Do you have picky eaters? Do you find yourself making multiple meals to accommodate everyone’s preferences? Does dinner last way too long as you cajole your kids into eating enough so you can feel as though they’re well nourished?
Experts agree that working hard to accommodate your children’s eating habits can backfire by making it difficult for them to develop healthy ones. Here are some tips to help reduce stress at the table while fostering healthy habits:
- Division of responsibility: Developed by pediatric dietitian Ellyn Satter and supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, this concept is the cornerstone of peaceful mealtimes. The parent is responsible for providing the food and determining the time and place for eating. The child is responsible for deciding what and how much to eat.
- Family meals foster healthy eating: Many research studies have shown the importance of family meals. Your children will learn from you as you eat a variety of foods.
- Provide a balanced meal: A protein, grain, vegetable and fruit should be provided at every meal. Remember, the child is responsible for deciding what and how much to eat, but continued exposure will increase the likelihood that they will branch out and try different foods. Meals should be plated so that every item is present.
- Provide an item that you know is acceptable to each child: This provides a safety net for the child who has limited preferences. Initially the child may eat only 1 food, but with time they will tire of eating only pasta or only burgers and will experiment with other foods.
- Ask for your child’s help with meal planning and preparation: Explain that each child will be able to choose a meal of their preference (although other foods will be added to balance out nutritional needs), and they are not to complain when eating a meal that was not of their choosing. Assigning small jobs will increase their exposure to foods and help them learn how to prepare foods.
- Encourage children to use all of their senses when exploring new foods: A child who is not ready to try a new food can become more familiar with it by seeing it, smelling it, touching it and even licking it. The more familiar a child becomes with a food, the more they will be willing to try it.
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- Specify meal and snack times – do not allow continual grazing: Kids need to know that when a meal is done it is done. Allowing them to eat little at the dinner table but then reach into the snack drawer will sabotage your efforts to help them develop healthy eating habits.
- When eating, only eat – no TVs, phones or other electronic devices allowed: Healthy eating habits requires an appreciation of food which will not happen when kids (or their parents) are distracted.
- Limit meal/snack time: Some parents find that meal time can last for 1 ½ hours as the child dawdles. Limit the time to something appropriate and stick to it. Remind your child that they must eat enough to hold them until the next scheduled meal or snack time. For dinner, this means they will not have access to food again until morning (unless you feel that your child needs a bedtime snack, which most should not).
- Don’t worry about unbalanced meals: We’ve all stood on our heads trying to get our kids to eat their veggies. And we all know that this isn’t the way to foster a liking of them. Your child will not develop a nutrient deficiency in a few weeks or even months. Keep your eye on the goal: to help your child develop a preference for healthful foods that will last a lifetime. Again, remember that your job is to provide the food and the child’s job is to decide what and how much to eat.