As part of nutrition month, dietitians invite you to end the fight with food by targeting the problems you are experiencing with the nutrition of your child and your family, and by informing you on the topic.
How to make meals harmonious?
You would like me altimes to be fun, but your child refuses to eat what you prepare for the family. You are angry and the tone rises! Negotiations begin… Stop everything and breathe. To avoid this situation, it is necessary to know the role of the parent and the role of the child with regard to food. The parent decides what nutritious foods are offered, when and where the meal is served. It is then up to the child to choose what to eat and how much.
The role of the parent
- Responsible for food selection throughout the day (meals and snacks)
- Responsible for where food is consumed
- Responsible for when food is eaten
The role of the child
Responsible for food quantityconsumed
Well, okay, the meal is now harmonious. You apply these notions of division of roles in parent and child. You prepare a meal, but your child refuses to eat the vegetables, he takes a bite of meat and three bites of rice. He takes his yogurt. Leaving the table, you remind him that the snack will be at a specific time. You are happy because you have not negotiated and the atmosphere is better, but you are worried because your child rarely eats his vegetables at me altime. What to do?
You must choose which foods will make up the next snack. Snacks should not be random foods, they should consist of foods that have not been eaten or not eaten enough at the previous meal. So an example of a snack that should complement the meal mentioned above could be raw vegetables with a legume-based dip and a few whole-grain crackers.
The place and time
It is best to offer children three meals and two to three snacks a day, at set times, and ensure that they do not snack during the day. That way, they'll be hungry by the time they eat, since even a small amount of milk or juice or a handful of crackers can ruin a child's appetite. A snack should be taken at least 2 hours before a meal.
If you want to learn more about making meals more enjoyable at home, you canSeek help from a dietitian-nutritionist. To find a dietitian-nutritionist in your area you can visit www.dietitians.ca/find.
To go further
- About Nutrition Month 2017: 5 fact sheets on different food and nutrition topics
- Cuisinidées to find tempting and nutritious recipes
- ANProfile to assess your food and activity choices, analyze your recipes and plan your meals. Sign up to set goals and track your progress.
