Good Little Eaters
Introducing new foods to your kids can quickly become one of the most dreaded tasks at mealtimes. You have to carefully walk the line between positive encouragement and engagement without crossing over into pressure that causes your child to just push the food back (or worse, drop it on the floor!).
Enter lunchboxes – the perfect tool in the ideal setting to create a positive environment for introducing new foods to your kids.
Why are lunchboxes the perfect tool?
– No Pressure from you – You aren’t present when they open their lunchbox to discover the new food on offer. It allows them to engage, touch (and eventually taste) the food without any pressure.
– Modelling behaviour by peers – Just like the benefits of parents modelling eating behaviours to their children, children can also model eating behaviours to other children. Call it positive peer pressure or modelling behaviour – your child’s friends and peers can create positive encouragement when trying new foods in their lunchbox.
– Multiple exposures during the day – The lunchbox is pulled out a few times during the day, and maybe even after school if nothing everything has been eaten. So, this can increase their exposure to new foods and help them feel comfortable with it!
But it’s not as easy as just filling up the lunchbox full to the brim with new foods. There are a few dos and don’ts when it comes to utilising the lunchbox to introduce new foods.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when using lunchboxes to introduce new foods:
– Just like serving up new foods at home, always serve a liked food in the lunchbox to increase their comfort levels.
– New foods are scary and confronting so Keep the serving of new food small (tiny!)
– Repeat the new food a few days a week to increase their exposure, it can take anywhere from 5-20 exposures for children to try new foods.
– There is no assurance your child will eat the new food the first or even second time, so limit it to one new food as we still want to make sure they get enough calories to fuel their day of learning.
For more information on building a healthy lunchbox and delicious recipes ideas, your kids will love check out my Healthy Lunch Box Guide.
