It may seem weird in a era when childhood obesity is a major concern that many parents worry that their children are underweight. Kids who are underweight present parents with a particular challenge. How do you encourage weight gain without encouraging weight gain? You know what I mean. No one wants to solve one problem only to produce another problem. Here's my … [Read more...]
Solve the Seconds Problem in One Step
All parents have experienced the "more pasta please" before they have even touched their peas "problem." What can you do? First, understand that most children aren't deliberately and consciously avoiding the neglected food. Rather, you serve up a plate of food and your kids dive right into their favorites. Then, they want more of their favorites. Who doesn't? The solution is … [Read more...]
Episode 42: Food Peer Pressure—When Yum Turns into Yuk
What can you do when your child stops liking something just because a friend said, "yuk?" Peer Pressure can be a real problem. The traditional solution to food peer pressure, tell your kids that different people like different things, doesn't always work. In this episode I talk to Amy. Her daughter loved guacamole until one day her friend said it smelled funny. Her daughter … [Read more...]
5 Tantrum-Proof Tricks to Teaching Kids to Eat What You Serve
One of the most frustrating things about feeding kids is that you can't make them eat. Not that most of us haven't tried at one time or another. It's OK to admit that you once wrestled food into your child's mouth. Cracked a joke to elicit laughter — and an open mouth. No one's immune. Remember the time when I told my teen, my teen, that we weren't going shopping unless … [Read more...]
Episode 38: Quit Being a Short-Order Chef
No parent I know wants to be a short-order chef. What we want, is for kids to eat. For them to avoid being hungry. For them to make it through the night. For them to have the nutrients they need to grow. For them to be satisfied. The list goes on. I recently wrote about this in a post on Psychology Today. In this episode of The Happy Bite Podcast, I tackle the same … [Read more...]
Some Thoughts on How to Actually Change Feeding Strategies
As dissatisfied as many parents are with the way their toddlers (or even older kids) eat, the thought of changing strategies can be daunting. I'd go so far as to say it might even be paralizing. Here are the 6 steps you need to implement in order to achieve the change you desire. Remember, success comes when you adopt the Habits Approach — or catch the habitude! Eating … [Read more...]
My Psychology Today Post re: Kids Who Don’t Eat Dinner
One of the most vexing problems parents have is kids who don't eat—or don't eat enough—at dinner. It can make you tear your hair out. In my recent Psychology Today post, I take a look at how parents often inadvertently teach their kids NOT to eat dinner—and what you can do to turn things around. I hope you'll take a moment to read it. ~Changing the conversation … [Read more...]
You’re Caught in a Control Struggle over Food. Now What?
Want to know why kids play out their control issues around food? Control is like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder. You have to eat your peas before your pie. You have to eat your peas if you want to have any pie. If you want seconds of pasta you have to eat more of your peas. You have to eat 4 more spoonfuls of peas before you can leave the table. … [Read more...]
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