Fern Michonski / Fern’s Music
Pre-School Music Education Expert: The Children’s Advocate for Love and Kindness, Inspiring Creativity and Joy.
February 1, 2012—Food—Don’t Make It A Big Deal.
The other day while I was on Twitter someone posted “Kids will eat when they are hungry.” I totally agree and I just have to put in my two cents on the matter.
Parents frequently get upset when their child is not eating what they think they should be eating. In a nutshell, my opinion is, don’t make food a big deal. Every single person on this planet has likes and dislikes when it comes to food, and this includes children. I always presented my kids with all sorts of food.
However, in spite of likes and dislikes, as parents, we have to take charge, make a meal, serve it, and then allow our children to explore what their taste buds are happy with. That is not to say we have to jump through hoops to make our kids eat—not at all. When my children were little I planned out meals for the week, always making sure I offered a nice variety of food groups at each meal. Very soon I figured out which child liked what. That was fine. But that did not stop me from preparing whatever I chose to place on the table each day. That was it. I never made one thing for my daughter and another for my son, hoping they would eat. I simply served one meal for the entire family. If somebody didn’t eat it, fine. I never made my children finish one thing before they could have something else. That suddenly makes food “a big deal.” If they didn’t want it, they didn’t eat it. But here’s the catch, I never served “between meal snacks” that weren’t healthy. The snacks were carrots, or crackers & cheese, or fruit—with real juice—never soda. There was one snack between meals, and that was it. Then it was time for a meal again. I’d serve whatever was on my menu. Some of my kids might complain while the others didn’t. That was fine again. Believe me, when your children are only served healthy food, they will eat. They will eat because they are hungry. They will figure out what they like and don’t like, and they will try new things because the “junk” food is simply not being offered. This is not to say that I didn’t make desserts. I did, but not every day and not for every meal.
What was important was not what was being served on the table, but the fact we were all sitting together around the table. Sharing our meals as a family was the big deal, not the food.