Eating Behaviors
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The way that we as parents feed our children when they are infants will help them to develop opinions about food and eating. If they have had a pleasant and enjoyable experience eating they are more likely to have a healthy relationship throughout life.
Feeding and eating involves both the child and the parent. Both are responsible in developing and maintaining a positive feeding relationship. Parents are responsible for providing foods for their child at reasonable intervals, while the child is responsible for deciding what and how much she eats. We can help by providing a variety of healthy foods is a form that is appropriate for your child’s age and by respecting him to give us cues for hunger and fullness. Two important milestones in a young child’s life are self-feeding and developing a positive relationship with food. To develop that relationship, children need a calm, supportive and interactive environment.
Emotional or physical stress such as an illness may result in refusing food. We can place a variety of food on our child’s plate without any pressure to eat them. This will give him the opportunity to try the food if he wants to especially if he sees other family members eating it. If a child experiences pressure to try new foods or to eat, he may avoid eating. The more that we pressure him to eat, the worse the situation becomes. It is best to resist the urge to pressure him to eat, including threats, bribery and begging.
If a child tries a new food give him lots of smiles but if he refuses to try a new food, ignore it without saying anything. If every time he refuses to try new foods we prepare him something that he likes as a replacement, we are reinforcing that refusal behavior. This could lead to short order cooking and making a special meal for each child.
Mealtimes with toddlers can be more enjoyable if we have expectations that are realistic. It is typical for young children to refuse foods and have little interest in eating at times. They may turn down foods that they have previously eaten and liked. They will spill and make a mess especially if they are learning to feed themselves. Meals will get neater as he gets more refined in his fine motor skills. Unless the mess is made deliberately, ignore it. Meals should last anywhere from 10 - 25 minutes. If it lasts less than 10 minutes, we may be rushing our child to eat.
Often we think that because a child has refused a food once, it is permanent or that he is allergic to it. We respond by not offering that food again which limits the foods that are offered to the child. Sometimes we may drop an entire food group from the diet. We may begin to assume that any new food that is offered is going to be refused so we do not offer any new foods in order to avoid any confrontation. We sometimes require that he a bite of each new food offered. This could lead to increased food refusals and a battle of wills between the child and parent.
The Parents As Teachers program has certified parent educators who are available to support you and provide information on your developing child and to help you to become your child’s first, best and most influential teacher. If you are interested in the Parents As Teachers program, please contact us at (910) 875-2000 or stop by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Center on West Prospect Avenue, located beside Turlington School.
Parents As Teachers is funded by Smart Start and administered by Hoke County Cooperative Extension.