Keeping things balanced is crucial to supporting wellbeing and kids learning to like new foods..
 
Offering kids nutritionally balanced meals and snacks is important for their general health, development and well-being.
But, we know that right? It’s all too easy though, for parents to get caught in the rut of offering kids the same foods most of the time. Often the foods they know their kids will eat, foods they know their kids won’t refuse, and won’t kick up a fuss about being served. But, this doesn't necessarily serve kids well in the long run.

Keeping the meals and snacks you offer kids balanced is more than just providing all of the food groups and a wide variety of nutrients to your child. Balanced meals and snacks for kids is also about offering a fine balance between foods your child knows, accepts, likes, and will eat and foods which your child not-yet-likes or foods you expect they will leave on their plate.
 
Many parents would like more guidance on what foods make balanced nutrition…understandable. But, did you know that more parents feel they have a fair idea of what foods to serve their kids, but just don’t know how to go about getting their kids to eat these foods?

Knowledge is only powerful if you have actionable steps for implementing this knowledge to make a difference. Knowing what nutritious foods to feed kids, is not powerful if you do not know how to support kids in eating a wide variety of these nutritious foods.

Only 1/3 of parents are confident in the way they’re feeding their children. So, despite many parents having a fair idea of what foods their child should be eating, they are struggling with confidence in how to go about getting their kids to eat these foods.

• Offer foods from all food groups every day (meat/meat alternative, dairy/dairy alternative, fruit, vegetables, whole grains).
  • Kids need the nutrients provided in every food group every day. They need several serves of each food group every day to gain all of the nutrients needed for optimal health, development and well-being. (I wont go into how much of each food group is required here – let me know if you would like more info on this, or visit www.eatforhealth.com.au for some great general guidance on this.)

• Offer a variety of foods from within each food group every day
  • Variety of foods is important for gaining a wide variety of nutrients we need to be well. Ideally we want our kids to learn to like a wide variety of nutritious foods. Kids need to learn to like new foods, and parents play the vital role of supporting this learning. There are several important factors involved in best supporting this learning (which I guide through in the Nourishing Children- Coaching Package), one of which is to keep exposing kids to a wide variety of foods, even if they don’t-yet-like the food. Getting caught in the trap of only serving up the same foods you know your little likes and will eat, doesn’t support them in learning to like new and not-yet-liked foods.  It is also common for parents to simply be in a rut of buying, cooking and serving the same foods each and every week without introducing much variety or new foods on a regular basis. If your child isn’t served up a wide variety of foods, they are not being exposed to a wide variety of nutrients or not getting the opportunity to learn to like new foods.

 
Offering your children balanced nutrition at each and every meal and snack is one very effective way to support improved eating behaviour in your child.

A general rule of thumb is to offer 4-5 food groups at meals, and 2+ food groups at snacks.

• As an example:
  •  Instead of offering only fruit at morning tea...try offering fruit & nuts, or fruit & wholegrain crackers with dip, or fruit & peanut butter on celery, or fruit, veggies & yoghurt, or fruit, nuts & cheese etc.

• Each eating time is an opportunity to expose your child to a nutritious food they don’t-yet-like to support their learning of new foods. This is important even if you expect they will not eat the new food at this particular meal/snack. Simply having your child exposed to the new food (in a positive environment), builds their confidence, comfort, the chances of them touching, tasting and learning to like the food over time with repeated exposure.
  • For example, if the only fruit your child asks for or says they like is apples, it is recommended you still serve them up a variety of other fruits too. If you don’t keep exposing them and serving them up, it is almost impossible for them to become comfortable with and learn how to like these foods.
• Not only do parents often serve only their child’s liked foods, but it is also common for them to get caught in the trap of only serving the foods that they themselves like.

 
Offering your children a balance of new and already liked foods at most meals and snacks is one very effective way to support improved eating behaviour in your child.

A general rule is to include 1 new or not-yet-liked food along with 1+ already accepted and liked ‘safe’ food (‘food friend’) at most meals and snacks.

• Always bring a food-friend to the table. It is not recommended to serve up only foods your child doesn’t like. If there is a food-friend on their plate, your child will be more comfortable with the new/not-yet-liked foods being there and will therefore be better supported to learn to like these foods over time.
• As an example:
  • If your child only likes carrots and plain pasta. It isn’t recommended to serve only carrots and plain pasta OR to serve only broccoli, peas and pasta mixed with pasta sauce. Ideally, you could serve, plain pasta with the sauce on the side, along with carrots and broccoli.

So offering both, a balance of nutrition (food groups) and liked/not-yet-liked foods at each meal/snack, provides an opportunity for your child to eat a wide variety of nutrients, but also learn to like a wider variety of nutritious foods.

If this all seems like a challenge to plan for and implement, then I strongly recommend you get on the wait-list for my FINISH FUSSY EATING online course.


Alysha

.Parents play a fundamental role in setting up the environment at children’s mealtimes which influence their early interactions, learning and experiences with food. Creating a positive mealtime environment goes a long way to setting children up with a good foundation of eating patterns, intuitive eating skills and a positive relationship with food, which sets them up to thrive both physically and mentally throughout childhood and into adulthood! Positive mealtimes, and therefore children’s eating patterns and behaviours cannot be optimised without a regular structure to their eating times.

There has been a lot of research on children benefiting from routine. Routines create predictability and help children to feel secure in their day. Having a feeding schedule builds upon this daily structure. If children know what to expect when it comes to eating and when to expect meals and snacks they will feel more secure and relaxed about food which and in-turn improves their eating behaviours!

One of your important roles when it comes to feeding your child, is deciding WHEN children eat. Without structured eating times, and when food is freely available between meals, children can learn to disconnect from feelings of true hunger and fullness and start saying ‘I'm hungry’ and want to eat when they are feeling bored, overwhelmed, when watching TV or doing homework etc. Eating can become associated with feelings and activities instead of hunger and enjoyment.
Structure with eating helps children to learn how to effectively manage their hunger and self-regulate intake, develop self-control and avoid the dangers of mindless eating or eating in the absence of hunger.

A lack of structure with eating opportunities can also lead to children coming to the table with an appetite level not conducive for eating well. For children to be most willing to try new foods, or eat the amount that is right for them and build intuitive eating skills (ie eat when they're hungry and stop when they're full), they need to turn-up to the meal or snack with a healthy appetite. But without structure, they will often come to the table without much appetite at all as a result of snacking at the wrong times between meals.
Or, you may also lose track of the time since kids have last eaten and run the risk of them becoming too hungry or ‘h-angry'! This increases the likelihood they will misbehave, be contrary, complain or whine about the food or have a meltdown as they will be less in control of their emotions. This almost never results in eating well or developing positive eating patterns. When too hungry, they are unlikely to try new foods, they may not eat at all (stress can diminish appetite) or they may overeat as they will be unable to easily notice and stop when they're feeling full.

A healthy appetite at mealtimes will support their willingness to try new foods and help to prevent the associated negative behaviour and poor eating that comes with becoming too hungry.

There are several important considerations to make when setting the times for your little-one’s eating times, the most important being your child's age. While babies and toddlers typically need to eat every 2-3 hours (5-6 times per day – 3 meals and 2-3 snacks), older kids do well with 3-4 hour gaps between meals and snacks (4-5 times per day- 3 meals and 2 snacks).

In order for consistency, it is also important to consider the eating times of school, kindergarten or childcare if your child attends. As the eating times at school etc is regular and not modifiable,  it is recommended to continue with these times on the days your child is home also.

An example :
For a 7 year old attending school where eating times are 1100 & 1330, the home meal schedule could be:

Breakfast-730am
(for younger children, you may add in a snack around 930)
Snack-1100
Lunch-1330
Snack-1600
Dinner 1815.

Every child is very different, and there is no hard and fast rule for exactly how many eating occasions your child should have. So it's important to evaluate your own child and see what works best for you and for them. Consistency is key though.

How to get started
There are other important considerations to make, all of which I cover and guide my clients through making as part of my 1:1 Fussy Eating Support Program and online course.
After setting your family’s meal and snack time structure, it is important to let your child know that there will be some changes and that there will not be any eating in between set meal and snack times from now on.
Having a solid mealtime structure is a powerful strategy for improving eating behaviour, but sometimes it means you have to say no to food requests. You could have your family’s mealtime structure up somewhere within their sight such as on the fridge or in the pantry so that when they ask for food between meals, you can gently remind them when the next eating occasion will be, and show them your structured mealtimes up on the fridge.
My '3-Step Response to Food Requests' is a responsive way to remind your children of the set mealtimes. Following these steps will help to maintain consistency and keep your feeding-style in-line with the most optimal Diplomatic feeding-style.


Good luck with setting and being consistent with meal and snack times for your family.

Alysha

Is your child is asking for snacks allll daaay loooong?

It may get tiring for us as parents, but is it the best thing to be saying ‘yes’ to our kids and allowing them to graze on foods allll day long?
I often hear parents saying…
"My kids are asking for food and they’ve just finished lunch 10 minutes ago!"
"But if I just say ‘No’ they throw a tantrum, or are back nagging again in 10 minutes, and next minute they’re too hungry!"
"Shouldn’t we let them eat when they’re hungry though?"
"What if they didn’t eat much at lunchtime and need something else soon after?"
"They’re saying they’re hungry allll day, but they don’t eat anything at dinner time."
 
Your parenting instinct may be telling you to not allow the constant snacking, but it can be so damn hard not knowing how to best deal with the persistent nagging and most parents get worn down. The strategies we use to deal with these food requests and our overall approach to feeding our kids - our feeding-style – has a significant influence on how they will eat in general.
 
Kids can request food for a multitude of reasons ranging from: actually being very hungry to boredom, stress or just the desire for a favourite food such as sweets.
 
Children really thrive on routine and predictability and research shows it is really beneficial for children to have that predictability when it comes to eating times. I am a strong believer in having a meal and snack time structure where meals and snacks are given at the same times each day which provides regular and appropriately spaced out eating opportunities for children. Offering food at set times over the day allows your child to top-up at these eating opportunities and then develop a healthy appetite by the next snack/meal time without becoming too hungry. I find that often when kids are becoming too hungry between meals/snacks and demanding food, it is because something is out of whack with the set meal/snack time structure.
 
We know that children will eat best when they have developed a healthy appetite. They will be less likely to refuse the nutritious food you have cooked and will be more willing to try new foods or the foods that are not-yet-liked. They will also be in good control of eating the amount that is right for them- they will be able to come to the table relaxed and eat enough and then also stop eating when they’re full, not over-full.
On the hunger-fullness scale (below), ideally kids will arrive at the table for set meal/snack time at a #3-4- moderate to mildly hungry and finish eating at a #7-comfortably satisfied. If they are offered snacks within 1-2 hours of meal time and are topping-up their tummy, they will probably be between a #6 and #8 and with not too much desire to eat well when they arrive at the table for their meal.

BUT, it is a fine line between having a healthy appetite and being….hangry!! No parent wants a hangry child! The hangry-monster is less able to regulate emotions and behaviour, will refuse to sit at the table, throw a tantrum because their dinner is on the wrong coloured plate or because the broccoli is touching the rice. They are unlikely to eat well while their emotions are not well controlled- they may be too emotional to eat more than a couple of mouthfuls and they most likely wont be open to trying new foods. Or they are so ravenous they may over-eat. This hangry-monster causes stress for the parents; stress about their behaviour and stress about the fact they didn’t eat well.

So, we don’t want their tummy to be topped up before a meal, and we don’t want the hangry-monster coming to the table either.

Now, you probably know this already, right?

But the part that most parents find difficult is the HOW to get this balance right. HOW to hit that sweet spot. HOW to get their children to the table with a healthy appetite ready to eat the family meal with little fuss.

Without keeping you reading here about how your overall feeding-style can improve your child’s eating behaviours for the next hour…because let’s face it, your child will probably be asking for a snack in that time…I will give you my 3-Step Response to Food Requests, to help manage the nagging for snacks and the grazing on food alllll day long so they can come to the table with a healthy appetite…and then eat well…which means less stress for them and you!

•  “It's not snack time right now Billy, I hear that you really want something to eat though.  Lunch ended only a few minutes ago so our next snack will be at our afternoon snack at 2 o'clock.  How about you go do a puzzle or some colouring-in page for now?
• “Okay, you're hungry, but it's not snack time right now. We're going to be having our snack in about 30 minutes/soon. Would you like to help me set the timer for that so we know when it's time?”
• That’s great that you are starting to feel hungry, and you're lucky because dinner is not too far away. Can you help me cut up the cucumber for the salad or set the table?.
• Oh you’re hungry, well see here on our meal time structure, we had lunch at 1 o'clock, and see our next snack isn’t until 3pm, so let's play with your toys until then.

So, we want to prevent our little ones coming to the table with a tummy that is too topped-up to eat well or too hungry to have well-controlled emotions and eating behaviour. It is helpful to have a set and consistent structure for meal and snack times over the day. Our response to food requests and nagging for food between scheduled meal or snack times is important for preventing our kids eating snacks outside of the set times and ruining the development of their healthy appetite. The recommended 3-Steps for responding to these food requests is to acknowledge their feelings, remind them of the meal/snack time structure and re-direct them onto another activity. I have seen some great success following this structured response to kid's asking for food/snacks between structured meal and snack times. Give it a go, and good luck!
 
But if the problem of constant nagging for food persists, I recommend re-evaluating your family’s meal/snack time structure (or introducing one!) and reaching out for some further guidance.

For more guidance and many more strategies to improve your little ones eating patterns, join the waitlist for my FINISH FUSSY EATING online course!

Alysha