To illustrate what intuitive eating is, consider an experiment conducted in 1928 by Dr. Clara Davis. She organized a specialized kindergarten for children from disadvantaged children, its peculiarity was in the approach to nutrition. Food was always available to children and in any quantity, in several types of mono-products – meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy products. It turned out that babies eat unevenly throughout the day and on days of the week, and there is no logic in their food preferences. Davis found three important points. First, the children who chose their own menu developed very well, none of them became either too thin or fat. Secondly, the diet of such a child eventually included all the necessary elements, as if he was eating on a strict scientific diet. Thirdly, after a while, the condition of the children improved dramatically, all the babies developed well and practically did not suffer from colds.
The principles of intuitive eating have been actively used in Europe for 30 years, but in Russia this direction is only gaining momentum. Central idea: Avoiding dieting and allowing you to eat whatever you want. Children are sensitive to the needs of the body, in contrast to adults, limited by various kinds of prohibitions. Here are the basic principles.
1. Feed only when he is hungry. There are days when the baby has no appetite. The reasons can be different: from hidden infection to mastering new skills. “So what, leave him hungry?” – the caring mother will ask. Yes, the intuitive eating experts will answer. Let him not eat his daily requirement of nutrients, but he will definitely pick them up within a week.
2. Do not force to finish eating. When 2-3 tablespoons of soup or porridge remain on the plate, the parents persuade or force to eat another spoon. We have learned the rule of a clean plate since childhood. What do these unwanted spoons give? The severity of overeating at least, and then – body fat. Why do our children need these problems?
3. Give your child a choice. Yes, he can take something that is not useful from a parental point of view. But having satisfied his need for sausages, the baby will soon turn his attention to porridge. The second option is that the child may want something that is not available. In such cases, you need to negotiate, the children are flexible, they will always agree to a replacement from the available dishes.
4. Keep food at arm’s length. The kid can play so much that he simply does not want to allocate time for lunch at the table. But running past a plate of fruit, he will quickly find something to satisfy a slight hunger. If you are still worried about the empty stomach of the child, sit down to eat yourself. He will probably be interested in what is on mom’s plate.
5. Legalize forbidden foods. A product that is available all the time is no longer attractive. The widespread belief that if you allow a child to eat sweets, he will eat only them, is wrong. The moment will surely come when the child will ask for borscht instead of sweets. If the baby has allergies, out of respect for him, exclude dangerous foods from the diet of the whole family, and let him choose from what is available.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
My two-year-old son had to be persuaded to eat from time to time. Cartoons, drawing, fairy tales were used … At the same time, the list of products was limited due to problems with the chair. When I allowed my son to choose, he ate only cereals and dryers for a week, he categorically refused the first. And on the weekend he asked for borsch, and he insisted that I not mix it with bread. Now, with bananas, apples, pears, dryers and candies at his fingertips, he often opts for fruit. The advantages of such food are obvious to me: I no longer puzzle over how and how to feed him, and I don’t worry that he will suddenly be hungry. The son now decides such questions himself.