Food! Its Nutritional And Social Importance On Your Child’s Overall Health!

When Brendan joined our daycare at twenty months, he had a history of a limited diet and poor overall habits and table manners.

He benefited from our system of serving food groups in order of vegetables, protein, carb/grain and then fruit.

Each child had to finish one group before they asked for the next. When completed, they were welcome to request an additional portion of whatever food remained.

We have a specific menu for each day of the week and those five menus are repeated weekly.
Most of the children at the daycare referred to each day by the foods that will be severed. Lunch was an extremely important part of the day and was definitely one of Bernard’s favorite times.

After more than a year, we suddenly noticed that his manners and style at the lunch table were dramatically different. He began using his hand to handle his food rather than his spoon, played with each food group. He became difficult and either stalled in terms of a reasonable time to complete each food group, or stuffed his mouth with food. He would then become upset when he lost the option of having a second severing due to stalling.

He went from a happy, efficient participant, to a disruptive and attention demanding child.

When we inquired from the parents whether they had noticed any changes at home, they admitted he had been so efficient and happy at meal time that they had stopped sitting with him and instead used that time to get caught up on work and then enjoyed a quiet dinner together after he was in bed. They also stated that they did not always want to eat what he was having.

It was no surprise to us now why a major change was occurring at our daycare.

Brendan was feeling abandoned, isolated and angry that he was left alone. This is not only because food is more enjoyable when shared, but also because he had not seen his parents all day!

Meals are a major family and social connection. Brendan’s habits told us that he was either stalling to get more attention, or stuffing his mouth to finish quickly so he could join his parents. 

Brendan’s parents were missing an opportunity to enjoy time together, but also to share their day, and especially to introduce him to their favorite foods for a more expanded diet.

Do

1.Establish a menu for the week.

2.Repeat all the successes and add in a new item periodically.

3.If each parent has some favorite foods, they should be included and shared with him.

4.Keep the conversation positive, you can add in some personal experiences but keep it to a minimum.

5.Breakfast is often a meal everyone can participate in together. Make sure there is at least one parent with the child.

6.The effective use of personal skills and habits needs to be monitored and corrected when necessary.

7.Just think of how proud you will be of him when you take your child to a restaurant or a family/friends home and he knows how to enjoy food.

8.Brendan has now moved to a table with older children and is starting to use a fork, and can be relied on to be polite and happy!

9.The parents are committed to family meals now that they understand that sharing food is both a social experience and the basis for a healthy life.
Enjoy!