Food Tips For Kids
I've heard from MANY moms now asking for tips that I've learned on feeding their babies and/or kids. Obviously, I'm no expert or else my own child would eat! :) However, I have researched a lot, read a lot, tried a lot, learned a lot, and have been through some therapy with Keegan where I have learned some good tips.
Here are my top 10 tips. Remember, some of these may not be age-appropriate for your child so use discretion. And, some of them are for resistant eaters while some are for picky eaters..... and some of these are just good to use on an everyday, normal eating child! Heck, some of you may want to even try these on your picky husbands. :)
Top 10 Tips
1) Do not ask yes/no questions at the table. Replace "Would you like some green beans?" with "I'd like you to try some green beans."
2) Make sure kids are coming to the table hungry. When I grocery-shop while hungry, everything suddenly looks good. It all appeals to me. It's the same with kids- if they are hungry then more foods will look good to them. You might need to limit snack portions and even milk if they are not hungry enough at mealtimes to eat well.
3) Don't let them get in a rut with any foods, especially their favorites (or "preferred" foods). Take what they eat and constantly change it. Think about changing the shape, color, flavor, temperature, texture, size, brand, the package it comes out of, etc. This will keep them on their toes to help them come to the table expecting change and new things. So, if they like bread, then cut it into different shapes. Serve rye instead of wheat. Toast it. Add a condiment. And, so forth.
4) Repetition. It can take MANY exposures to a given food before a child will eat it. Don't give up. Be prepared to waste food; it's going to happen. This is normal.
5) Create a food-rich environment. Here are just a few suggestions to do that.
a. Include them in grocery shopping. Sometimes I even make Keegan his own shopping list with about 3 items on it. I write down the words and draw a picture next to it (like apples). He gets to help find the item and mark it off his list.
b. Include them in cooking.
c. At the library, we pick up any book that has people eating or cooking in the story. You'd be surprised at what's out there!
d. Talk about food throughout the day. "Look at those apple trees! I love to eat apples!" It's simple to add conversation about food throughout the day. Food is everywhere!
e. Have a play kitchen with play/plastic food. Kids love play kitchens. Keegan even loves our retro one with the giant 1980's wall phone in it. It was $6 at Goodwill. I often see used play kitchens on Craigslist or at garage sales; I know the new ones are expensive.
That's right, this is like Keegan's vintage "party kitchen". I know, you're laughing. So retro but he doesn't know the difference.
f. Make mealtime fun. Create animals or faces with the food. Feed a plastic army guy a few bites. Sing On Top of Spaghetti. Rename a food and suddenly those boring cucumber slices can become monster eyes. If mealtime is a battlefield, kids will learn to hate coming to the table. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
6) Have a dump bowl (or some call it a "no thank you bowl"). Have a special bowl on the table where the child must put anything they refuse to eat that night. Then the bowl gets dumped. Wasteful, I know. But, you have to see it as good exposure to that particular food when they are touching it with their hands (or a utensil) and transferring it to the dump bowl. That is one step closer to them accepting the food.
7) Eat at a designated place. I know sometimes our kids eat better mindlessly in front of the TV, but don't start that habit. They need to learn to sit at the table and they'll be better eaters in the long run if they can sit and focus on their meal.
8) Explore foods with your kids. Let's say you have a new, exotic fruit you've never tried. What does it look like? What does it feel like? What's the inside look like? How does it smell? A conversation like this can help the child gradually make themselves comfortable with the food so they are more ready to taste it.
9) Watch serving sizes. A serving size is one tablespoon per year of age. If servings are too large, especially of a new food, the child can feel overwhelmed. Also, we don't want the child to have any opportunities for filling up on one item on the plate and not being hungry enough to try the other items. The plate should have one serving of each: a protein or meat, a fruit, and/or veggie, and milk. It should also include one serving of a preferred food if it's not included in one of those categories already.
10) Use a timer. Depending on the child's age and developmental level, a meal should last 15-30 minutes. We set a kitchen timer right on the dinner table. This teaches Keegan that this is dinner time; you have so long to eat it and if you choose not to eat it, you will miss dinner and be very hungry later.
So, there you have it-- my top 10 list. If you have questions or need tips 11 through 1,000,000,000 that we've tried..... just let me know! :)
Here are my top 10 tips. Remember, some of these may not be age-appropriate for your child so use discretion. And, some of them are for resistant eaters while some are for picky eaters..... and some of these are just good to use on an everyday, normal eating child! Heck, some of you may want to even try these on your picky husbands. :)
Top 10 Tips
1) Do not ask yes/no questions at the table. Replace "Would you like some green beans?" with "I'd like you to try some green beans."
2) Make sure kids are coming to the table hungry. When I grocery-shop while hungry, everything suddenly looks good. It all appeals to me. It's the same with kids- if they are hungry then more foods will look good to them. You might need to limit snack portions and even milk if they are not hungry enough at mealtimes to eat well.
3) Don't let them get in a rut with any foods, especially their favorites (or "preferred" foods). Take what they eat and constantly change it. Think about changing the shape, color, flavor, temperature, texture, size, brand, the package it comes out of, etc. This will keep them on their toes to help them come to the table expecting change and new things. So, if they like bread, then cut it into different shapes. Serve rye instead of wheat. Toast it. Add a condiment. And, so forth.
4) Repetition. It can take MANY exposures to a given food before a child will eat it. Don't give up. Be prepared to waste food; it's going to happen. This is normal.
5) Create a food-rich environment. Here are just a few suggestions to do that.
a. Include them in grocery shopping. Sometimes I even make Keegan his own shopping list with about 3 items on it. I write down the words and draw a picture next to it (like apples). He gets to help find the item and mark it off his list.
b. Include them in cooking.
c. At the library, we pick up any book that has people eating or cooking in the story. You'd be surprised at what's out there!
d. Talk about food throughout the day. "Look at those apple trees! I love to eat apples!" It's simple to add conversation about food throughout the day. Food is everywhere!
e. Have a play kitchen with play/plastic food. Kids love play kitchens. Keegan even loves our retro one with the giant 1980's wall phone in it. It was $6 at Goodwill. I often see used play kitchens on Craigslist or at garage sales; I know the new ones are expensive.
That's right, this is like Keegan's vintage "party kitchen". I know, you're laughing. So retro but he doesn't know the difference.
f. Make mealtime fun. Create animals or faces with the food. Feed a plastic army guy a few bites. Sing On Top of Spaghetti. Rename a food and suddenly those boring cucumber slices can become monster eyes. If mealtime is a battlefield, kids will learn to hate coming to the table. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
6) Have a dump bowl (or some call it a "no thank you bowl"). Have a special bowl on the table where the child must put anything they refuse to eat that night. Then the bowl gets dumped. Wasteful, I know. But, you have to see it as good exposure to that particular food when they are touching it with their hands (or a utensil) and transferring it to the dump bowl. That is one step closer to them accepting the food.
7) Eat at a designated place. I know sometimes our kids eat better mindlessly in front of the TV, but don't start that habit. They need to learn to sit at the table and they'll be better eaters in the long run if they can sit and focus on their meal.
8) Explore foods with your kids. Let's say you have a new, exotic fruit you've never tried. What does it look like? What does it feel like? What's the inside look like? How does it smell? A conversation like this can help the child gradually make themselves comfortable with the food so they are more ready to taste it.
9) Watch serving sizes. A serving size is one tablespoon per year of age. If servings are too large, especially of a new food, the child can feel overwhelmed. Also, we don't want the child to have any opportunities for filling up on one item on the plate and not being hungry enough to try the other items. The plate should have one serving of each: a protein or meat, a fruit, and/or veggie, and milk. It should also include one serving of a preferred food if it's not included in one of those categories already.
10) Use a timer. Depending on the child's age and developmental level, a meal should last 15-30 minutes. We set a kitchen timer right on the dinner table. This teaches Keegan that this is dinner time; you have so long to eat it and if you choose not to eat it, you will miss dinner and be very hungry later.
So, there you have it-- my top 10 list. If you have questions or need tips 11 through 1,000,000,000 that we've tried..... just let me know! :)
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