10 nutrition lessons (not only) for our children

From childhood, it is much easier to learn good principles of attitude towards food than to correct your habits later. Psychotherapist Gerard Apfeldorfer offers some valuable advice to parents … who really should check it out for themselves.

1) I sincerely like what I eat.

A child learns to eat by looking at his parents: first of all, he reads in their faces what feelings it causes in them. If during the meal we experience anxiety or guilt, then our child will be wary of what he eats. Therefore, in order to pass on good eating habits to him, we ourselves should be sympathetic to what we eat.

What to ask yourselfQ: Do I enjoy food? How do I feel about what I eat?

2) I eat with my child.

Of course, it’s hard to do it all the time. But it is better that at least once a day we eat together: eating habits are formed at the table, and not at lectures. Children learn not only from their parents, but also from everyone with whom they have to eat. And this is good: it is useful to have before your eyes many different examples of how to behave, and even how not to behave. If the child is too small to sit at the table, he can sit next to us in a high chair and watch us. He will notice that his parents like being at the table, and he will want to quickly join them.

What to ask yourself: how often do we gather at the table with loved ones?

3) I teach him to taste and evaluate the taste.

Tasting skills come gradually. The child, seeing how we slowly enjoy every nuance of taste, will begin to behave the same way. He is already interested in playing this game, it remains only to add words. “How do you like pasta? This spicy flavor comes from basil. Do you feel the aroma? I didn’t include it last time. You like?”

What to ask yourself: Do I give myself time to enjoy each bite before swallowing it? Do we share impressions at the table?

4) I tell the story of every dish we eat.

It’s not enough to try food, you have to talk about it. Tell your child the story of potatoes, pizza, cocoa. When and where did the recipe appear? For example: “This is a pie according to your grandmother’s recipe. When I was as old as you, we baked it together in the fall, when apples ripened in the country. And now we can eat it in the spring, because apples are brought to us from warm countries. Do you remember how we vacationed in Spain last summer – there are a lot of gardens there. Each dish has a fascinating story that will be remembered by the child and will turn the meal into an adventure filled with joyful discoveries.

What to ask yourselfQ: Where is the recipe for this dish from? When did I get to try it for the first time and how do I feel about it?

5) I introduce the child to the traditions and rules of behavior at the table.

Food is a way to feel like part of a family. Looking at loved ones, the child first learns to hold a spoon, then eat with a knife and fork. Today, good manners are not the strict etiquette of past centuries; the rules of behavior at the table differ not only in different countries, but also in different families. It is important that the child eats in the same way as the adults around him – with respect for food, for other people and, ultimately, for himself.

What to ask yourself: Do I set the table before I start eating? What rules of behavior at the table exist in our family?

Read more:

  • “Eating well is not easy”
  • Regain the pleasure of eating

Irina, 32 years old, public relations specialist, Timofey, 8 years old “Together with my son, I learned to eat again”

“Before, I didn’t think about what I was eating: I didn’t pay attention to labels, I didn’t know about the existence of flavor enhancers, I bought semi-finished products … When Timofey was born, everything changed. One day I came across a book on how to teach a child to eat food that will bring him benefit and pleasure *. And I began to instill healthy eating habits in my son. For example, to make him love vegetables, cut out circles from carrots, cucumbers, sweet peppers, and we made a traffic light out of them. We had an agreement: when the children in the kindergarten treated everyone with chocolate bars and caramel on a stick for their birthday, the son brought sweets home and we exchanged them for high-quality chocolate and marshmallow. It is clear that the gifts, which contained an abundance of chemical dyes and flavors, were immediately sent to the trash can. By instilling healthy eating habits in my son, I learned how to eat again. Evaluated the taste of some products and changed preferences. For example, I used to not understand the taste of fish. And now I like it much more than the once beloved meat. For eight years now, we have changed to a healthier diet, although we do not limit ourselves in anything. We just prefer freshly squeezed juices to packaged juices, home-made food to store-bought sausages: I take meat from the market and make minced meat myself. From the point of view of nutrition, our nutrition is not too “correct”: I bake a lot and make incredibly delicious sweets … So, starting with what would be useful for my son, I came to the point that I discovered the charm of homemade cakes, homemade meatballs and fresh juices.

* A. Gippius “Feed me right! For me to be healthy and cheerful” (Prime-Eurosign, 2006).

6) I teach him to hear his desires and discuss the menu with him.

Today we have a large selection of food – to the taste of every member of the family. And the desire to eat a certain dish is not an empty whim: our body gives a signal with taste sensations and emotions about what nutrients it needs. This is how the internal mechanisms of regulation gain access to our consciousness. However, if everyone eats their own (even at a common table), the meal is unlikely to be unifying, common. That is why it is worth discussing the menu, agreeing in advance with the child: “Let’s have delicious fish today, for which dad specially went to the market, and tomorrow we will cook chicken – the way you want.”

What to ask yourself: who and how makes the menu in our family? Do we discuss our desires with each other?

7) I help him discover new things.

Arrange tastings: new dishes will help the child gradually expand the taste horizons, and this enriches the personality. Although you should not constantly jump from one dish to another: it is better that the flavors familiar to the family form the basis. When shopping for yogurts, sweets, or any ready-made meals, stop at two or three in each category – the ones you like the most. The fact is that our brain tracks and records how a food affects our well-being. And then it sends us a signal: for example, now it would be good to eat oatmeal cookies, and not a cracker with onions and salt.

What to ask yourself: What dishes do our family like? How often do we try new recipes?

8) In food, I do not put conditions on the child.

“Finish the rice (behave) – get candy (ice cream)!” What conclusions will the child make? Dessert is a bonus, something optional. But he gives pleasure. Hence, the pleasure of eating may not be. And probably, at every opportunity, it is better to eat up to satiety with ice cream or chocolate. In addition, if adults can deprive me of dessert, perhaps someday they will deprive me of other (important in their opinion) food – who can guarantee? .. Let’s leave sweets their rightful place – on a par with other ordinary dishes, on a par with appetizers, soup or hot.

What to ask yourself: Do I have forbidden, and therefore especially desirable dishes, with the help of which I punish or reward myself?

9) I teach him to recognize feelings of hunger and satiety.

Learning to eat means learning to listen and respect your feelings, striving for a comfort zone: I am not too hungry and I have not overeaten. And for this you need to be able to distinguish physiological hunger from the desire to eat in order to calm down. A breakdown, rumbling in the stomach can speak of hunger … But how to catch the moment of saturation? “Probably you were very hungry – in a minute you ate everything that was on your plate! How do you feel now? Is it heavy in the stomach? Yes, you endured for a long time and that’s why you ate so much. Probably worth something to eat so as not to overeat at dinner. Will you remember this the next time you get really hungry?”

What to ask yourself: How does my hunger manifest itself? Do I finish eating when I feel comfortable or when my stomach is (too) full?

10) I show how to eat high-calorie dishes … and not so much.

Any products are worthy of respect, but high-calorie ones require a particularly reverent attitude. Sweet and fatty foods give the body energy: to get enough, they need negligible. Therefore, in order to catch satiety signals in time, chocolate, pastries, cheese or smoked meats should be eaten especially carefully and slowly, listening to your feelings: bite off a small piece, hold it in your mouth in order to fully enjoy the bright taste, texture and aroma of the product. Notice how with each next bite the taste changes, becomes less desirable … and then stop until the next time when the appetite returns. On the contrary, the taste of vegetables or herbs will not change much from one fork to another, you just need to make sure that the stomach does not overflow. But what if the child urgently asks for a chocolate bar or chips? First, it is better to ask if he is hungry. If not, maybe something is going wrong? Cravings for sweets and fatty foods (such foods do have calming properties) usually occur when a child lacks warmth – attention, affection, kind words. Don’t teach him to eat instead of talking. Invite him to talk about his worries and feelings, try to talk heart to heart. Let him eat the candy and discuss why he wanted it so much. “Sit down with me, let me hug you, and you will tell me how your life is, what is good, what is not very … And then, if you want, you can take another candy …”

What to ask yourself: Can I tell myself how I feel right now? What is really troubling me?

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