Eat My Words

Somewhere along the line we paired up the dinner table and the playground...much to the children's delight, but also to their detriment. You can't teach a child to sit still for a meal when he or she is sitting in the middle of a circus! If you give a child the choice of sitting still in a classroom or playing in the park, what do you think they will choose? Yet proper eating behavior must be taught, and from an early age. I see it every day in my daycare...the minute a child is not confined in a highchair, the first thing they want to do is run around instead of sit still and attend to the task of eating their food. Of course I try to make the food tasty and appealing, but I make sure there are no toys or diversions distracting them from their food. I try to teach them that eating is something to do in and of itself...it requires a change of pace, and a change of focus.

That's why mealtime must be an enjoyable, yet low key experience, as opposed to a party. The more their association with food is paired with high levels of excitement, the less it is about the food. It's important to teach children to enjoy eating for the sake of eating. Savoring the flavors, filling their empty bellies, and doing something good for themselves. Preschoolers in my daycare learn the right thing to do for your body is to eat good food, sit still, chew carefully, and fill up their stomachs so they can grow and be healthy and strong. It is never too early to start taking responsibility for your own body, and eating is a tangible way to start teaching that important lesson.

It seems to me that we've got it all wrong about feeding children. We need to show how much we cherish them not by indulging their every advertising-fueled fast food whim but by teaching them about real food, cooked at home (so they can learn where it really comes from) and eaten with their family. Exposing children to only those food choices available at a fast food place limits the types of foods they will learn to love. Children's taste buds are growing and developing right along with the rest of them, so it is vital that they experience a wide array of tastes and textures. That, quite simply, is how to create a "not picky eater." Of course all people have their food preferences and favorites...that is normal. Another important lesson children can learn from food is that you can enjoy a wide array of things and that everything doesn't have to be your "favorite."

I believe that food is a powerful influence throughout our lives. We all have memories associated with food. Believe it or not, kids - especially preschoolers - do listen. They listen to commercials because commercials talk to them. What are we telling kids about our food values with our words and actions? Let's vow to make some lifelong food memories with our kids!