❤️Feeding My Boys ❤️
My greatest challenge as a dietitian came when I was debating how I was going to introduce my first son to food and start shaping his relationship with eating and food. I wanted this to be a positive and fun experience!
At this point, I had worked as a pediatric early intervention dietitian helping families and children overcome obstacles with their eating relationships. Some children struggled with sensory and food texture aversions, picky eating, or food allergies to name a few. I learned so much about how I wanted to feed my son, but I still needed a plan.
So, I read books from experienced dietitians and feeding therapists, reviewed research articles on the benefits of different feeding models, paid for feeding courses and webinars…and finally came up with a plan when he was 7 months old 😬.
The Eating/Food Plan would:
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Be joyful and low-stress!
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Be fun and messy!
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Encourage thankfulness
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Include the whole family
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Allow him to listen to his hunger cues
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Foster positive self-worth
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Develop an adventurous eater
In reality this looked like:
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Cooking together (when age appropriate) or getting the food together (picking figs/blueberries) and shopping/unloading food together
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Sitting down together at the table with no technology
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Praying before our meals thanking God for the provision of food and grateful to whomever prepared the meal
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Meals and snacks at consistent intervals for growing bodies
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Providing a balanced meal (fat, protein, carbs, fruit, vegetables)
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The same meal for everyone (if he was not hungry, he could refuse and if hungry, eat as much as he wanted, he chose how much or little he wanted of the meal or snack)
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Feeding himself without criticism or comments about the mess or how much/little he ate (his worth was not found in what types of food he ate, how he ate, or how much he ate)
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Dessert offered if planned regardless of what he actually ate at the meal
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Trying new foods or new combinations of foods at least weekly
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Asking (or signing) politely for more food or politely refusing food
As we put this plan in action, I failed some days and succeeded other days.
Overall, we enjoy meals and snacks as a family and we love to eat all types of foods. We have added another eater in recent months with a food intolerance.
As a mom, I don’t dread mealtimes or bribe my boys to eat. We enjoy talking about our days at mealtimes (dogs, deer, dirt trucks, baseball 😊), act silly and sing songs. The focus of our meals is to enjoy each other’s company and create lasting memories!
Feeding my boys and shaping their relationship with eating and food has been one of the most rewarding areas of my career as a dietitian and mom. It would be my pleasure to help you feed your family with love and balanced nutrition.