Many parents worry that their child is eating too much or too little. Your child may want to eat only one type of food, for example, jelly sandwiches and peanut butter. One way to help your child eat well and to help you worry less is to know what your homework is and what is his when it comes to eating. If your child only wants to eat one type of food, he is doing the parent’s job of deciding what the food alternatives are. Deciding what foods are offered is the parent’s job.
Your job is to offer nutritious food alternatives at meals and snacks. You decide what, where, and when to eat.
It is your child’s job to decide how much of the food she will eat. Your child decides how much or even if she will eat.
If this idea is new to you, it may take you and your child a little time to adjust. Over time, your child will learn that she will be allowed to eat as much or as little as she wants at each meal and snack. This will encourage your child to continue to trust her internal hunger meter.
You can help support your child’s healthy eating habits by:
– Eat together as a family as often as possible. Make family meals enjoyable and positive. Avoid making comments about the amount or type of food your child eats. Pressure to eat reduces children’s acceptance of new or different foods.
– Choose healthy foods for your family’s meals. Children notice the choices you make and follow your example.
– Make mealtimes fairly predictable. Eat around the same time every day and always at the table, even for snacks.
– Eat meals often enough (for example, every 3 hours for young children), so your child doesn’t feel too hungry.
– Outside of talking and enjoying time together, do nothing else during meals – no television or other distractions.
Here are other ways you can help your child stay healthy:
– Set limits on your child’s daily TV and computer time.
– Make physical activity part of your family’s daily life. For example, walk your child to and from school and go for a walk after dinner. Teach your child to jump, dance, catch the ball, ride a bike, and more. Encourage your older child to find his or her favorite ways to be active.
– Take your child to all recommended well visits. You can use this time to discuss your child’s growth rate, activity level, and eating habits with a doctor.
If your child is healthy and eats a nutritious and varied diet, but seems to be eating very little, he or she may simply need less energy from food (calories) than other children. And some children need more calories a day than others the same age or size, and they eat more than you might expect. All children have different calorie needs.
In rare cases, a child may eat more or less than usual due to a medical condition that affects their appetite. If your child has a medical condition that affects the way he eats, talk to your child’s doctor about how you can help your child get the right amount of nutrients.
