How to help a child eat dinner

How to help a child eat dinner

As the parent of a fussy eater the dream is almost always that a child comes to the table happily, looks at their plate, says, “this looks delicious” and then tucks into whatever has been served with delight.

The daily reality is often far, far away from this. Many parents are stuck at either end of the binary spectrum, and often flip flop between the two. It’s either:

1. Serving only foods they like — an ever-repeating cycle of a few foods that a child comfortably eats.

2. Having an eat it or starve rule — there is a commonly held belief that children are merely being spoiled so serving them the family meal and saying “take it or leave it” shows them who is in charge and that eventually they will be hungry enough to eat.

I’m not fond of either of these options for a variety of reasons.

Why binary options may not help a child eat dinner

Just favourites:

1. Uninteresting — over time repetitive menus can become boring, and enthusiasm for eating reduces.

2. Lose skills — children may become used to only eating favourites and this makes branching out more challenging. They lose the confidence that something…