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Getting Kids to Eat
Tips from a Nutritionist
By Alison Gamble
In How to Get Your Kid to Eat -- But Not Too Much, registered dietitian and family therapist Ellyn Satter covers the vast range of behavior issues parents face daily.
Satter explains that overall, children need support and structure in every aspect of their lives. When these needs are met, children are confident and secure. To put theory into practice, Satter suggests allowing school-age children to select their own snack. You, the parent, provide the structure: what time the snack is served, the choices available, and your child chooses what to eat. Follow up by providing a regularly scheduled meal.
Satter recommends avoiding criticism at mealtimes. "Studies have shown that children eat less and do not do as well nutritionally when they are catching a lot of criticism from their parents -- on any topic, not just eating." She reminds parents that children 6 to 10 years old are experimenting with food intake. "They learn that some is good, but enormous quantities are not necessarily any better. They learn what their limits are, and they make some fine adjustments in their ability to regulate their food intake." She cautions parents to expect changes in their children's appetite. Every day is different: one day they eat next to nothing, the next day they are ravenous.
She explains the difference between a truly picky eter and one who is manipulating the parent to get what they want. "You keep a child from being capriciously or manipulatively finicky by presenting food to her in a neutral fashion so she can approach it and find out about it at her own speed. Give her the same consideration in planning menus that you do the rest of the family -- put out a variety of food, don't offer substitutes, and let her pick and choose from what is available."