Preschool Age Eating Unravelled..

GET EVERYONE INVOLVED:

-Let your Kids Help out with Shopping Produce Pickers, Meat Market, and Deli Deluxe. Make it fun when possible.  Say things like, “Can you please pick out the bananas and broccoli and put them in the shopping cart?”

Encourage your Child to Help out with Preparation Give them a job – add ingredients, scrub veggies, counting, peeling, and stirring. If desired, make this into a ‘chore,’ maybe use a reward system. For example, each child is responsible for various duties: setting the table, cleaning up, assisting with preparation.

Give CHOICES Make the child feel important. For example say, “Would you prefer broccoli or carrots with your spaghetti?” On the flip side, don’t say, “Would you like a vegetable with your dinner?”

Demonstrate Good Behavior Young children can eat the same foods as the rest of the family (it may have to be prepared/cut up differently). Whatever you eat will likely be what your children eat, so do your best to model good behavior. When you do eat a desert/snack food, enforce that treats are okay in moderation. There are no ‘good and bad’ foods. Remember, we are laying the foundation for healthy eating patterns.

Urge you Child to Make Good Decisions Explain to children that veggies/fruits make them grow strong, etc. They need to understand what the benefits are, even though they are young. Use concepts such as: first eat veggies/fruit and then a small cookie.

Eat Together Kids benefit very much from eating meals with their family. This is a time not only to establish healthy eating behavior and patterns, but also a social time when the family can talk and check in with one another. Make this mealtime fun and enjoyable. If this time is filled with arguments and chaos children will learn that mealtimes are about disarray, and develop unhealthy eating behaviors.

Watch Out for Beverage Consumption Children have little stomach and fill up fast! Limit drinking before and during meal time, as it’s very easy for kids to fill up and not want to eat their meal.  Remember, water is best and of course milk for the babies!

TRY NEW FOODS:

Offer One New Food at a Time Pair one food you know they like, with a new one. Continue to offer this new food again and again, as it often takes a while for kids to adapt. Be patient.

Small Portions, Big Reward Young children don’t need to eat much. Small portions of a healthy food, is perfectly acceptable. They will go through phases when they are hungrier and others when they are less hungry.

Make It FUN:

-Add Colorful foods into the meals so the plate looks appealing.

-Cut food into fun Shapes using cookie cutters.

-Get Creative by arranging the food in fun patterns on the plate, and try incorporating new foods.

-Make it Interesting. For example, “Who can create a fun snack with at least one fruit or vegetable?” or “How can you decorate your pizza using your veggie and meat toppings?”

 

 

 

 

YUMM!!!