Good Little Eaters
From cooking different meals so everyone will eat something, stressing over what your toddler is (or isn’t) eating, and not to mention getting them to the table in the first place – mealtimes can very quickly become very complicated and stressful for the whole family!
The good news? It doesn’t have to be this way. It is time to stop being a short-order cook and make meals work for you. So how do we uncomplicate mealtimes?
Using evidence-based mealtime strategies and setting solid respectful boundaries with your children you can reach your mealtime goal and start enjoying Mealtimes again whether your child is 8months or 6yrs old.
Make one meal
This is the most important step. To stop being a short-order cook for your family, you need to simply rip the band-aid off and only cook one thing. While you might feel like you need to make something different for everyone just so they will eat ‘enough’, this can do more damage to your child’s diet variety because they will always come to expect their favourites. How we get them to eat that one thing is where the mealtime strategies come into play. The first and best boundary you can set at your mealtimes is the division of responsibility. The division of responsibility dictates that ‘you (the parent/carer) decide what and when food is served, your child decides how much and what to eat of what is served!’
Keep it simple
When we first think of variety, we think of eating all the colours of the rainbow and having mountains of different foods on offer. But the only thing this will do is confuse and overwhelm your child. The best way to uncomplicate mealtimes is to uncomplicate what you serve. Stick to no more than 4 different foods on their plate at mealtime so they can explore all the foods on offer.
Prepare them for the mealtime
I bet you don’t like being interrupted in the middle of an important task. Well, neither does your child and while play might not seem as pressing as doing your taxes or catching up on emails to them it is. So instead of calling them for dinner when it’s ready and expecting them to happily drop whatever they are working on, give them time to prepare that their playtime is coming to an end. 5-10mins is plenty of time and let them know they must finish up – setting a physical timer like a sand timer is even better to help them visualise!
Involve them
Involving your kids in mealtimes is one of the most valuable things you can do, this can look like getting them involved with food prep or giving them choices over what is served. But where I so often see this go wrong is when they are given too much choice. Keep it simple but let them choose between 2 meals when you are planning out your weekly meals. And then when it comes to getting them involved in prepping food, set them up on the other side of the kitchen bench out of your way and get them to practice their chopping skills with a kid-safe knife.
Let them feed themselves as much as possible
This is where it is important for you to start focusing on your own mealtime. Mealtimes are learning experiences for your kids and part of that learning is developing the skill to feed themselves using age-appropriate cutlery. While it might be messier letting them take the reins, feeding themselves is great to uncomplicate your mealtimes. Just remember, don’t wipe up the mess until after they have finished because wiping up that mess halfway through can switch off their focus on the food.
These are just a few of the many strategies you can implement to improve your mealtimes and get your children eating well every time. If you are struggling with mealtimes and are ready to take the plunge to transform them then jump on over and book a free mealtime assessment at goodlittleeaters.com!
