Keeping the Peace: Dealing with Eating Challenges.
Today we have our second post from Pediatric Nutritionist Alexandra Johal. She provides some excellent advice on how to deal with eating challenges! Alexandra has a nutrition consulting company called Building Bites, and is available for private nutrition consulting for your family.
Children will try and push boundaries and take control of meals, just like they do with everything else. To keep the balance and the peace try this approach:
Parent’s Job
What the child is going to eat: It’s your job as a parent to provide healthy foods.
When the child is going to eat: Structuring meals/snacks (3 meals, 2-3 snacks ~ 2-3 hours apart)
How the child is going to eat: Keep meals a stress-free environment. Make mealtimes family time whenever possible
Child’s Job
How much the child is going to eat: Only the child knows how much their body needs. Try not to say “just take two more bites”. We want to teach children to listen to their own hunger and fullness cues. Ask “does your tummy feel full?”
What of the foods offered the child is going to eat: Sometimes children will only eat the potatoes on their plate and sometimes they will only eat the broccoli. This is normal. The important thing at a young age is exposure, even if they don’t eat it.
If the child is going to eat: Children get to decide if they are going to eat or not at that meal/snack. Although, they still need to come to the table and sit with the family.
To try and put this philosophy into practice here are some phrases to help you keep your child engaged in the meal.
You say/do:
Your child says/does:
“I’m not hungry!”
“You don’t have to eat; just sit with us”
Child seems to be finished eating/distracted and doesn’t want to stay at the table until you finish eating.
Ask them if they are full. If they say yes, let them down reminding them that the next meal isn’t for another few hours. Eventually they will learn to eat enough at meals and sit for longer as they get older.
Child says, “Can I have yogurt instead”
You say, “No, that’s like making a separate meal. You don’t have to eat anything if you don’t want to, but you do have to settle for what is on the table.”
Family meals have so many benefits such as healthier eating into adulthood, healthier body weight, lower risk of eating disorders, higher test scores in school aged children. However, they also can be a source of enormous stress for parents. Work to reduce stress by following some of the tips and strategies listed above. If things still don’t improve, feel free to contact me to work with your family individually.
Resources:
https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/how-to-feed/the-division-of-responsibility-in-feeding/
