As so many of these F-words words are ingrained in our daily conversations, we must make a conscious change in order to raise our children to be healthy, self-confident adults who are happy with their bodies.
Here are some simple tips:
1. Don’t offer dessert as a treat for finishing healthier main course meals. If you read between the lines, this means you are teaching your child the only thing worth eating is the dessert.
2. If there is something new and your child doesn’t want to taste it, don’t force him to put it on his plate. Instead, offer him a bite from yours. Seeing a portion of something new on his plate can be intimidating.
3. Discuss food choices on the dinner table. Talk about how food is grown, how it is made, the different parts of the process before it reaches their plate. From this children will learn the benefits (and disadvantages) of certain types of food versus others.
4. Don’t talk about calories as if they are evil. Instead explain how calories are a measure of the energy we need to do the things we like, and talk about balancing energy intake and expenditure.
5. Talk about eating for health, not weight. Discuss building stronger bones and muscles, and focus on positive growth.
6. Make mealtimes a happy time, and don’t make your child the center of attention. Eat together as a family, share stories, and let the food be a part of the enjoyable process, not a chore the child has to overcome.
7. Drop your anxiety. Studies show that a mother’s anxiety over a child who is a fussy eater has the adverse effect of putting the child off of food. As long as your child is growing within the normal parameters (which means that a little below average is OK!) for his age, stop fretting.
8. Don’t make eating a battle. Eating while watching television, or having a maid run around behind the child with a plateful of food are terrible habits, and hard to break. Avoid power struggles with your child. Let him be, and he will come to you when he is hungry.
9. Instead of talking about restriction (‘we shouldn’t eat so much butter and cheese’), talk more about eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. And allow for treats. It should be OK to have some days when you eat more chocolate, and some days when you eat lots of vegetables.
10. Talk about foods you enjoy. If you are eating a chocolate cake, don’t say things like “Oh I’ll have to spend the whole day at the gym tomorrow to burn this off.” Instead, indulge in it and say, “I’m savoring every bite. It’s so delicious.” Let your children know that eating is enjoyable. As long as you teach balance, your child is not going to think that he can eat chocolate cake all the time.
