Disastrous dinners?

Ever had that dinner in which everything seems to go wrong? Food thrown on the floor, refusal to eat, tantrums and so on? I thinks this is something most parents have come to grips with at some point in their lives, and most agree, even though we cherish and look back on many past memories - dinner time is usually not one of them!

Child eating patterns can be of a great concern for parents and is one of the leading issues presenting in pediatric care, according to Faye Powell. Recent research has shown that " friendly interaction between mother and child instead of coercive strategies, like pressure and physical prompting, may encourage young children to try different foods.".

Having your child try new food and being greeted by tantrums and refusal to eat can test anyone's patience, however responding with aggressiveness will only help your child associate that food as something that is 'bad' and that is why there is so much pressure to eat it.

Some ideas that might help encourage your child to eat :

1. Let your child explore and experiment with the food
2. Modelling - try eating the food yourself first and emphasis how good it tastes, this will then make them curious and might help them want to try the food themselves.
3. Introduce the new food in a fun and creative way ex : yummy green trees (broccoli), crunchy carrots , juicy tomatoes ect.
4. Be patient! Children will test your patience and your boundaries, keep firm but also remember that as an adult there are foods that you yourself don't like and it's not the end of the world if your children don't like it either.

For more information on the study quoted above please click on this link!

Dr. Stephanie Bartolo
HCPC registered counselling psychologist (U.K)
Psychologist (under supervision) (Malta)