Parenting strategies: how to feed kids

Since my first son was just a baby, we made a habit of eating dinner together – now we do it with all 3 kids! My mom was over last week to witness the spectacle that is dinner at our house, and her opinion was that we should feed the kids first and then we’ll be able to eat better afterwards. Although she does have a pretty good point, I decided that I would stick to our current routine.

My 4 year old has grown so accustomed to the family dinner that he completely misses it if we are out or if for some reason he has to eat alone. I found that having this routine with my kids, no matter how challenging it can be at times, has made them pretty good eaters. I mean, I know that it is possible that they just naturally love food, but I have a feeling that the practice is a key part in them not being fussy eaters.

While they were still within their first year of baby-hood, I did feed them before we had our dinner, but I would still keep them in their highchair with us and I think each of them grew comfortable and accustomed to sitting down at the table and eating a meal. Routines are greatly instrumental in the development of kids and really helps them to understand complex concepts and to have situation-appropriate behavior – simply by the virtue that they know what to expect.

When it comes to the actual dinner, I do try to make one meal usually, but I will not force them to eat things that I know they don’t prefer, like red peppers for example, I will instead choose the ingredients that I know they enjoy and this way I know that the chance of them finishing their meal is greater – and isn’t that the aim? Often parents may forget that the point is to get kids to eat healthy foods, and not necessarily to eat foods that we may enjoy! Serving kids a healthy selection of foods that they like is key in ensuring that they are actually getting all the nutrients they need, and not complaining about they stuff they may not be particularly fond of.

There are surely times when they refuse to eat – they are kids after all – but I don’t really push them at those times because in general I know they are good eaters, and because I am usually careful with what they eat at home, when we go out I don’t mind if they indulge in ‘not-so-healthy’ alternatives!

How do you feed your kids?