Skip to main content

Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Set a good example


This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Set a good example.
As parents, we are the first role models for Henry. He will learn from our example, so Daddy and I need to eat our fruits and vegetables too. I am not a big fan of mango, but I let Henry watch me eat it with a smile on my face. Then he wants to try some mango too.
Henry is more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when he sees Mommy and Daddy eat them too.
A recent study confirmed that when parents lead by example their children have a more nutritious diet. The best way to inspire healthy eating habits is to demonstrate them first-hand to your children. Another study found that when parents ate an extra serving of fruit or vegetables each day, their child ate an additional half serving.

Yes, it is important to talk with kids about food. But don’t just tell your child to eat their vegetables, let them see you eating a balanced meal that includes plenty of fruits and veggies. It may not always seem like it, but your kids are paying attention to what you eat.
Henry tries some cabbage and snow peas from my plate.
Think about what food behaviors you want to encourage in your kids, and then double-check your own habits to make sure you are modeling this behavior. For example, we want Henry to eat at least one fruit or vegetable with every meal. We make sure that Henry sees us enjoying fruits or vegetables each time we sit down to eat.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Holly @ Mama Bear BlogsAugust 22, 2012 at 5:08 AM

    I've been enjoying reading your blog for the last couple of weeks. My baby is almost 6 months and we're thinking about how we want to go about introducing solids. It's interesting to read about your experiences with Henry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownAugust 23, 2012 at 12:45 PM

      I'm so glad you are enjoying the blog. I am having fun writing it and it helps me remember to take lots of pictures of Henry.

      Starting solids can make new parents so apprehensive. Before we began, I had so many questions about how and what to do. I hope the blog helps alleviate some of your worries and makes your transition to solids a little easier. I’d love to hear back about how it goes with your baby’s introduction to solids.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousAugust 29, 2012 at 4:53 AM

    My son definitely eats more when we're eating at the same time, and eating the same thing. You're on the right track letting him choose how much to eat too- it's the only way to do it. The other path only leads to pointless frustration!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook

UPDATE (10/2/12): Unfortunately, I did not hear back from our original winner. Congratulations to our alternate winner for "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" -- Robin Pfefer. UPDATE (9/29/12): I am happy to announce that Kashia Clopper is the winner of "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook". When I was first thinking about using the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) model for Henry, I was unsure about whether it would really work. I was excited about BLW’s claims of less stressful meals that the whole family could share together. Plus, I was all for encouraging Henry to gain new skills by learning about the shapes, textures, colors, smells and flavors of food. This sounded ideal in theory, but would it work in practice? After some fun but ineffective attempts at letting Henry feed himself, I went in search of resources to learn more about BLW. I needed to learn how to prepare meals for our family in which Henry could participate. That’s when I found “ The Baby-Led
16 comments
Read more

Do Your Kids Eat Everything?

UPDATE (3/15/2013): Congratulations to Kia as the random drawing winner in this giveaway! Thank you to all those who entered this contest.  Before we began our food adventure with Henry, Daddy and I had many conversations about how to encourage Henry to become “a good eater.” After watching other parents constantly struggle with their toddlers, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do from the start to prevent picky eating. That’s when we read “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . The book is an easy and enjoyable read about the year that Karen’s family spent in France and how it changed the way her family eats. The heart of the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. “French Kids Eat Everything” sparked numerous discussions at our dinner table about how our family eats. We have become more conscious of our assumptions about food and how that will influence Henry’s understanding of mealtimes. In addition, the
17 comments
Read more

Please Don't Feed My Toddler Cheetos

Our family has started a new chapter -- last week I rejoined the paid workforce! I am very excited about my new part-time job at a local history museum, coordinating field trips and special events. As part of this transition, Henry is now going to daycare three days per week.  Henry meets new friends and plays with new toys on his first day at daycare. Searching for quality childcare was a somewhat stressful experience. We visited 8 childcare facilities who had immediate space available for Henry to begin part-time care. I wanted to be confident that Henry would be cared for by experienced, nurturing staff in an environment that would challenge him to learn new skills and form friendships with other children. Of course, the added cost of childcare also had to fit within our family budget. While interviewing daycares, one aspect that I cared about was food. All eight of the facilities participate in the USDA food program , receiving reimbursement at a set rate for the meals they
5 comments
Read more