Getting the kids to eat shouldn’t be a problem. But getting kids to eat and behave civilly at the table is a much bigger problem. Too often, mealtime can become a battlefield when you have young children. Like many other areas of daily life, getting a child to eat is an activity where young children begin to exercise their desire for independence. It doesn’t take them long to realize that you can’t force them to eat. And once they understand that part, they also realize that what they eat, how much they eat, and when they eat is a concern of their parents. Bingo: a battle in the making!
By creating rules and routines around and during meals, you can take control of that potential battlefield to make mealtime something to enjoy. As a parent, it’s up to you to show your child how to eat. It’s also your job to put the right food in front of them.
Between one and a half and two and a half years, a young child is perfectly capable of eating what the rest of the family eats, as long as it is mashed or cut into small bites. He is also able to feed himself with only a spoon and a sippy cup. So this is a good time to start establishing some routines and rules when it comes to eating.
Keep snacks to a minimum – Mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Children who are allowed to graze all day will have a difficult time eating. Period!
Offer your child meals at regular times. Whenever possible, it is important to have set meal times. Remember that young children have very little sense of time and transitions are difficult for them. Gives a warning when lunch or dinner time is approaching. Create a routine of what happens just before mealtime. For example, let’s pick up our toys, wash our hands, set the table, all this ‘routine’ will help them make that transition.
Keep portions small and introduce a wide variety of foods at a young age. You may notice that your child eats well at some times but not at others, or that he is more hungry at lunch than dinner. If this is the case, adjust. As long as you offer him a balanced diet that includes all the major food groups, he’s likely to get what he needs, even if he only eats one big meal a day and snacks the rest of the time. Don’t try to force your child to eat, and definitely don’t offer choices. When a child refuses to eat and parents start offering them options of something they know their child will eat, the food war has begun. If you resist the urge to offer something else, your child will learn to eat what you offer. Trust me, as long as you keep snacking to a minimum, your child will eat if he’s hungry. Don’t let your kids write their own menus. And at the same time, respect the fact that, even as young children, we all have different likes and dislikes. Offer a wide variety of healthy and tasty foods. Your child’s taste buds will continue to change as they grow, so from time to time, reintroduce foods that they may have disliked at one time or another.
Don’t offer milk or juice too close to mealtime or with meals.. Offer water when possible, or a glass of milk after dinner is over. Filling up on milk too close to mealtime or during lunch or dinner will affect your appetite.
Wait for your child to sit at the table. Don’t let them take their food and eat it somewhere else. A child who jumps in and out of his seat, runs off with his food to eat it somewhere else, or falls in the middle of a meal with his mouth full and disappears under the table is trying to test his limits. Many parents are afraid to introduce any form of mealtime discipline because they are so focused on getting their children to eat that they turn a blind eye to unacceptable behavior. Insisting that basic rules be followed, such as sitting at the table, can result in a period where mealtime gets worse before it gets better, but it’s far better to go through that brief period than prepare for a lifetime of battles to come. time to eat. However, be realistic when it comes to how long you expect your child to sit at the table. Fifteen minutes is how long you can expect most children under the age of five to sit at the table.
Offer lots of praise and encouragement for behaving well, but NOT for eating too much.. Having a second helping should not be associated with being well behaved in your child’s mind. And don’t punish your child for not eating. Discipline your child at mealtimes only for unacceptable behavior such as hitting, throwing food, or refusing to sit at the table, never for not eating.
Families should try to eat together at least once a day.. If that is not possible, and you need to feed your child beforehand, sit at the table with him. You’ll be reinforcing the ‘social’ part of a meal this way, and it’s an ideal time to start teaching manners. Children should be taught to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Mealtime should be a fun and sociable family time.
Getting kids to eat and behave at the table doesn’t have to be a battle. Most of the difficulties that parents and children experience at mealtimes can be avoided by following these basic guidelines. By not letting food become a battlefield, by having realistic expectations about the type and amount of food your child will eat, by making the rules clear and consistently enforcing them, you can teach your children that mealtime is not just a time to nourish their bodies, but a wonderful social experience to enjoy.