Chasing Your Child With Food 

 We’ve all been there, is our child eating enough? Are they growing as well as they should? If I could just get them to eat a few more bites it would be better but they are done. They won’t sit at the table. They won’t come back no matter how many times you try so you do the next best thing, you follow them and get them to take the last few bites. We do it out of love. We do it out of worry. We do it out of exhaustion. We do it. Well, here’s the thing everyone, it’s actually making matters worse and you need to stop.  

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Kids learn best about foods by looking at it, touching it, feeling it and then eating it. When you’re following them around the house to “sneak in” those last few bites you end up teaching them that they don’t need to be at the table to get their hunger needs met. Subsequently, each meal you have a kiddo who wants to leave sooner than they did the time before. When you put food in their mouths while their focus is on a toy, book or screen they are learning about that, not the food. It actually makes them more likely to choke too.  

I know, easy for me to say. What the heck are you supposed to do then, let them starve? Nope. I’m certainly not advocating for childhood hunger but I am advocating for focused meal times. Here’s some tips to try: 

• Put smaller amounts of the foods they’re eating on their plate. Big servings can be very visually overwhelming, even if you don’t expect them to eat it all. 

• Have one food at each meal that is “easy.” A food that they choose because it’s a favorite. If you know that you’re having meatloaf and your kiddo doesn’t love it choose a side dish that they do love. For example, tell your kiddo “I am choosing our protein food tonight so why don’t you choose the fruit/vegetable we will have with it.” 

• Try “___ more bite(s) then all done.” When your kiddo is slowing down and ready to get down tell them “I see you want to be all done but I need you to take ___ more bite(s)/drink(s) and then you can be all done.” I usually start with one in order to build the expectation. For toddlers and preschoolers it can work well to say “I need you to take 3 drinks because you’re 3 years old.” Then when those are done so are they. Stick to your word or you’ll lose their trust.  

• If your child gets up from the table bring them back and tell them they’re not all done and they need to finish. If they still get up and leave their meal is done until the next scheduled meal or snack. They can have water but feeling hungry is a great way to learn the importance of meals and having to wait a couple of hours until their next meal or snack is perfectly fine! 

Parenting is not an exact science and most of us just try to make it from one day to the next. Be kind to yourself and do the best you can. 

-Tricia-