Building a Strong Mealtime Bond with Littles: Pediatric Nutrition Series
When mealtime emotions run high, the feeding experience feels less inviting and more stressful for all parties involved. This Pediatric Nutrition Series will include ways to create a positive eating experience for infants and toddlers, strategies to combat food neophobia and ease the toddler-parent mealtime power struggle.
Combating Food Neophobia
Food Neophobia, or the fear of trying new foods, is considered a normal stage in child development. Research shows that early introducing new foods (before the age of two) is critical to familiarize infants and toddlers with new textures, tastes, and smells.
When babies are ready to start solids/complementary foods, it is important to encourage food play. Yes, let them get messy! Clean up baby once the mealtime is over. This encourages a full sensory experience for your little one.
Toddlers are tiny sponges, taking in all the world has to offer. Often, mealtime preferences can be swayed by what caregivers like to eat or, better yet, do not like to eat. It’s essential to remain neutral when discussing food with our toddlers, especially when introducing new foods.
We encourage pairing a new food item with a “safe food” item. A safe food is a comfortable, “go-to” item. For example, say your little one really loves blueberries; you could offer a few blueberries with whatever new food item you plan to introduce at snack or mealtime that day. Remember that not every eating encounter needs to introduce a new food; allow this to happen over time.
Managing Mealtimes
Littles thrive on routine, so it is crucial to create one for mealtimes. Better yet, make it fun! Encourage your child to help set the table, create a song to signal that it is almost time to sit down for the meal, and participate in hand washing together prior to the meal.
As a caregiver, it is essential not to force feed or bribe at mealtimes. We want our little ones to learn how to listen to their hunger and fullness cues. Our job as caregivers is to provide and prepare the food; the child’s job is to determine what and how much they will eat.
By age two, toddlers begin to express more body autonomy and show signs that they want to make mealtime decisions. After all, they have very little control over many other things in their life. Often, these kiddos are labeled as “picky” or “fussy” eaters. However, this is a normal transition in your toddler’s stage of development. By allowing your little one to be fully involved in the mealtime experience (what they serve themselves, the foods they choose to eat, the utensils they use, etc.), the mealtime experience will slowly become a more positive one.
It is important to note that we always encourage family meals whenever possible, but, as we know, life is busy, and we cannot always sit down together - and that is okay. Always remember to do your best with the things and time you have!
