Eat your veggies Timmy

We love our kids more than anything and want them to be healthy. Proper diet is a crucial aspect of that. It’s not always an easy task to get them to eat all the foods we want them to though. I want to help you. So I’ve put together some tips. Things to watch out for, things to be aware of and things to start putting into practice. This is the first installment of many. They have worked for me and may work for you too. Hope it helps.

Often dealing with kids is a power struggle. We’ve all heard “I wanna do it myself!” They want to feel like they have choices. That they can do it! We need to allow them to feel that same control at the dinner table. Give them healthy options and let them make the choices of what and how much. In doing so, they will learn to see food and mealtime as a positive thing, not a punishment. The trick is to make them think they’re the ones in control (when in reality you are). You’re just giving them the right choices and letting them pick one. If there’s consistently nothing crappy to choose from they will choose something healthy. They’re just happy to have the choice. Be consistent. It’s a long process and it’s ongoing. If they know junk is coming .They’ll hold off right? Stick to ONLY healthy choices.

Rule #1, It’s called “tough love”. Don’t cater to “special” meals for your kids. They should be eating what the rest of the family is eating. What you and your spouse are eating. Nurturing a picky child only encourages him/her to be picky. Make sure to serve more than one vegetable choice and encourage him take at least one. Start with the more basic ones, the ones you know he likes and work your way up to the less known/more exotic ones later. Again, this will help him to feel like HE is the one deciding, NOT YOU. Don’t force him to finish it all. Show him you’re happy with whatever amount he chooses to eat. Even one bite to start shows effort on his part. Praise it. He’ll work his way up from there. Show him you’re proud of his efforts. It’s encouraging. If nessecary, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with a little bribery at first. Eg: If he takes one bite tonight, he gets an extra 5 minutes of video games, and extra book at bedtime etc… It works! In my mind, even one bite is great. It gets the taste in their mouth. They will eventually adapt their palate to that respective flavor and learn to enjoy it. If he chooses not to eat at all that’s okay, he’s trying to make a point. Don’t give in and feed him crap, what message are you sending him if you don’t follow through? Back to square one. He may eat less for a day or two in an effort to call your bluff. When he’s hungry he will eat. I worry more about the long-term effects of a poor diet more than I do a couple of days of decreased calories. He will eventually give in if you don’t. YOU provide the options…HE makes the choices. Compromise! Stay tuned for Rule #2 coming soon……