By Rosie Phelps-Goggin, director at Doddl
At mealtimes, many people believe they have to finish everything on their plates before they finish eating, regardless of the portion size. This is because they were brought up to finish all the food on their plates and were not allowed to get down from the table until they had eaten every mouthful.
For those people, this habit can be hard to break.
Baby-led weaning (simply letting babies feed themselves) can often lead to parents feeling like they need to spoon in the last few mouthfuls themselves or bribe their child with pudding. Parents may realise they shouldn’t be doing this, but they can’t help worrying if baby has had enough to eat.
Claire Burgess, a child development specialist and head of research, consultancy and training at the Norland College emphasises the importance of infants and toddlers learning self-regulation to help combat the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. Claire explains, ‘for infants, the self-regulation cues are strong and they know when they are full. However, toddlers can start to over-ride these cues and they can easily over-eat. This is why learning to self-regulate from the outset of weaning, combined with portion control are so important to help build healthy eating habits for the future.’
The problem is that many parents worry about how much their little ones are eating and think the best thing is to try to encourage them to eat a bit more through force-feeding, bribing and coaxing. But by doing this, they are creating a bigger problem, because they are ignoring their children’s instinctive clues that they are full. In addition, force-feeding can create anxiety around food and mealtimes, which can result in children eating less and becoming fussy about food.
Signs that a child has had enough to eat:
- They say ‘no’ or say they have ‘finished’
- They push their plate away
- Turn their head away when offered more food
- Keep their mouth closed when food is offered
- They hold food in their mouth and don’t chew/swallow it
- They repeatedly spit food out
- Cry and scream
- Gag or wretch
Mealtime top-tips:
- 20 mins: Try to keep mealtimes to approximately 20 minutes. Most toddlers will eat all they want to eat in the first 20 minutes of a meal and this provides the optimum time for children concentrating and engaging with their food.
- New tastes: If your little one refuses or rejects a certain food, don’t be put off offering it again at another meal. Toddlers’ taste buds take time to develop and it is important for them to taste and experience new textures and flavours.
- Family mealtimes: Try to sit down as a family at mealtimes, as this helps develop your little one’s social and communication skills.
- Reward with your attention: Try to pay your little one attention while they are eating, as this will build positive associations with food and eating.
- Self-feeding: Allow your child self-feed with their hands or by giving them cutlery that encourages self-feeding, as this will help them regulate the amount they eat and learn independence.
- Fun: Let them play, pick up and experiment with their food—it is all part of learning, engaging and enjoying food.
Mealtime avoids:
- TV and devices—try to avoid distractions such as TV, iPads or devices at mealtimes, as this prevents mindful eating and inhibits self-regulation. Mindful eating is where the child is focused on their food and how much is going in their mouths.
- Ignoring your child’s cues that they have had enough.
- Rewarding or bribing with another type of food, such as a dessert, puts greater desirability on the wrong sorts of food and can lead to poor diet habits as they grow older.
- Try not to hide or disguise foods with other foods, as toddlers like to see the food they are eating and recognise that it is safe to eat.
If you are interested in finding out more about Doddl cutlery, which allows young children aged 12months+ to successfully self-feed, please visit www.doddl.com. Doddl cutlery is available from Boots.com, Amazon, Kiddicare and Doddl.com
Doddl – independent eating for kids
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