Meal times with toddlers and young children can be fraught with emotional danger, but it doesn't need to be.
As parents we all worry that our children don't get enough to eat especially with children that are grazers. Some little ones are like Duracell batteries, they just keep going on and on without little recharge.
To get the little ones to eat more of their meal there are a few little tricks to keep in mind
1) Keep meal times happy and engaging, not a battle zone. Turn off the TV and talk with each other at the table. Ambient music played softly in the background sets the mood. Silence is one company that shouldn't be invited to the table
2) don't overload the plate, children need at least 5 small meals a day not 3 larger meals. A large plate can be overwhelming for the younger ones.
3) don't over emphasis finishing their meal, but more enjoy being in each others company. As you are eating and talking with them they will follow suit. If they are stubborn about eating anything, depending on the dish served, unfinished meal and be placed in the fridge and reheated a little later if they are hungry again.
4) if your child dislikes a particular food this week, loved it last week, they more than likely will love it once again in a few weeks time. Never force a child to eat a food they naturally dislike, if they shudder & shake or gag, there are plenty of alternative foods of the same nutritional content to benefit their health.
5) Hide veges in a mash or pasta dish, if veges are a battle starter. "Martian Mash" was very popular in my household for while.
6) Encourage children to help prepare the meals and set the table and also discuss what the meal should be. Openly reward involvement at the dinner table, eg "Wow you did a fantastic job with mashing the potatoes, they taste great..."
7) Don't serve meals too late, evening meals for the under 10's should be before 6.30 pm. Hungry children can get "over" their hunger and become less inclined to eat at all.
If one parent comes home later than the rest of the family, that parent can still have "meal times" with the children. I know one family has the children doing homework at the table while Dad is having dinner, while he is eating, he is also helping with homework and talking about their day. At times the children finished of their meal with Dad.
8) Draw boundaries such as "kitchen is closed after dinner".
