September Health
& Wellbeing
Is
your child a picky eater? Are mealtimes stressful? Here are some reasons why,
and how you can support your child.
Sensory
issues with food
Children
can often express a strong preference for foods that feel a certain way in
their mouths. Some prefer soft or creamy foods like yogurt, soup or ice cream;
others need the stimulation that crunchy foods like carrots, apples etc. give.
Time
and behaviour at the table
Lots
of parents experience the frustration of trying to get their child to sit at
the table long enough to finish a meal and behave in an appropriate manner.
Some children find it difficult to sit and will repeatedly get up and leave the
table.
Top
Tips
Below
is a practical guide for parents that will help to reduce mealtime stress.
Prioritise
Is
it increasing the number of foods your child will eat? The amount they eat? Or
is it sitting at the table less disruptively? Parents need to identify their
primary target.
Start
small
When
introducing new foods, start small so that your child might not even be able to
taste it. If the initial goal was simply trying the food, then once the child
tries the bite, provide significant praise.
Don’t
push your luck
If
your child has been sitting at the table for 10 minutes and that’s the goal,
parents will often want to push for a little longer. It is important for
parents to start building up successful experiences to help their child change
their behaviours at mealtime.
Meet
your child where they are
If
your child currently isn’t eating any of the foods that you place in front of
them, it’s probably not a good idea to start with the goal of them cleaning
their entire plate. Parents have to have reasonable expectations that start by
meeting their child where they currently are with regard to mealtime
behaviours.
Make
your expectations clear
What
constitutes ‘success’?
There
are ways to make expectations clear and easier e.g. using a visual timer that
counts down the minutes the child is expected to stay at the table.
Heap
on the praise
Praising
your child for what they have achieved, no matter how small.
Tell
your child exactly what it was about their behaviour that you liked. Examples
of labelled praise include statements like, ‘Thanks for sitting so quietly at
the table.’ ‘I love how you tried that new food.’ ‘Great job sitting using your
knife and fork at the table.’ ‘Thanks for putting your plate in the sink.’
Labelled
praise is especially important since it reinforces the positive behaviours
parents are trying to instill.
‘Thanks
for coming to the table!’ ‘Great job getting started right away!’ ‘Great job
asking for seconds!’
Be
consistent, persistent and patient
Keep
in mind that it takes most children and even adults numerous exposures to a new
food before someone can really tell if they do or don’t like something. So
being persistent and patient is really important.
How
to handle temper tantrums
Don’t
expect your child to change long-standing mealtime behaviours without putting
up a fight. A certain amount of resistance — verbal aggression or disruptive
behaviours, whining or crying — are all to be expected. But that doesn’t mean
you’re not making progress.
Keep
a food journal
You
may wish to keep a written record of what your child eats at each meal so that
you can keep track of the progress that’s being made and where challenges are
continuing to come up.
Model
good mealtime behaviour
A
lot of times what we model for children is what they pay attention to more than
what we say to them. So, try new things yourself, do your best to enjoy
mealtime without distractions like phones or television and those behaviours
will likely have a positive effect on your child too.