Become Curious Foodies as a Family
Cooking, eating, new restaurants, new kitchen equipment. Get your child involved in cooking, shopping and baking. They don’t have to eat any of it, just create a buzz and interest. A learning tower in the kitchen can be a great resource.
Allow your child to have more independence and a feeling of control.
Buy a selection of serving spoons and allow your child to serve themselves, their sibling and you. Show your child you appreciate this with specific praise on what you would like them to repeat.
Eat as a family,
Make meal times sociable and a time for chats and ideas to be shared. If you are working, try to make this a habit for the weekends or build in a daily breakfast meal. Add variety and remove tension away from the dining table. Remember we are trying to create healthy and positive connections with food for life.
I recommend no iPad, or phones at the table
The whole family can place theirs in a basket in the kitchen for the duration. This can become part of the meal rituals each day and will start a good habit longer term. Rituals around meals can be really helpful as predictability helps support calm children.
During the family meal model positive eating yourself and the enjoyment you feel when eating.
You can gently talk about food and where it comes from. You can together notice the smells etc. The old phrase “monkey see, monkey do” can be helpful here as you reflect on what your child has seen so far around meal times. Avoid any pressure on your child to feel the same/do the same. Your job at this point is just to model it. It’s very helpful if other carers such as a Nanny do the same. In my nursery settings I used to insist that staff sat with the children and ate their meal. All the nursery ate the same like a family.