.
 Their little brains want options, but are easily overwhelmed with too many options. So 3 options it is; for every meal and snack, and it has worked quite well for us.
I offer single portion amounts of each option, let her decide which of them she wants to eat, and give her more of the option of her choice until she is full. This way; I am in control of what my child eats and when she eats it to teach her proper meal times and have balanced nutrition. And she is in control of which options presented she wants and how much of it she wants. This way I am not forcing her to eat something she doesn't like, teaching her independence, and filling up her belly so she grows as she's supposed to. I also offer her 6oz of milk with her 3 daily meals, and water or diluted juice with her twice daily snacks.