Our Family's Favorite French Food Rule

All week, I have been focusing on the French Food Rules from “French Kids Eat Everything” by Karen Le Billon. Plus, I will be giving away a copy of this book tomorrow! Have you entered for your chance to win? (To enter, click here)

So far, I have discussed how our family follows the no snacking rule and our efforts to avoid emotional eating. Today, I want to talk about our favorite rule:

French Food Rule #10 - RELAX! Eating is joyful, not stressful.

I know a lot of parents who stress out about feeding their families. It's difficult not to worry about whether we are doing things just right. Is it okay to skip the baby purees? Should I give my 6 month old meat or veggies first? Is my child eating enough or too much? What if my toddler won't eat the food I prepare? What if I can't cook? What if my child throws their plate on the floor? The potential list of anxieties is long, but it does not have to be that way.

Relax! Eating is joyful.

French Food Rule #10 is my favorite because it encourages us to remember what is really important. It's true that we have to eat to survive, but food is not just about nutrition or counting calories. Eating is also a social and cultural experience. The act of eating is about taking pleasure in sharing food together. It's about appreciating the bounty of the harvest, experiencing new and comforting flavors, and sharing conversation around the family table.

Find pleasure in sharing good food.

Learning to relax is a call to change how we frame the experience of eating. The food rules are meant to encourage children to develop positive eating habits, not to micromanage what our kids eat. Mealtimes are about finding balance and trusting our children and ourselves to make good food choices.

The French might frown on this messy lunch, but they also know that eating is fun.

The other nine French Food Rules set up the basic guidelines for good eating routines, but Rule #10 is about giving yourself a break and being open to fun. It is even okay to bend the rules every once in a while, especially when it helps to keep you from stressing out.

Comments

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

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

What to do about dairy?

Last week I took Henry to the pediatrician. He was diagnosed with yet another ear infection. This is his fifth serious ear infection over the past seven months. The pediatrician gave us another round of antibiotics and was concerned enough to refer us to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist for an evaluation. Henry's usually bubbly personality changes for the worse when he gets an ear infection. When Henry is sick his usually bubbly and outgoing personality changes to clingy and cranky. He has trouble sleeping for more than a few hours at a time, without crying out for comfort. It's rough on the whole family when he does not sleep well because his ears are hurting. I am tired of giving Henry multiple antibiotics and I am worried that his hearing and speech development are being affected. Ear infections are fairly common in young children and there is a lot of conflicting advice about how to treat them. The most common treatment for recurring ear infections are ear tub

How to Feed a Henry

Search This Blog