Meal Time Woes
This is how we have tackled this "meal time, food stress, drive us crazy mess." Keep in mind this will look differently for different cultures, a child with special needs, texture sensitivities or eating disorders. As you read this, keep in mind you ultimately need to do what works for your family. Its going to look different for each family. These are simply ideas that have worked for our four children.
I like to call the following process "meal learning." The main goal being children eating what we put in front of them...including vegetables, casseroles and other oddities.
Our Food Guidelines:
1. All food and drink is consumed while sitting at the table or kitchen island. Eating while in the living room is an earned privilege when they stop making a mess (which may never be earned by some of our children). This rule helps maintain the mess and reduces mindless eating.
2. Scheduled meals and snacks.This helps to ensure our kids will actually be hungry when meal time arrives.
3. Water is our main source of hydration. Once our babies stopped nursing/formula feeding, we transitioned their main source of calories from liquid to solids.
4. No force feeding (although sometimes we would touch certain foods to their lips). From the time our kids could sit up, we allowed them freedom in touching their food and bringing it to their mouth. WARNING: this will get messy but has proved to increase our kids' love of all kinds of foods.
Dinnertime Tips:
Dinnertime tends to be where our struggle lies, so that will be my focus next.
1. I try to serve at least one thing they will eat (that's usually a bread or a fruit). We split that beloved food item in half and hold it for ransom (within their visual but out of reach) and wait for them to finish the other food offered. If they don't finish the other food items, the rest of their favorite food is not offered to them.
Guys this is the hardest part of the battle. Our kids screamed over this one. I mean blood curdling, ear piercing screams. And just a little bit of honesty (and not saying it's right), sometimes we yelled right back at them.
2. Tread this one slowly based on the developmental understanding of each child. You should also consider other major family changes like a new baby or a move, etc. Obviously a 1 yr old isn't going to understand why they can't have the rest of their precious banana. This should also be postponed for a child already facing a lot of change.
3. Make small goals. Your first goal with them might be touching the new food to their tongue or taking a small bite. The eventual goal being eating the entire food item (like a small broccoli crown or carrot stick) before they receive the rest of their favorite delight.
4. Know how you will discipline if screaming occurs. For example, if our children screamed at us in protest over the food being offered, that child left the table until they stopped screaming.
5. Absolutely no dessert if dinner isn't finished. We stick to this one even at parties. Yeah, we're tough and people might look at us like we're strange but we're happy with the final outcome!
So, there you have it! Just a few ideas on how we've tackled mealtime woes at our home. It certainly hasn't been easy but I can honestly say 3 of our four children (3, 6 and 9 years) consistently eat what is offered them. As documented in the picture above, our 1 year old is still learning.
This is going to look different for everyone guys! No comparison; that just leads to unhappiness. As parents, we are learning right along with our children. As we guide and discipline our children, may we try to approach it with the grace of Christ and be gentle on ourselves as parents.
Comments
Post a Comment