One of the biggest concerns of every parent is whether their kid gets enough nutrients and if they are growing well.
Remember that it is normal for children to grow fast and gain weight during growth spurts and have slower growth rates at other times. It is not your job to worry about how much they eat. Your job is to decide what they eat, when they eat and where they eat and help them to develop a healthy relationship with food. It’s your kids’ job to decide how much to eat and whether to eat or not.
The most important thing you can do as a parent/caregiver to help your kid develop a healthy relationship with food is to be a good role model. Your kid will learn their eating habits form you.
Ok, now let’s talk about the steps you can take to help your kids to have a healthy relationship with meals and develop healthy eating habits;
1. The first step is to have family meals;
Eat meals as a family whenever possible. Make mealtimes an important part of your day to help your kids enjoy their meals and make better food choices.
2. Make mealtimes distraction-free. Engage kids in conversations at meal times and avoid other distractions such as TV, books and toys.
3. Get your kids involved in meal planning and grocery shopping. Let them help with meal prep/cooking. Getting them involved in meal planning and cooking help them to build a healthy relationship with food from young ages and gives them the opportunity to explore different foods.
4. Trust your child’s appetite
Do not stress over how much your kid eats. Children may eat more during their growth spurts and they may eat less when they are growing more slowly. Follow the division of responsibility and trust that your child knows how much he/she needs to eat. Encourage her/him to listen to her/his signals of fullness and hunger.
As a parent your responsibility is to decide what to offer and where and when to offer and it’s your kids’ responsibility to decide which foods and how much food they want to eat. Do not pressure, force, bribe or coax them to eat everything on their plate, instead let them decide how much to eat based on their hunger and fullness.
Comments