“Finish Your Plate” Not A Good Dining Policy For Toddlers
When I was younger, I hated being told I couldn’t leave the table until I finished my plate. Sometimes, my mother would get frustrated with my lack of appetite, I would be at the dining table staring at my breakfast with lunch already being cooked! Fast-forward to now, I do have problems with portion control. I don’t blame my mother. She believed being wasteful was a sin, and our family was always on a tight budget. Who hasn’t heard a mom or dad chide “don’t you know there are children starving in Africa?” when one refused to finish a meal.
Well, one more study has been released to discourage parents from insisting a toddler finish their plate. See, children know when they are full, and their body signals them very clearly when they are. To insist that a child eat beyond that full feeling, is to teach them to ignore their body’s signals. A Cornell study has the same finding, stating that children who were regularly encouraged to finish their plate often asked for larger portions of “sweetened cereal for a snack” outside the home.
What’s the best approach to feeding your kids? Start with small portions to begin with, and let them ask for seconds. Introduce healthy snacks, and balanced meals with components from all food groups. Include a variety of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and different flavors. Let your child’s inner signal dictate when they should finish a meal.
What about if you suspect that a child is skipping a meal to play instead? For special occasions, it should be okay to let it slide. On a regular schedule, children should be taught that meals will be served at certain times, and if they miss those times, they can’t eat after dinner, right before bed because they’re hungry. This will set their expectations, and let them know that they better take advantage of when food is available. Pediatricians agree: kids won’t starve themselves. Eventually, they’ll eat, and even ask for seconds to make up for any missed meals!
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tjwriter says...
You couldn’t ever force my toddler to eat if you wanted to, but she’s of the million micro meals crowd, so I don’t ever try to convince her to eat more than she does unless she keeps telling me that she is, indeed, still hungry.
She eats when she’s hungry.
tjwriters last blog post..Home Stretch – Starting the Third Trimester
Lis Garrett says...
My three children are so finicky, I actually won’t feed them until they tell me they are hungry. On most occasions, they ARE hungry for three square meals a day. However, there are some days when lunch is served at 2PM instead of at noon on the dot (as I was accustomed to when I was younger), and then I serve them a very simple dinner.
M?ire Clements says...
This is a very helpful post. Most of us of childbearing age remember being told there were children starving in Africa. How about here in America? Eating everything on the plate and generous portions is indeed pushed on many toddlers and young children.
Unfortunately,this starts with our babies. Even breastfeeding babies are being overfed these days. There is tremendous pressure on mothers to prove they are feeding their baby by pushing them to eat and gain rapidly. Pumping and supplementation with breast milk or formula stretches their little stomachs and increases their appetites beyond what may be their normal baseline.
When these babies become toddlers they will either exercise their option to refuse food, eat less than offered, or expand their appetites, intake and dimensions to even greater proportions.
We feed those we love, but it is not the only way that love can be expressed. Food is fuel and sharing a meal should be a pleasant experience and not stressful for mom or her toddler.