Help your kids to eat independently

 As a parent what is the most time-taking task you have to do daily? If your answer is ‘feeding my child’, believe me, you are not alone.

A little boy is drinking milk. Image courtesy: pexels.com

There is nothing wrong with your kid. S/he can be an independent eater soon. They just need little support and encouragement from us. And we should be absolutely fine with the mess s/he would be creating while eating. There are few rules we have to follow in this journey. These rules can be applied from a very early age of a baby (as long as s/he can sit without support). 

1.     Proper and consistent place to eat: You must choose a comfortable place where s/he will sit and have her/his meal. Here I highly recommend a high chair/booster chair for a baby. If your baby is old enough to fit into the dining table, this would be the perfect place. Remember, you have to be consistent and encourage him/her to take all the meals while sitting in the same place.

 2.     Family mealtime: As we know, kids don’t follow what they are instructed. They always like to imitate. Why don’t we use that trick? You or any of your family members (can be his/her siblings, any grandparent) or maybe you all can have the meal with the little one together. Trust me, it will be real fun. The kid will try to copy the way s/he is seeing the other person eating. Of course, there will be clutter created by them, but that should be okay because this is how we all learn.  

3.     Keep any distraction away: It is always better to keep your digital devices (tv, mobile, iPad, etc) away during mealtime. Most of us allow screen time during the meal, thinking that he is getting only 30 mins screen time in a whole day and he is taking his full meal without any tantrums. So, it should be fine. Please note, this is not at all fine, you can check from this link what potential problems can come if we don’t take this seriously. 

If not screen time, then how will you keep your kid engaged? You can talk about some interesting or fun facts about the food he is eating. For example its color, shape, texture, or any story on how your first experience was when you ate this food. If you want you can switch on some relaxing music.

4. Do not bribe: This is the most important rule. Make sure you are not giving any temptation to finish his meal. It may work in some instances but it will fail in the long run without any doubt. Taking food is not a task, it’s a necessity. If your kid is hungry, he will definitely eat the food, and trust me he can figure out how much food to eat based on his hunger. How will you feel if someone else decides when and how much food you should eat? And why do you think your kid will not feel the same way if you do the same? 

You may have noticed that some days he eats more and some days less. If you are stressed out on those days when he is not eating enough, let me tell you there could be several reasons for that. Maybe he was not hungry enough or maybe he did not like the food much, but that does not mean you have to offer him his favorite junk food like chocolate, chips, ice cream, etc. If he is hungry but has not eaten because of taste, give him some time, he will ask for food in an hour.

When I am saying not to offer any bait, I am also asking you to refrain from threatening him for not finishing the food.

Bonus Tips: Who does not like rewards? We all like rewards for whatever we have done and it boosts our energy level. Children are no exception. When they are going through a challenging situation and achieves a little milestone, we as parents should cheer them up. Suppose she has tried eating from a spoon (maybe she is not holding the spoon properly and that is completely fine), appreciate that with things like giving her an extra bedtime story or 10 mins extra playtime in the park or you can share her achievement story with someone else in front of her. She will feel so proud because of your encouragement, it will lift her up for the next step.