Feeding your family is a complex endeavor. Many families are faced with unique food preferences and dislikes, allergies, extracurricular activities and family mealtime dynamics. It’s a lot to juggle.

Of course, nutrition and food variety are important. However, as a dietitian, I often remind my clients of four key points:

1. Perfect eating doesn’t exist.
2. Overall, when kids have enough to eat, they will grow and develop.
3. As parents and care providers, it helps to manage our expectations around what and how much children will eat.

Offer a variety of foods across three meals and two to three snacks. Predictable eating times are important for kids because they have high energy needs, but small tummies.

Balance meals with three food groups: protein foods + grains or starches + fruit or vegetables. These recipes and ideas are good examples:

• Mexican-Style Shakshuka + toast on the side
• Sandwich with meat, cheese, eggs or hummus + apple slices on the side
• Buttered spirals noodles + lentil-based tomato sauce + soft-cooked carrot sticks
• Baked Pork Schnitzel and Cucumber Dill salad + rice

Balance snacks with two food groups. For example:

• Fruit + yogurt
• Fruit and Veggie Spice Muffins or Lemon Loaf + cheese
• Toast strips + smooth peanut butter

Gently accommodate a child’s preferences by ensuring there is at least one familiar and accepted food available at the meal.

Exploring new foods (or disliked foods) can be scary for children because it is unfamiliar to them. Having a familiar food available helps to ease pressure and concern. Showing respect and trust in a child’s food preferences allows them to build trust in their own body and a positive relationship with food as they grow and develop.

Let the child decide what they are going to eat from the foods you served and how much they eat. Allow a second helping if there is enough for everyone. If they choose not to eat, try not to stress. A snack is likely not too far away.

Avoid pressuring or bribing a child to eat food that they don’t want to eat. Pressure or bribery doesn’t work well in the long term and can shut down any future curiosity around new foods. A child’s food preferences or limitations are valid and deserve respect. Taking the pressure off the child, takes the pressure off you, and makes for more peaceful mealtimes.

There are a lot of nuances around family meals and eating dynamics. If you are concerned about your child’s growth pattern or eating behaviours, meet with a dietitian for assessment, support and mealtime strategies.

Brooke Bulloch, Registered Dietitian (BSc)
Food to Fit Nutrition Inc.