Eat your veggies Timmy part 2 (Eating out)

We talked about compromising with your kids in the “Eat your veggies Timmy” post. Let’s elaborate on that a bit shall we? Here are some tips for dining out.

Try to eat well and order just as well for your kids.

1: Don't allow your kids to fill up on bread before the meal. They typically have small appetites. You want the food they eat to count.

2:Stay away from the soda pop. These are typically brought before the meal. By the time your child's food arrives he has already had a whole bun and a tall glass of Coke. Doesn't leave much room in his tiny belly for the real food.

3:The kids menu is crap! Don’t order from it. It rarely consists of anything healthy. If it’s not healthy enough for you then don’t feed it to them. Most restaurants will put a children’s menu placemat in front of your child. No good. Once they see it, it’s hard to say no. It might help to ask the hostess NOT to bring one at all.

As far as ordering, it’s all about yup, you guessed it, compromise. Work with your child. They order a healthy dish, they can have a small dessert for example. Eventually they may not even want the dessert anymore. To them it’s about control remember? Another way you can allow your child to feel somewhat in control is by offering him multiple choices on what he may order. “You can have the chicken with mashed potatoes or the hamburger with veggies. You choose”. When you show them you’re willing to compromise, they tend to be more cooperative. If you have one child you can let him eat half of a regular meal and take the rest home with you for lunch at work the next day. If you have two children let them share an adult meal if they can agree on something together. Try to order them some chicken, meat or fish instead of a hotdog or pizza. As a side maybe salad, potatoes or veggies instead of fries. Again, Praise praise praise. After the meal, commend your child for making the right choice and taking charge of feeding his body right. Tell him he will feel better, run faster, get stronger because he ate right! And remember, it may take time and several efforts to get your child on board but in time he will and he’ll be happier and healthier for it. Good luck!