The Importance of Language Around Food, Bodies, and Mealtimes
Are your kids back in school yet?
Virtual school, hybrid, in-person, homeschool. No matter what type of school your kids will be doing this year, you'll probably need a meal plan. Due to COVID, eating at school might get complicated. And if your kids are at home, well, that means you'll be doing the 3 meal a day thing, 7 days a week a little longer. It can be exhausting. Don't worry, I'm feeling it too.
Here's how I might be able to help . . .
In case you're new here, take a minute to read about the division of responsibility in feeding kids. It's absolutely the best way to teach positive nutrition habits that will last a lifetime.
When we do our jobs of providing the food, we can trust that our children know their body well enough to eat what it needs. Yes, we have to TRUST our kids to rely on their internal cues for hunger and satiety. When kids feel safe to eat, free from food rules, they will eat what they need.
To feel confident in the food you are providing for your kids, you can follow two basic guidelines:
Meals should contain at least 3-4 food groups
Snacks should contain 2-3 food groups
Depending on the age of your kids, they may be able to help pack their own lunch and snacks. Yay!
To give older kids some gentle nutrition guidance, I've developed this Building a Balanced Plate Guide. Please download and print this out to hang in your pantry or refrigerator. Parents can use this too of course!
No matter your work status or your kid's school schedule, packing lunches (or at least planning) the night before, just like in the pre-COVID days, is a good idea.
Try to encourage your kids to take a real lunch break, free from screens or schoolwork if they are learning from home. Eating while distracted isn't ideal for tuning into hunger and fullness cues.
Finally, let's talk about food talk. Believe it or not, our language around food is perhaps the most important influencer in a child's relationship with food. HOW we feed our kids is ultimately more important than WHAT we feed our kids.
Why does having a good relationship with food matter? BECAUSE how we interact with our kids around food sets the stage for HUGE things that we all care about : self-esteem, self-awareness, body image, and autonomy.
If you've got tweens or teens, you know how important these factors are in navigating the complex world of adolescence.
Common food rules/food talk you should avoid:
Requiring vegetables to be eaten to get dessert
Asking kids to take one more bite before they can be finished
Requiring a "no thank you" bite
Restricting sugar or any other nutrients
"You've had enough"
Requiring foods to be eaten in a certain order
"This is a healthy lunch"
"This is unhealthy"
I'm a dietitian and while nutrition is important, what's more important is having enough food, a safe and pleasant environment in which to eat meals and snacks, and a judgement-free zone on bodies! Sometimes kids can have special feeding or nutritional requirements.
If this is your situation, reach out for specialized help. You can also follow me @tammymanserd on Instagram for more information on confidently feeding your kids.
