Sunday, August 24, 2008

How to Get Your Kid to Eat... But Not Too Much

As I said when I finished Food Chaining, I have a picky eater. He's not as picky in as the children in that book but I think he may be pickier than the children in How to Get Your Kids to Eat... But Not Too Much by Ellyn Satter. I found the advice in Food Chaining too extreme and I find the advice in this one not extreme enough.

Basically, Satter's premise comes down to this: "It's my job to give him healthy meals and snacks but it's his job to eat it." It sounds simple enough and maybe by reading these two books I've decided that my son's eating really isn't so much of a problem. I'm learning to let him do his thing and since I've done that he's started putting different foods in his diet and he's starting to eat a bit more. It's making meal times less stressful so I'll give it that.

The other thing I took out of this book is scheduled snack times. Maybe he's just not hungry when he comes to the table. I'm trying to work snacks into a schedule but I don't want to be too quick to do so. I'd rather he not notice that there seems to be something changing.

I'm hoping that the book has helped me to be a better parent with food. I know it's an issue for me and I don't want it to be an issue for my boys too. I'll give it a 3.

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