Rules I follow:
· Try to fill each portion of a sectioned plate if possible. You will notice that you’ll be eating fruits and veggies way more often! Just remember to reduce the portion size of the main meal so that you’re not overfeeding.
· Whenever possible, cut foods into fun shapes using cookie cutters. For some reason, kids find it more appealing and are more inclined to try new foods.
· Use fun feeding “accessories” like cute food picks. Pinching food with a food pick apparently makes things way more fun to eat.
· Only put the portion size that you expect them to eat on the plate (they can always ask for more if they are still hungry). This way, there’s no bargaining about how much of it they have to eat.
· When offering a new food, institute a 2 bite rule. They must take 2 bites of it…if they don’t like it, they don’t have to finish it. But don’t forget to offer this food again another day. It may take MANY times before they decide they like it.
Having trouble with a child that sits FOREVER at the dinner table in order to finish his/her food? Don’t fret! I’ve been there! Here’s something I learned from Supernanny:
Set a timer for 30 minutes. If she isn’t done eating when the buzzer rings, then that’s fine…take the food away. But don’t allow her to join in on the fun activity after dinner (we usually play a game, watch cartoons, or read books together).
Trust me, it works! Pretty quickly, they realize that it’s worth their while NOT to waste time during meals. My 3-year-old daughter now ends every meal by asking me happily, “Did I take so long, or not so long?!”
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