Meal times with young kids can feel like a battlefield. Trying to get them to sit down at the table or just to try one bite of a lovingly prepared meal can leave you feeling exhausted.
We want the best for our kids and want to make sure they are getting the right foods and amounts to help their little bodies grow and develop. So, we persevere day after day, meal after meal searching for foods they might just try or something that is packed with goodness.
If this sounds like your meal times, you are certainly not alone. Most children experience times of fussiness with food and this can leave parents feeling very frustrated and worried.
Eighty per cent of parents have concerns over their children’s eating habits and one third feel their children aren’t eating enough.
The good news is that it is possible to make changes to the way your kids eat, even if it feels impossible. To help equip parents to overcome the trickiness of our fussy eaters and frustrating meal times, Thrive Nutrition & Dietetics is running a two-hour Fussy Eating workshop at Blaxland Community Centre on May 11 at 10am and at Blackheath Fitness Centre on June 15 at 10am.
The workshops will cover:
• Stay strong and get through the tantrums. Praise good behaviour and ignore the bad.
• Provide a positive meal time environment, including eating together and how to be a good role model.
• Stop being a meal coach. How to stop negotiating, reasoning or begging your child to eat their food. What, when and where they eat is up to you as the parent. How much is up to them.
• Not give up and remember that it often takes 15-20 tries before a child will accept a new food.
• Understand reasons why they might not be eating.
Cost $40. To book call 0422 496 511, limited spaces available.
