Are you constantly chasing your toddler to put a bite in her/his mouth every morning and night? If so, we’ve got you covered. This article will teach you the best techniques for instilling food discipline in your toddler.
We understand that the most difficult and exhausting aspect of being a new parent is getting your child to eat with discipline. Furthermore, toddlers continue to reject food and become easily irritated if the food is not as per their expectations.
So, food struggles and toddlers are interlinked with each other and are pretty natural. Thus, introducing food discipline to kids can help you end up or avoid these eating struggles. So, let’s get started to learn ways to end the food struggle or challenge with kids.
How To Instill Food Discipline In Toddlers With Ease?
1. Proper High Chair & Table
Making kids sit on a proper high chair and table will teach them that food is only properly eaten while sitting patiently and not running around the house. This should be a child’s routine, and they should understand that during mealtime, they only need to eat at the table. As a result, you won’t have to chase them down and get exhausted. Allow them time to eat and make a mess around them so they can eat on their own. You can also place their chair and table near the dining table where you are eating.
2. Let Them Be Messy Eaters
You are not always required to feed your toddler. You can simply allow your children to be messy eaters. Allow them to savor each bite and be mindful eaters. Make an effort to avoid screen time during mealtime. Furthermore, messy eating is an important part of a child’s development. It aids in the development of fine motor skills, and mindful eating aids in the understanding of the ingredients and spices. This method also teaches children patience and discipline. Furthermore, as parents, avoid using your phone or watching daily soaps while eating because children mimic their parents. So, if you want to teach them to be disciplined eaters, you must first be one yourself.
3. Make An Eating Schedule
Making toddlers at any time will make them irritable. For example, if they are playing by themselves and you force them to sit for eating, they will become agitated because their mind is preoccupied with something else. As a result, if you create a proper schedule for their meal times, they will be aware, and it will also prepare their body clock. As a result, children will no longer be picky. Furthermore, routines instill discipline in a child’s life.
4. Make Them Eat What You Eat
Make your children eat the same foods that you do at first. Make no special or separate foods for them. To begin, blend the vegetables to make them more palatable, or make vegetable porridge. Make them eat what you eat daily later on. If you make separate food for them, they will expect it from a young age. As a result, toddlers cannot discern the flavor of food. So making them eat what you eat is a wise decision from the beginning.
5. Avoid Forcing Kids
The goal is to keep a child from being forced to eat food. If you’ve already established a regular time and location for your child’s mealtime and they refuse to eat on some days, respect them. Feeding should not be forced. Sometimes parents want to be free of the responsibility of forcing their child to eat and try to force feed their child, which makes them cranky and fussy. Allow them to listen to their bodies. Respect their wishes if they do not finish their entire plate all at once or refuse to eat at all.
6. Ask Their Help In Kitchen
When your children assist you in the kitchen, they learn about food, ingredients, and their importance. So, if you want your child to understand the significance of each ingredient, as well as the nutritional value of vegetables and fruits, make them sit with you. Teach them the importance of eating healthy foods and why to eat certain foods. When children understand the reasoning behind eating a certain food, they eat it without complaint.
7. Warning For Wasting Food
Warn children if they waste or throw food on purpose. Teach them to respect the food they eat and be firm with them when it comes to food waste. Tell them that if they waste food, you will reduce their screen time, or that if they throw away their food, they will have to clean up their mess. Essentially, teach them to respect food.
Take Away
Making kids eat is thus one of the most difficult aspects of parenting. However, there are a few things you can do to help your child overcome his or her aversion to eating. Check out these seven options and work with them to see what works best for your child. Furthermore, if you want to read more kid-related blogs, go to PiggyRide. It is a leading platform that provides online classes for children. Along with it, PiggyRide took the initiative to end the parent challenges by posting various blogs about it. It also has a Q&A section where you can post your questions about children. Within 24 hours, one of our experts will reply and put an end to your struggles.
